Engaging in oil activities poses a significant risk of impacting the environmental and social values in a landscape. The aim of the remediation effort is to restore the site’s environmental and socio-economic  values. In natural habitats, this is about the recovery of biodiversity and the ecosystem functioning. This field manual aims to guide the design and implementation of biodiversity monitoring (recovery), following remediation of an oil spill. Its objective is to enhance understanding of recovery processes  as well as the linkage between the recovery process and the effects of remediation.

The Niger Delta region of Nigeria is facing severe environmental challenges due to widespread oil extraction activities, resulting in recurring oil spills and adverse effects on biodiversity, ecosystem services and livelihoods. This report documents the implementation of protocols of the IUCN Niger Delta Biodiversity Technical Advisory Group (BTAG) on two impacted sites at Adibawa Well 8 S/L wellhead in Joinkrama, Rivers State, and Adibawa North-East 1 wellhead in Tien Biseni, Bayelsa State, both located in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. The innovative approach of BTAG integrates eDNA analysis with traditional field sampling to enhance the monitoring strategies, offering a more comprehensive understanding of ecological recovery.

The resolutions seek to raise awareness of the potential impacts of artificial light while the proposed guidelines provide a framework for assessing and managing the impact of artificial light on susceptible wildlife, including migratory species. For example, they consider wildlife-friendly lighting design and the management of light sources near protected wildlife.

The guidelines recognize the potential of conflicting requirements for wildlife conservation and human safety and the need for a balance between both.

Several resolutions of ASCOBANS, ACCOBAMS and CMS have recognized underwater noise as a major threat to many marine species. These resolutions call for noise-related considerations to be taken into account as early as the planning stages of activities, especially by making effective use of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA). Thanks to a voluntary contribution from Monaco, the CMS Secretariat on behalf also of the ACCOBAMS and ASCOBANS Secretariats was able to hire consultants to undertake this work.

Following a multi-step consultation process as outlined in UNEP/CMS/COP12/Doc.24.2.2, Resolution 12.14 on Adverse Impacts of Anthropogenic Noise on Cetaceans and Other Migratory Species was adopted by the 12^th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CMS. In its Annex, it contains CMS Family Guidelines on Environmental Impact Assessments for Marine Noise-generating Activities.

These Guidelines cover the necessary detail for meaningful EIAs for Military and Civil High-powered Sonar, Shipping and Vessels Traffic, Seismic Surveys (Air Gun and Alternative Technologies), Construction Works, Offshore Platforms, Playback and Sound Exposure Experiments, Pingers (Acoustic Deterrent/Harassment Devices, Navigation), and other Noise-generating Activities (Acoustic Data Transmission, Wind, Tidal and Wave Turbines and Future Technologies).

The Resolution urges Parties to ensure that Environmental Impact Assessments take full account of the effects of activities on CMS-listed marine species and their prey and consider a more holistic ecological approach at a strategic planning stage. The Guidelines are designed to support them in this endeavour.

This report examines the health risk posed by plastic pollution in the Ganges and Mekong River basins to twenty-three freshwater, terrestrial and avian species protected under CMS. It also presents a framework for estimating the risk of plastic pollution to species within freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. It currently relies on the best available data from the Asia-Pacific region but can be improved on as additional research is conducted

The IWC Strandings Initiative was established following a multi-disciplinary expert workshop in 2016.  The workshop discussed how best to develop practical guidance on handling cetacean strandings and concluded that an international Strandings Initiative should be established under the auspices of the IWC, incorporating the skills and experiences of strandings experts from a range of different countries around the world.

The increasing amount of debris in the world’s oceans has become a major cause for concern. There are many different types of marine debris.  It travels freely and does not recognise national boundaries, which means international collaboration is essential to any attempts to address the issue effectively.

The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) is an intergovernmental treaty dedicated to the conservation of migratory waterbirds and their habitats across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, Greenland and the Canadian Archipelago.

Developed under the framework of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), AEWA brings together countries and the wider international conservation community in an effort to establish coordinated conservation and management of migratory waterbirds throughout their entire migratory range.