The delegation of Turkmenistan took part in the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS/COP14), which was held in Samarkand from February 12 to 17.

The conference was attended by representatives of governments of countries that have ratified the Convention, public organizations, scientists, practitioners and other interested parties.

The purpose of the conference was to find solutions to contemporary problems in the conservation of migratory animals and their habitats. The conference was held under the slogan “Nature knows no boundaries”, and its emblem was the winged snow leopard, which is also displayed on the coat of arms of Samarkand.

The Turkmen delegation, headed by the Minister of Environmental Protection Charygeldy Babaniyazov, included representatives from the Office for Biodiversity Protection, the Kopet Dag Nature Reserve, the Group of Feline Specialists, as well as an independent environmental expert.

The work of the conference as a whole was carried out in accordance with agreements on individual species of migratory animals and birds and their populations. For example, agreements on seals and whales - in the North and Baltic seas, on bats - in Europe, cranes - in Eurasia, and so on. In addition to the general plenary sessions, there were more than 40 specialized sessions to discuss the most pressing topics.

As a result of the conference, a new Strategic Plan was adopted under the Convention for the period 2024–2032, which defines the main directions of future work.

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals is also called the Bonn Convention because it was signed in 1979 in Bonn. The Convention came into force in 1983. Turkmenistan ratified the Convention in 2021. Today, more than 130 countries are parties to it.

We previously reported that Kazakhstan is interested in continuing cooperation with Turkmenistan on the conservation of Red Book animals.