Press releases

MINSK, 24 July (BelTA) - Belarus acceded to the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds. Such a decision is contained in Decree No. 333 dated 21 July 2015 which was published on the national legal portal, BelTA has learned.

The decree comes into force on 1 January 2016.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the agreement aims to prevent the decline of migratory waterbird species and their habitats in the geographic area of the African-Eurasian waterbird migration systems; to restore the populations of waterbird species whose numbers have already been reduced, and to ensure the effective and efficient management of migratory bird populations at the international level.

“There are no migratory bird hunting quotas between European countries. Hunting seasons are not coordinated either,” the ministry explained. According to specialists, the main principle that is laid down in the agreement says that protection and sustainable use of resources of migratory waterbirds can be ensured only in complex with coordinated actions of the countries in the breeding area, wintering grounds and migration ways.

The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds was signed in The Hague (the Netherlands) on 16 June 1995 to come into force on 1 November 1999. The agreement has 119 signatories. Accession to the agreement will help Belarus implement the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.