For the first time in history, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) will be held on the territory of a CIS member country. The Uzbek city of Samarkand will host the 14th meeting of the Conference from February 12 to 17, 2024, the press service of the government of Uzbekistan reported.

The CMS Convention was signed in 1979 and brings together 133 states. It was created with the aim of protecting and preserving various species of animals during their migrations. Uzbekistan, which ratified this document in 1998, is ready to take part in organizing such a large-scale event.

The source notes that such a forum has not been held in the CIS countries before and will have historical significance, becoming the first event among the Central Asian countries and the Commonwealth.

In August this year, the Government of Uzbekistan and the CMS Secretariat approved the official slogan and logo for the event, which depicts a winged snow leopard, decorated with a pattern reminiscent of the famous azure tiles of Central Asian monuments.

Participants in the Samarkand Conference will be Executive Director of the UN Environment Program Inger Andersen, Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Gretel Aguilar, Chairman and CEO of the Global Environment Facility Carlos Rodriguez, the Ministers of Environment of the countries participating in the convention and the heads of the secretariats of international environmental agreements.

A day earlier, on February 11, 2024, the 54th meeting of the CMS Standing Committee, a high-level segment and the Night of Migratory Species Champions will be held in Samarkand.

The previous CMS Conference was held in India and attracted more than 1,000 delegates from 131 countries.

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