Bern Convention Charters

The Council of Europe’s Bern Convention is an international legal instrument, binding for its Contracting Parties, in the field of nature conservation, which covers most of the natural heritage of the European continent.

The Convention places a particular importance on the need to protect endangered natural habitats and vulnerable species, including migratory species. Its Standing Committee (T-PVS) monitors the implementation of the Convention at each of its meetings by reviewing reports, processing case-files and adopting recommendations.
Hunters contribute to the fulfilment of the conservation aims of the Bern Convention through regulating game populations and caring for their habitats, assisting in monitoring and research, and raising public awareness for conservation issues. Thus, hunters and hunting play an important role in the conservation of biodiversity.
In November 2004, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted Recommendation 1689 regarding Hunting and Europe’s environmental balance, recommending inter alia that the Council of Europe “draw up a European charter on hunting, as a guide setting out common principles and good practices for hunting, particularly for the organisation of hunting tourism on the continent”. Three years later, the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention adopted such Charter, prepared by a Working Group of relevant experts and representatives from Contracting Parties and from NGOs – including FACE, the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC) and the World Conservation Union/Special Survival Commission – European Sustainable Use Specialist Group (IUCN/SSC-ESUSG).
The European Charter on Hunting and Biodiversity promotes principles and guidelines intended to ensure that hunting and hunting tourism in Europe are practiced in a sustainable manner, making a positive contribution to the conservation of species and habitats and the needs of society.
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Species use database

The Species Use Database (SpUD) has been created by the IUCN Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group (SULi) to help address this problem by collecting and synthesising information on the utilization of wild species globally, and specifically on the sustainability of that use.

The database is intended to appeal to a broad spectrum of users, from those in policy and decision-making, to academia and educators, conservation practitioners, civil society and NGOs, as well as any individuals interested and keen to learn more about the use of wild species. The individual records – and the periodic syntheses of these – can be used to guide and feed into sound policies and decision-making, that enhance legal, sustainable, equitable wildlife management practices and draw attention to those that are illegal, unsustainable and inequitable.

Universal Ranger Support Alliance (URSA)

A coalition of conservation organisations supporting and promoting the International Ranger Federation to build a network of well-supported, professional, and capable rangers, who can act effectively as custodians of the natural world. It has produced numerous guidelines and standards of relevance to professionalizing the ranger work-force, including a Code of Conduct, ranger competences, and a document on how rangers support delivery of 30×30. There are 8 organizations URSA can be linked with (for filtering purposes).

WildLabs Conservation Technology Community

WILDLABS is home to the global conservation technology community of 8,600 people in 120 countries discussing 1,500 topics like biologging, camera traps, and machine learning. With engaging spaces to ask questions and collaborate together, share your own work, and discover new ideas and innovations, WILDLABS is your platform to connect with #Tech4Wildlife experts and projects from around the world.

FACE Biodiversity Manifesto database

The Biodiversity Manifesto is a substantial database of hunting-related conservation projects which support FACE’s advocacy work in Brussels. We now have strong evidence to show that hunters make a crucial contribution to habitats restoration, protected areas, species monitoring and much more.

AEWA Guidance on Measures in National Legislation for Different Populations of the Same Species, Particularly with Respect to Hunting and Trade

Resolution 4.3 requested the Technical Committee, amongst other things, to advise on a more adequate implementation of the AEWA Action Plan’s population approach in the national legislation, particularly with regard to a ban on hunting and trade, and, if needed, provide guidance on its consequences for Parties. Such guidance may clarify the question how to deal with different populations of the same species in a country. This task was taken up by the Technical Committee in its Work Plan 2012-2015 under Working Group 1 (WG1). The Technical Committee examined and agreed on this guidance at its 12th meeting in March 2015.

CMS Intergovernmental Task Force on Illegal Killing, Taking and Trade of Migratory Birds in the Mediterranean (MIKT)

The Intergovernmental Task Force on Illegal Killing, Taking and Trade of Migratory Birds in the Mediterranean (MIKT) has been convened by the CMS Secretariat in conjunction with the Secretariat of AEWA, the Raptors MOU Coordinating Unit and the African-Eurasian Migratory Landbirds Action Plan (AEMLAP) Working Group. It brings together governmental representatives of CMS Parties from the Mediterranean region, including European Union Member States, and other interested Parties. Representatives from non-CMS Parties as well as relevant international organizations and networks are also part of MIKT as observers.

AEWA Implementation Review Process (IRP)

The AEWA Implementation Review Process (IRP) was established by the Parties to the Agreement at their 4th Meeting (MOP4) in September 2008 through Resolution 4.6 in order to support the implementation of AEWA.
MOP4 also decided that the AEWA Standing Committee will undertake the IRP. The IRP will look at issues that have adverse effects or potential adverse effects on either migratory waterbirds or on their sites and habitats as a result of human activities.
The AEWA Technical Committee developed an information sheet on possible cases, which is meant to provide basic information for assessment by the Agreement’s governing bodies. All stakeholders can use this form to submit issues of concern with regard to sites important for migratory waterbirds, waterbird species/populations or any other issue, which in their opinion constitutes non-compliance with the provisions of AEWA, to the AEWA Secretariat.

AEWA Strategic Plan 2019-2027 Adopted at the 7th Session of the Meeting of the Parties

The first AEWA Strategic Plan was adopted at the 4th Session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP4) in 2008 through Resolution 4.7 and covered the period 2009-2017. Noting that MOP7 will not have taken place before 2018, in November 2015, MOP6 decided to extend the Strategic Plan until 2018 as per Resolution 6.14. Through the same Resolution, the MOP instructed the Standing Committee, working with the Technical Committee and supported by the UNEP/AEWA Secretariat, to revise the AEWA Strategic Plan taking into account the CMS Strategic Plan for Migratory Species 2015-2023, and to present a draft plan for the period 2019-2027 for consideration and adoption by MOP7. The current Strategic Plan for the period 2019-2027 was adopted at the 7th Session of the Meeting of the Parties on 4-8 December 2018 in Durban, South Africa.

CMS Review Mechanism and National Legislation Programme

Strengthening of compliance with specific obligations contained in the Convention has been identified as a critical issue for the effective conservation and management of migratory species. With the aim to facilitate the implementation of the Convention and promote its effectiveness, the 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (Manila, 2017) adopted Resolution 12.09 to establish a Review Mechanism and a National Legislation Programme.

The Review Mechanism and the National Legislation Programme are supportive, non-adversarial and facilitative processes focused on providing support to Parties that are experiencing difficulties with the implementation of the Convention. Pursuant to Article VII of the Convention, the two processes facilitate Parties’ attempts to identify gaps in their legislation and domestic matters that need to be addressed with corrective measures to ensuring both the long-term compliance with Articles of the Convention and the adequate protection of migratory species.

AEWA Guidelines on National Legislation

These Conservation Guidelines are intended to assist countries in drafting new legislation, and reviewing and amending their existing national legislation, on the conservation and sustainable use of migratory waterbirds and their habitats. They are written for conservation professionals and officials in conservation ministries and agencies who develop draft and final legislation and make suggestions for improvement of existing and proposed legislation. The guidelines can also provide assistance to lawyers reviewing or vetting draft legislation. They are presented in simple terminology, and are intended to be accessible to non-lawyers.

The principal objective of these guidelines is to assist Parties in evaluating whether their national legislation complies with AEWA’s provisions and, where it does not, developing laws which fulfil their commitments under the Agreement. The guidelines are not intended to provide detailed advice on the drafting of either general conservation legislation or legislative provisions which (although beneficial to bird conservation) go beyond the requirements of AEWA. The guidelines also are not intended to duplicate, but rather to supplement, existing guidance. They should thus be read alongside AEWA’s other Conservation Guidelines (several of which make recommendations regarding legislation), as well as other relevant guidance documents (a list of which is provided in Annex I).

FAO tools and resources on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is one of the greatest threats to marine ecosystems. IUU fishing takes advantage of corrupt administrations and exploits weak management regimes, in particular those of developing countries lacking the capacity and resources for effective monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS). The FAO has produced three volumes in the series Checklists and Technical Guidelines to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing. Volume III is a Checklist of monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) systems, operations, procedures and tools. It provides a list of minimum requirements to ensure that the national MCS systems, operations, procedures, and tools aimed at combating IUU fishing are of the desired standard. Additional information on methodologies and indicators is available on the FAO website.

How to use.

ECOLEX

ECOLEX is an information service on environmental law, operated jointly by FAO, IUCN, and UNEP. Its purpose is to build global capacity by providing the most comprehensive possible source of information on environmental law, in an easily accessible form. This is particularly helpful in developing countries and countries with economies in transition, where government officials, practitioners, environmental managers, non-profit institutions and academia may not have easy access to the information they need to develop the legal tools  needed to promote environmental management.

The ECOLEX database includes information on treaties, international soft-law and other non-binding policy and technical guidance documents, national legislation, judicial decisions, and law and policy literature. Users can access the abstracts and indexing information about each document, as well as to the full text of most of the information provided.