As an environmental treaty under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme, CM provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats. CMS brings together the countries through which migratory animals pass, the Range States, and lays the legal foundation for internationally coordinated conservation measures throughout a migratory range.
As the only global convention specializing in the conservation of migratory species, their habitats and migration routes, CMS complements and co-operates with a number of other international organizations, NGOs and partners in the media as well as in the corporate sector.
- Migratory species threatened with extinction are listed on Appendix I of the Convention. CMS Parties strive towards strictly protecting these animals, conserving or restoring the places where they live, mitigating obstacles to migration and controlling other factors that might endanger them. Besides establishing obligations for each country joining the Convention, CMS promotes concerted action among the Range countries of many of these species.
- Migratory species that need or would significantly benefit from international co-operation are listed in Appendix II of the Convention. For this reason, the Convention encourages the Range States to conclude global or regional agreements.
India, in February (2020), hosted the 13th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS COP13), in Gujarat. The theme of the conference was “Migratory species connect the planet and together we welcome them home”.