- The Twelfth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the Bonn Convention (CMS COP12) was held in Manila, the Philippines.
- It is the first time that the COP has been held in Asia.
- The slogan for the Conference is “Their Future is Our Future – Sustainable Development for Wildlife & People”.
- This conference is related with the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Four Asian Vultures such as
- Red-headed vulture,
- White-rumped vulture,
- Indian vulture and
- Slender-billed vulture
are set to get highest protection by the convention.
- The whale shark, which inhabits the Indian Ocean, got global protection too.
- The Caspian seal, the only marine mammal found in the world’s largest inland sea has also been identified for conservation.
- The next edition of the meeting will be held in India in 2020.
Bonn Convention
- Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) is popularly known as Bonn convention.
- It is an environmental treaty under the aegis of United Nations Environment Programme.
- India is a party to this convention whereas China, Russia, US, Canada, Japan are not party to it.