Harry Potter’s owl and a giant otter from Brazil: 40 migratory species now benefit from international protection
The inclusion of these new species was adopted on Sunday, following the 15th meeting (COP15) of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) in the Brazilian city of Campo Grande.
Among them is the snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus), known to Harry Potter fans as the owl Hedwig.
This species has lost a third of its global population over the past three decades, according to the CMS.
‘Climate change and overexploitation are among the main causes of its population decline and highlight the vulnerability of the species despite its iconic status,’ the UN convention explained in a statement.
According to a report released just before this COP15, nearly half (49%) of all species listed by the CMS show population decline trends, and nearly one in four is threatened with extinction globally.
Legal obligation
Another particularly threatened species included in the new list is the Hudsonian godwit (Limosa haemastica), a long-beaked bird at risk of extinction that travels 30,000 km per year along the Americas, from the Arctic Ocean to Patagonia.
The great hammerhead shark (Sphyrna mokarran) is also included, as well as land mammals like the striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) and aquatic mammals like the giant otter from Brazil (Pteronura brasiliensis).
This otter lives in the Brazilian Pantanal, one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet, located south of the Amazon, where the COP15 on migratory species took place.
The Convention is legally binding, meaning these countries have a legal obligation to protect species classified as endangered, conserve and restore their habitats, minimize migration barriers, and cooperate to ensure their preservation.
Climate change
‘We have made very significant progress, not only in terms of the approval of protected species but also concerted actions (concrete measures jointly implemented) and analysis of various issues affecting migration,’ said Joao Paulo Capobianco, president of this COP15, to AFP.
According to him, these species suffer from the degradation of their natural habitats, pollution, and climate change.
‘Some species alter their migration period based on seasonal changes, and they may not find certain food resources that should be available at this time of year,’ Capobianco explained.
A UN report released on Tuesday warned of the ‘collapse’ of essential migrations for the survival of freshwater fish species like eels, caused by habitat degradation, overfishing, or dams.
‘By crossing continents and connecting distant ecosystems, these species reveal that nature knows no boundaries between states,’ Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said during his opening speech at COP15 a week ago.
‘Protecting these animals is protecting the life of the planet,’ he summarized.
The next edition will take place in 2029 in Germany to mark the convention’s fiftieth anniversary, founded by an international treaty adopted in 1979 in Bonn.
Brazil already hosted the UN Climate Conference (COP30) in the Amazonian city of Belem last November.
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