Fan-tailed Warbler trapped with a lime stick © BirdLife Cyprus

The illegal killing, taking and trade of birds (IKB) is still of great concern globally, as some bird populations continue declining rapidly. Political commitment is key to making progress in addressing this problem and international cooperation can help. This is the reason why CMS joined forces with the Bern Convention to convene a joint meeting in Sliema, Malta on 22 and 23 June.

• UN Bonn

Mats Amundin , Sweden

Name: Mats Amundin Organization: Kolmårdens Djurpark Country: Sweden Involved in ASCOBANS since: 2002

• UN Bonn

The levels of microplastic particles accumulating in the Antarctic are much worse than expected, a team of experts has warned.

• UN Bonn

An international agreement on whale, dolphin and porpoise conservation has been extended to the Isle of Man.

• UN Bonn

The rangers, who were police reservists, were killed while trying to recover cattle stolen by nomadic herders

• UN Bonn

Today we celebrate World Environment Day (WED). A day that is supposed to remind us of how important nature is to all of us. Every year since 1974, the UN has organized this special celebration with a different host country and a different theme. This year Canada is presenting WED under the theme of “Connecting People to Nature”. Through this slogan WED “invites us to think about how we are part of nature and how intimately we depend on it. It challenges us to find fun and exciting ways to experience and cherish this vital relationship.”

• UN Bonn

A male Asian Great Bustard (Otis tarda) in Mongolian grassland - © L. Jargalsaikhan

Great Bustard experts from across the globe met in Ulaanbaatar from 24 to 30 May to plan the conservation of the Great Bustard in Asia. The Great Bustard is the heaviest bird capable of flight and in Asia are even rarer than snow leopards. The conference hosted experts from nine countries, including China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, the United Kingdom and the USA, and included contributions from Iran and Turkmenistan.

• UN Bonn

The Secretariat of the Convention on Migratory Species is pleased to announce the release of the draft Companion Volume on Implementation for the Strategic Plan for Migratory Species 2015-2023.

• UN Bonn

Dr. Bradnee Chambers and Dr. Christiane Paulus (BMUB) Photo: Marie Mevellec /CMS

Excerpts from the keynote address of Dr. Bradnee Chambers at the side event on 17 May in the margins of the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn.

• UN Bonn