Conference of the Parties

• Recognised threats to biodiversity include habitat loss and overexploitation but new analyses suggest that migratory species are faring particularly badly.
• The global extinction risk is increasing for all migratory species.
• I’m writing this in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, for the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species.

Status update

• Worse still, they suggest that the extinction risk is increasing for all migratory species, including those not included under the convention.
• Populations of fish included under the convention have declined on average by 90% since 1970.
• Many species under the convention that need or would significantly benefit from international cooperation, are identified as high priorities for further conservation action based on their conservation status and biological vulnerability.
• Understanding the scope and severity of these threats where they occur is therefore essential to informing conservation action, especially in the context of the triple planetary crises.

Effective action

• There are various reasons why such agreements are not always as effective as they could be.
• This has proven key to catalysing concerted conservation action for the saiga.
• In the last 15 years, new knowledge of the saiga antelope’s ecology, migration and trade has been generated and effective anti-poaching measures have been implemented.
• These include evaluating management approaches, sustainable use of the species, stockpile management, building the saiga conservation network and identifying key research needs along international supply chains.

Catalysing cross-border conservation

• This landmark meeting has been positive and I’ve noticed a renewed sense of commitment to improve the conservation of migratory species.
• Conservation measures should be context-specific, applied at relevant scales, and socially legitimate among local communities and Indigenous peoples if they are to be successful.
• Renewed commitment to conservation solutions identified in this report could build political will to act together.

Dan Challender receives funding from the UKRI Global Challenges Research Fund (UKRI GCRF) through the Trade, Development, and the Environment Hub and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, and has previously received funding from the National Geographic Society. He is CITES Focal Point for the IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group and is a member of the IUCN CEESP/SSC Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group.

• SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan, Jan. 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Management Company Silk Road Samarkand (SRS), which operates Central Asia's largest tourist complex, announced an impressive list of statistics from its banner year of 2023, and projects even greater success in 2024, making the transition from tourist magnet to world-class destination for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE).
• During 2023, Silk Road Samarkand burnished its MICE credentials by hosting more than 24 major international, business and government events, which were attended by more than 30,000 people, including the heads of state of Uzbekistan, Italy, France, and Qatar.
• That's why SRS was the first location in Samarkand to offer world-class MICE facilities and services.
• In 2024, SRS will continue surprising tourists and participants in high class events with our hospitality, making this year a breakthrough for the tourism sector of our country and one of its main centers - Samarkand."

• DUBAI, Dec 5, 2023 - (ACN Newswire) - PT Pertamina Hulu Rokan (PHR) presented innovations in creating wetlands to manage wastewater produced from its operational activities at COP28 on Friday.
• PT Pertamina Hulu Rokan (PHR) presented its innovation in constructing wetlands to manage wastewater from its operational activities at COP28.
• Wastewater management was carried out using constructed wetlands based on hydro technology, where wetlands are formed using a hydraulic loading rate technique, so that wastewater management simply used gravity.
• PHR has built constructed wetland covering an area of 5,000 m2 in one of its Rokan Block work areas.

• Mr. Xin Baoan, Chairman of GEIDCO and Executive Chairman of State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), attended the event and delivered a welcome speech.
• The thematic event features a research report release by GEIDCO entitled Inclusive, Just, Resilient Energy Transition: GEI Solution and Practices, and practical case sharing by SGCC on the development of new power systems.
• Since its inception, GEIDCO has participated in the UN Climate Change Conference for many consecutive times, held several thematic events, and released multiple research results.
• During COP28, GEIDCO and WMO also held a thematic event with the theme of "Energy Transition and Clean Energy Development".