An online tool that maps the most important migration routes, stopover sites, and resting areas for 89 species of migratory birds in the Americas was launched, with versions in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, during the 15th United Nations Conference on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (COP15), in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul state.

The Atlas for the Americas Flyways is expected to help identify locations where government efforts and international cooperation are most needed.

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“In terms of public policies, we can more accurately identify geographic areas that require greater attention for conservation and for the creation of protected areas, whether public or private,” said Braulio Dias, director of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity at Brazil’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change.

Environmental licensing for projects such as power generation with transmission lines or wind towers will also benefit from the data, he went on to point out.

“If the location of these transmission lines and wind towers is not chosen carefully, it can result in high mortality rates among birds and bats,” he noted.

Bird concentration areas can be viewed on an interactive map that shows the migration routes taken during each season of the year for each species. “It’s also useful for the general public. Bird lovers or those planning a trip to a region can now check the map to find out which species are most common in a given area and where to look for them,” he added.

The database draws on millions of records generated by scientists on the eBird platform and should be expanded to include 622 species that traverse 56 countries along the migratory routes of the Americas, stretching from the Canadian Arctic to Chilean Patagonia.

One example of a bird cataloged by the atlas is the bird known as the saffron-cowled blackbird, which passes through southern Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay on its journey. The species is suffering from a sharp decline in its population and, as a result, is included on the list of endangered species under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).

“This atlas shows what is possible when millions of bird observations are compiled, thanks to contributions from people across the Americas,” said Christopher Wood, director of the Center for Avian Population Studies at Cornell University’s Ornithology Laboratory, who was part of the team that built the tool.

The atlas is the result of an initiative by the CMS Secretariat, in partnership with the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology, Brazil’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

During the launch, CMS Executive Secretary Amy Fraenkel stressed that the atlas reinforces the shared commitment to strengthening ecological connectivity across borders at a time when migratory species need coordinated action.

*The reporter traveled at the invitation of the Ministry of the Environment.

Hundreds of participants at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (COP15), held in Campo Grande, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, planted on Saturday (Mar. 28) an important legacy of the global gathering: a grove of mostly fruit-bearing trees.

“This is the most important event of the entire COP because action matters most, and it is to make that happen that we have gathered. There’s an old saying that goes, ‘Think globally, act locally,’ and that’s what we’re doing today, because everyone has a role to play in protecting migratory species,” said Amu Fraenkel, Executive Secretary of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).

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Diplomats, country delegates, representatives of conservation movements focused on different species, and local residents of all ages came together in connection with the earth and nature, reflecting the theme “Connecting Nature to Sustain Life” chosen for the global gathering. Together, they created the COP15 Grove.

Biologist Sílvia Ray Pereira, from the city’s Urban Forestry Department, said the chosen location was strategic for expanding green spaces across the city.

“The COP15 Grove is part of a project we launched last year to create mini-forests in areas with few trees - primarily public squares - so that we can balance urban greening and public health while also supporting wildlife,” the biologist said.

In total, 250 seedlings of fruit-bearing and native Brazilian species were planted, including the manduvi (Sterculia apetala), which is widely used by the hyacinth macaw for food and nesting. “The idea is to attract the species, which is already beginning to return to the city. With the expansion of green areas featuring manduvi, the hyacinth macaw will find a safe place here to nest,” she explained.

COP15, the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, concluded on Sunday (Mar. 29) in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul state, with 40 additional protected species, 16 new international cooperation initiatives, and 39 resolutions to be adopted by the 132 participating countries, along with the European Union. The results are unprecedented.

According to COP15 President João Paulo Capobianco, the conference was deemed a success both for the collective progress achieved and for the initiatives led by Brazil.

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“We brought 60 negotiators, including leading experts on birds, reptiles, mammals, and insects, all of whom were deeply involved in the debates held throughout the week,” he said.

Brazil secured approval for six of its seven proposals to include species in Appendix I (endangered species) and Appendix II (species requiring international conservation efforts) of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).

The shorebirds Numenius hudsonicus and Limosa haemastica were listed in Appendix I. The fish Pseudoplatystoma corruscans, the shark Mustelus schmitti, and the bird Sporophila iberaensis were added to Appendix II, while petrels of the genera Pterodroma and Pseudobulweria will be included in both appendices.

The only Brazilian proposal withdrawn from the negotiations concerned listing the shark Squatina guggenheim in Appendix II, on the condition that Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay take joint action to reassess the species’ status. “There was controversy over whether the species was at risk or facing some kind of threat,” explained Capobianco.

Other initiatives supported by Brazil but led by other countries, such as the French proposal to include the otter Pteronura brasiliensis in both CMS appendices, were also successful.

“Today, there are still 400 migratory species in the world that are not on any list, and efforts to expand protection for these species have been gradual. We managed to achieve a 10 percent increase. No other COP has seen such a significant result,” added Rodrigo Agostinho, president of the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama).

Among the 16 international cooperation initiatives approved, several Brazilian proposals were included, such as the Action Plan for the Conservation of Large Migratory Amazonian Catfish and measures to conserve the sharks Carcharias taurus and Cetorhinus maximus.

Under Brazilian leadership, 39 resolutions were also approved addressing health, habitat protection, compatibility with migration routes, and infrastructure - especially energy infrastructure, which often creates barriers to the migration of these species.

“One important aspect of this convention is worth highlighting: it is legally binding. This means the signatory countries must comply with its decisions. It has legal force,” Capobianco emphasized.

Multilateralism

The choice of Campo Grande, in Mato Grosso do Sul - considered the gateway to the Pantanal biome, which hosts hundreds of species along their migration routes - was seen as strategic by negotiators from around the world, noted Patrick Luna, head of the Biodiversity Division at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“It is a region that brings us closer to the fundamental message of this convention: it is pointless for a single country to protect a species if it is born in one country, feeds in a third, and reaches maturity elsewhere. All countries [along its route] must act in a coordinated manner.”

The diplomat stated that Brazil’s selection to host COP15 is part of its policy of promoting multilateralism.

“We believe it is absolutely impossible to solve [global] problems in isolation, and this COP brings us much closer to that message,” added Luna.

The decision to strengthen cooperation among countries led to unprecedented outcomes, including an agreement to develop a strategy for resource mobilization. “It is a platform to help developing countries be fully equipped to fulfill their CMS commitments,” concluded the Brazilian diplomat.

*The team traveled at the invitation of the Brazilian Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.

The head of the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), Rodrigo Agostinho, announced on Thursday (Mar. 26) a nationwide ban on the export of blue shark fins detached from the animal’s body.

“In Brazil, we already have a ban on finning, which involves removing the fins and returning the animal to the sea while it is still alive. That ban already existed. But there was no ban on the export of the fins,” said Agostinho at a press conference.

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Shark fins are highly prized in the Asian market and are used in the preparation of soups, among other dishes.

The blue shark is already listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an international treaty to which Brazil is a signatory. Imports of species listed in the two appendices of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) will also be prohibited.

“We already had a ban on fishing for these sharks here in Brazil, but we detected the importation of these threatened species,” Agostinho noted.

Action plan

The decision was announced following the approval of the Blue Shark Action Plan at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (COP15) in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul. With consensus among countries, the implementation of these measures through national public policies is now mandatory.

“Ibama is the technical administrative authority for CITES in Brazil. We are also incorporating this ban. These are import and export rules, and perhaps the most relevant is to put an end to the trade in blue shark fins,” he concluded.

The 15th United Nations Conference on Migratory Species of Wildlife (COP15), in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, reaches the midpoint of its program this Thursday (Mar. 26), with significant progress in evaluating proposals to include 42 new species under international conservation efforts.

According to COP15 President and Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change João Paulo Capobianco, a review meeting of the organizing committee confirmed that there will be no delays to the agenda approved on the first day of the conference.

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Currently, efforts to revise the two lists - of endangered species (Annex I) and species under pressure (Annex II) - that accompany the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) are already well advanced, Capobianco said. “Many debates are taking place, along with requests for clarification. It is very common for a country to question the scientific basis for including a species in the annexes or for changes in classification,” he explained.

Research

Over three days, numerous studies were presented, including a report pointing to a significant decline in freshwater migratory fish.

“The Conference of the Parties is a forum for discussing proposals and documents already submitted and included on the agenda, but it is also a moment when the scientific community, civil society organizations, indigenous peoples, quilombola communities, and traditional communities have the opportunity to present new information and recommendations,” the COP15 president said.

Even before the official program began, the Brazilian government had already launched a series of actions aligned with the conference’s purpose: promoting agreements for the conservation of migratory species, their habitats, and environmental corridors.

Protection

“Among the Brazilian government’s actions is a presidential decree establishing the Albardão National Park and the Albardão Environmental Protection Area (APA) in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, covering more than 1 million hectares. “It is an area that extends 106 kilometers from the state’s coast into the ocean, encompassing a fantastic wide range of depths, from the shallowest to about 75 meters. This allows access to the full spectrum of biological diversity found at different depths,” Capobianco added.”

Knowledge

The Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, in conjunction with the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation, also launched a call for proposals to promote scientific research aimed at expanding knowledge of migratory species in Brazil.

“The objective is to map the routes these species take when passing through our territory and identify the key locations that need protection, to verify whether these areas are already protected and, if not, to adopt protection measures,” the COP president noted.

Among the positive outcomes at the start of the conference were announcements that the first specialized courts and Federal Public Prosecutor’s Offices for the Pantanal biome will be created, made by the president of the Court of Justice of Mato Grosso do Sul, Judge Dorival Pavan, and the president of the Superior Court of Justice, Antônio Herman Benjamin.

According to Capobianco, these initiatives demonstrate that Brazil is strongly committed to the CMS and will continue to play an active role, leading “by example” in international actions and agreements over the next three years.

“In other words, it is not enough to make proposals, recommendations, or requests. It is important that the country, along with all participating nations, take concrete actions,” he concluded.