Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) is popularly known as Bonn convention.
It is an environmental treaty under the aegis of United Nations Environment Programme.
It brings together the States through which migratory animals pass (the range states) and lays down conservation measures.
Migratory species threatened with extinction are listed on Appendix I of the Convention.
CMS Parties strive towards strictly protecting these animals, conserving and mitigating obstacles to their migration.
Migratory species that need or would significantly benefit from international co-operation are listed in Appendix II of the Convention.
India is a party to this convention whereas China, Russia, US, Canada, Japan are not party to it.
Meeting of CMS and its outcomes
The Twelfth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the Bonn Convention (CMS COP12) was held in Manila, the Philippines.
It is the first time that the COP has been held in Asia.
The slogan for the Conference is “Their Future is Our Future – Sustainable Development for Wildlife & People”, links to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Four Asian Vultures such as red-headed vulture, white-rumped vulture, Indian vulture and slender-billed vulture are set to get highest protection by the convention.
The whale shark, which inhabits the Indian Ocean, got global protection too.
The Caspian seal, the only marine mammal found in the world’s largest inland sea has also been identified for conservation.
The next edition of the meeting will be held in India in 2020.
Cholera
After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti there was a sudden outbreak of cholera.
According to a recent study, bacterial strains similar to those found in Haitian cholera were present in Delhi as early as 2004, showing that the disease may have originated in the Indian subcontinent.
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.
Diarrhoea can be so severe that it leads within hours to severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. It can be successfully treated with oral rehydration solution.
Cholera transmission is closely linked to inadequate access to clean water and sanitation facilities.
During the 19th century, cholera spread across the world from its original reservoir in the Ganges delta in India.
Exocomets
Scientists have detected the dusty tails of six exocomets – comets outside our solar system – orbiting a faint star 800 light years from Earth.
They are some of the smallest objects yet found outside our own solar system.
The discovery marks the first time that an object as small as a comet has been detected using transit photometry, a technique by which astronomers observe a star’s light for revealing dips in intensity.
The detection was made using data from NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, a stellar observatory that was launched into space in 2009.
ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus)
ADMM-Plus was inaugurated in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2010.
It is an annual meeting that brings together the defence ministers of ten ASEAN countries, with those of eight “dialogue partners”.
These include India, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, and the United States.
This year it was recently held in Manila, Philippines.
India called for safeguarding freedom of navigation, over flight and commerce in regional waters.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
ASEAN is a regional organisation comprising 10 Southeast Asian states which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic integration amongst its members.
Member nations are: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam.
ASEAN plus Three was created to improve existing ties with the People's Republic of China, Japan, and South Korea.
ASEAN became ASEAN Plus Six with additional countries: Australia, New Zealand and India
Even larger East Asia Summit (EAS) was formed which included ASEAN plus Three countries as well as India, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Russia.
In 2006, ASEAN was given observer status at the United Nations General Assembly.
In response, the organisation awarded the status of "dialogue partner" to the UN.
Source: The Hindu, Business Standard, Indian Express
