Prior to the 10th Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) Conference of the Parties (CoP10), Wild Migration (Migratory Wildlife Network) approached a wide group of conservation Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) about developing a 'CMS Civil Society Dialogue' between us all. The first face-to-face 'Dialogue' meeting report from the 'Dialogue' meeting is available online [http://www.wildmigration.org/pdf_bin/CivilSocietyDialogue1_F.pdf].

One of the key points raised was that the NGO and NGO science relationship with, and contribution to, CMS and the CMS daughter agreements was not well understood. There are sever marine mammal agreements under CMS now, including:

1. ACCOBAMS - Cetaceans of the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area
2. ASCOBANS - Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North-East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas
3. Wadden Sea Seals
4. Pacific Cetaceans and their Habitats
5. Dugongs and their Habitats
6. Mediterranean Monk Seal
7. Aquatic mammals of West Africa
   

Many of these agreements operate alongside the complexity of  other marine industries, yet there is little policy, or science, cross over. However, in many cases the NGO and the NGO science community is attending to both CMS agreement meeting and marine industry meeting, and can provide a vital policy and science link between the two.

Progress of the CMS NGO Review: The Natural Affiliation
To further progress the 'Dialogue' discussions, and also to respond to the outcomes of CMS CoP10, including the increasing complexity of ocean resources management issues, Wild Migration commenced a review, late last year, about NGO perspectives on CMS as a mechanism, CMS's influence and implementation and NGO contributions to this influence and implementation. The summary of that first stage Review - The Natural Affiliation - was presented to the CMS Strategic Plan Working Group and the CMS Standing Committee in November, and is available online [http://www.cms.int/bodies/StC/40th_stc_meeting/doc_06_2_a_mwn_ngo_review_summary_e.pdf]. The individual interview conducted during this process will be included in the Annex to the final Review.

We are now commencing the second stage of the Review, with a specific focus on the NGO relationships with each of the CMS daughter agreements (Agreements and Memorandum of Understanding) through an online survey at [http://www.wildmigration.org/cms-ngo-survey.php].

Once again, we would welcome your input. The results of the two stages of this project will be presented to the CMS Strategic Plan Working Group mid 2013, the CMS Standing Committee at the end of 2013, and will be used to influence the preparations for CMS CoP11 in 2014

The survey is not long, and should take no more than 10 minutes of your time if your organization works on one or few agreements.

Respondent are welcome to identify themselves or complete the survey anonymously.  Organizations are also welcome to task different areas of their organization to complete the survey for each of the agreements they work on.

The survey will remain open until 29th March 2013

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact Wild Migration for assistance. We thank you for the generosity of your time.

Best regards
Margi Prideaux