Enhancing Conservation of the Critical Network of Sites of Wetlands Required by Migratory Waterbirds on the African/Eurasian Flyways.

This project aims to improve, on a sustainable basis, the conservation status of African/Eurasian migratory waterbirds, by enhancing and coordinating the measures taken by GEF-eligible countries to conserve key critical wetland areas that these birds require to complete their annual cycle, including their stop-over sites during migration and their stay in their "wintering grounds". The project will thus be a catalyst for integrating best practices into conservation efforts throughout the flyway, using existing coordinating mechanisms and commitments, particularly those of the Ramsar Convention and the Agreement on the Conservation of the African-Eurasian Migratory Watebird Accord of the Convention on Migratory Species (AEWA/CMS), and a number of international and local NGOs. It will combine a high proportion of catalytic regional activities, aimed at all the GEF-eligible countries on the flyway (particularly training, exchange of know-how/best practices, and communications activities), with a number of national and site-based demonstration actions. The project area covers the entire African/Eurasian area as defined in the AEWA Accord. This includes all of Africa, all of Europe, south-west Asia (including the middle East and the Central Asian states), Greenland and the Canadian Archipelago.