A guide to the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels for the BirdLife International Partnership
Appendix I
(Draft sample – letter to the politicians)
Address Line 1
Address Line 2
Mr/Mrs.
Member of Parliament
Etc
Dear Sir/Madam
Re: Signature and ratification of the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels
The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels was negotiated in February 2001 in Cape Town, South Africa under the auspices of the Bonn Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species. The Agreement was open to signature and ratification since June 2001. As of date only a handful of countries have committed to signing and ratifying the Agreement. The countries that have signed and ratified the Agreement are Australia and New Zealand. Of the breeding range states the following countries have signed, but not yet ratified the Agreement: Brazil, Chile and the United Kingdom.
The remaining signatories to the Agreement are: France, Peru and Spain. A consorted effort is needed to ensure that the Governments ratify the Agreement in order for the Agreement to come into force. The following countries further need to be reminded of their commitment to the range status they enjoy in the Agreement and their commitment to signature as well as ratification:
Ecuador, South Africa
Countries that have migrating populations of Albatrosses are: Angola, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Madagascar, Mexico, Mozambique, Namibia, Norway, Peru, Uruguay, and USA. Countries that have distant water fishing fleets are important to the Agreement as they have a commercial responsibility to ensure that their fleets promote environmentally fishing methods. These countries are: Japan, Taiwan, Ukraine and Korea.
It is in light of the above-mentioned information that we as …….. request the Member of Parliament to raise the status of …….. signature with the Minister of Environmental Affairs and to provide ……… with a response accordingly.
Yours sincerely
Appendix II
Press Article
Are governments committed to the conservation of threatened Albatrosses?
Existing Convention Appendices I and II |
New taxonomy* |
Albatrosses |
|
Diomedea exulans (II) |
Diomedea exulans |
Diomedea dabbenena |
|
Diomedea antipodensis |
|
Diomedea gibsoni |
|
Diomedea amsterdamensis (I) |
Diomedea amsterdamensis |
Diomedea epomophora (II) |
Diomedea epomophora |
Diomedea sanfordi |
|
Diomedea irrorata (II) |
Phoebastria irrorata |
Diomedea cauta (II) |
Thalassarche cauta |
Thalassarche steadi |
|
Thalassarche salvini |
|
Thalassarche eremita |
|
Diomedea bulleri (II) |
Thalassarche bulleri |
Thalassarche nov. sp. (platei) |
|
Diomedea chrysostoma (II) |
Thalassarche chrysostoma |
Diomedea melanophris (II) |
Thalassarche melanophris |
Thalassarche impavida |
|
Diomedea chlororhynchos (II) |
Thalassarche carteri |
Thalassarche chlororhynchos |
|
Phoebetria fusca (II) |
Phoebetria fusca |
Phoebetria palpebrata (II) |
Phoebetria palpebrata |
Petrels |
|
Macronectes giganteus (II) |
Macronectes giganteus |
Macronectes halli (II) |
Macronectes halli |
Procellaria aequinoctialis (II) |
Procellaria aequinoctialis |
Procellaria aequinoctialis conspicillata (II) |
Procellaria conspicillata |
Procellaria parkinsoni (II) |
Procellaria parkinsoni |
Procellaria westlandica (II) |
Procellaria westlandica |
Procellaria cinerea (II) |
Procellaria cinerea |
The lists above display the existing albatross and petrel taxonomy listed in Appendix I and II of the Convention (Column 1) and a new taxonomy (Column 2). In the event of the adoption by the Conference of Parties of the Convention of the taxonomy listed in Column 2, the taxonomy in Column 1 shall no longer form part of this Annex.
* New taxonomy follows:
Robertson, C.J.R. and Nunn, G.B. 1997. Toward a new taxonomy for albatrosses. Pp. 413-19 in Albatross biology and conservation, ed. by G. Robertson and R. Gales. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton; as modified by Croxall, J.P. and Gales, R. 1997. An assessment of the conservation status of albatrosses. Pp. 46-65 in Albatross biology and conservation, ed. by G. Robertson and R. Gales. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton; and
Ryan, P.G. 1998. The taxonomic and conservation status of the spectacled petrel Procellaria conspicillata. Bird Conservation International 8: 223-235.