“Strengthening communities to combat poaching“ UNEP/CMS Secretariat United Nations Environment Programme/ Convention on Migratory Species

Appendix I – Endangered Species  Species threatened with extinction  Strict protection Appendix II – Species with unfavourable conservation status  Would benefit significantly from transboundary cooperation Picture credits:

 Only treaty dealing with migratory species  A unique approach is needed - challenges of conserving species that do not reside in one place  Need also to conserve their habitats and migration routes

 COMMUNITY BENEFITS  COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT  GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK Common themes from CMS Instruments across regions dovetailing with the Rules of Engagement:

Implementation through 4 examples of community-based projects, based on 4 Instruments adopted by CMS Parties 1.Memorandum of Understanding concerning Conservation Measures for the West African Populations of the African Elephant 2.The Agreement on the Conservation of Gorillas and Their Habitats 3.The Memorandum of Understanding concerning Conservation, Restoration and Sustainable Use of the Saiga Antelope 4.International Single Species Action Plan for the Conservation of the Argali

Training community brigades: –157 young people trained to create a community vigilance network Installing fire breaks along migration route –This protects pastures, thus reducing competition between elephants and livestock Large transboundary meeting: –Organizing a coordinated community / government anti- poaching system Protecting elephant migrations in the Gourma region of central Mali:

Gorilla Guardian Programme: –Designated 10 Gorilla Guardian communities with Village Forest Management Committees –Guided community understanding of local wildlife laws and the basics of sustainable use Conservation Education: –Conservation education in 26 schools in Cameroon –Conservation education in 62 schools in Nigeria –Conservation film shows in villages Alternative livelihoods training: –In Nigeria, 21 former hunters taught beekeeping skills and provided with beekeeping equipment –In Cameroon, 30 people were taught how to construct beehives

Saiga and Ustjurt Ecosystem Mobile Environmental Resource Centre (2012): training, microcredit, environmental education for an estimated 1300 users Follow-up project in 2016: will focus more on saiga poaching and illegal trade Local saiga population trend is stable

Snow leopards and argali sheep in Tajikistan 5 community-based conservancies: trophy hunting and eco-tourism Predator-proofing of corrals Local argali population trends: increasing

Summary Our goal is to provide a usable governance framework Community work is a cross-cutting theme across CMS Different regions require different approaches: this is where CMS depends on know-how and hard work of Implementing partners The Rules of Engagement and lessons learned from partners can now be taken into consideration when creating new Instruments under CMS

Thank you