One for the birds: Meeting recently under the auspices of the Convention on Migratory Species (cms), representatives of over 60 nations signed an ambitious inter-governmental agreement -- aimed at conserving migratory waterbirds of Africa and Eurasia -- in The Hague, Netherlands. The agreement, called the African Eurasian Waterbird Agreement, covers more than 150 species of birds which are ecologically dependant on wetlands for at least part of their annual cycles.

Parties to the agreement have been called upon to engage in a wide range of conservation actions enumerated in an action plan, which addresses such key issues as species and habitat conservation, management of human activities, research and monitoring, education and information and implementation.

The cms, also referred to as the Bonn Convention, deals with many other types of migratory species, agreements for the conservation of which have already been concluded or are about to be concluded.