Dear MARMAMers,
Not all of you may be
aware of this meeting yet, which is being organised by the UNEP Convention on the
Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) as part of the Year of
the Dolphin campaign:
WATCH
Western African Talks on Cetaceans and their Habitats
WATCH is a series of
scientific and inter-governmental meetings on marine mammals that will take
place in Adeje,
WATCH will be divided in
three main sessions:
1)
A one-day session open to
governments, institutions, non-governmental organisations and the private
sector to discuss threats to and challenges for the conservation of cetaceans
in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean;
2)
A one-day whale watching
capacity building workshop to present and discuss best practices in the region
and worldwide, including a whale watching tour;
3)
A three-day negotiation
session between the Range States (open to invited observers) to agree on a
Conservation and Action Plan for Small Cetaceans in Western African Waters, and
determine the scope and format of a new CMS instrument for the Conservation of
the West African Manatee and Cetaceans of the Eastern Atlantic Basin.
More information on the
background of CMS’s initiative, the meeting and logistics can be found at
http://www.cms.int/species/waam/watch.htm,
which is regularly being updated.
For all queries, please contact:
Ms Heidrun Frisch
Marine Mammals Officer
UNEP/CMS Secretariat
Email: hfrisch@cms.int
Tel. +49 228 8152418
Fax: +49 228 8152449