março, 23 2026

23 March 2026, Campo Grande: The 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) opens today in Campo Grande, Brazil. Campo Grande lies at the edge of the Pantanal, one of the most important and diverse wetlands in the world, and home to jaguars, capybaras (the world’s largest rodent) and Victoria giant lilies (a water lily with the largest leaves of any plant in the world).

Approximately two thirds of the world’s sovereign countries (133 in total) are Parties to this Convention, whose aim is to facilitate the international cooperation that is required to conserve species that migrate between one country and another. It has two Appendices. Appendix I lists those species that require strict protection, including a prohibition on take in almost all circumstances. Appendix II lists species for which international cooperation is required to ensure their conservation; such cooperation can take the form of formal agreements, memoranda of understanding, action plans or other measures. The meeting will consider adding more species to these Appendices, including the striped hyena, which occurs in Africa and Asia. It will also decide on further measures to protect species that are already listed, such as designating Important Marine Turtle Areas and action plans, including for tope shark, Asian bustards and Amazonian catfish, as well as cross-cutting issues, such as pollution, climate change, wild meat etc.

“It’s often said at CoP meetings that they come at a critical time,” says Dr Colmán Ó Críodáin, WWF’s head of wildlife policy, “but, in this case, it is more true than ever. The recent update on the Convention’s State of the World’s Migratory Species report tells us that, despite many tactical successes, we are not winning overall in the fight to protect these species. The report and other agenda documents identify the lack of protected and conserved area coverage as a key factor in this regard. CMS has argued, correctly, that, beyond the designation of protected areas, we must ensure connectivity between them, and it has placed itself firmly in the vanguard of the movement for greater ecological connectivity. We are pleased to see that the agenda for COP15 will build on this work.”

“WWF is proud of its engagement with CMS,” says Mariana Napolitano, Conservation Director at WWF-Brazil. “We joined the Global Partnership on Ecological Connectivity at the outset. At this meeting we will be promoting the need for connectivity across all biomes – including inland waters, marine and terrestrial. For example, WWF has worked with partners to encourage greater inclusion of migratory freshwater fish within CMS Appendices and highlighted the need for freshwater connectivity for species like river dolphins. Additionally, we will showcase our work on blue corridors, both for cetaceans and for marine turtles, mapping connections between breeding and feeding grounds so we can better manage their interactions with activities, such as shipping and fishing. Also, for marine turtles, blue corridors is catalysing the delineation of Important Marine Turtle Areas. And we have played a key role in the development of action plans for tope sharks, marine turtles, Asian bustards and Amazonian Catfish. We worked with the Brazilian Government in the organisation of this meeting, where important decisions will also be taken with respect to jaguars, one of Latin America’s most magnificent species.”

“WWF urges Parties to work together at this meeting to achieve consensus on difficult issues,” says Dr Ó Críodáin. “We were able to do so at previous meetings, notably at the last meeting, when we agreed that deep seabed mining should not be undertaken until the range of risks for migratory species were fully understood and could be mitigated. If we could reach agreement on that issue, I am confident that we can do so for the issues that we are discussing this week.”

The meeting concludes on Sunday 29 March.