Representatives from 132 countries and the European Union gathered in Brazil for one of the world’s most important wildlife meetings and left with a significant win for some of the planet’s most beloved and vulnerable animals. The United Nations Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species concluded its COP15 summit by approving international protection for 40 new species, a decision that legally obligates member countries to protect these animals, preserve and restore their habitats, and cooperate with other nations to remove barriers along migration routes. Among the newly protected species are the cheetah, the great hammerhead shark, the snowy owl made famous by the Harry Potter series, the striped hyena, and the giant otter. The Hudsonian godwit, a long-beaked shorebird pushed toward extinction, was also added to the list. Each of these animals travels across international borders during migration, meaning no single country’s efforts are enough to save them and coordinated global protection is the only approach that can work.
The urgency behind the decisions was underscored by the latest data from the organization itself. A report released just ahead of the summit found that nearly half of all species already catalogued under the convention are showing signs of declining numbers, and nearly one in four are threatened with extinction worldwide. The CMS Executive Secretary acknowledged that those species are not waiting for the next meeting. The summit took place in Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands, one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth, and built on the momentum of recent years in which scientific evidence has increasingly made clear how interconnected the fates of migratory animals and the health of entire ecosystems truly are. For the 40 species added this week, the vote means that for the first time, the full weight of international law is behind their survival.
