Bonn Convention

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, also called the Bonn Convention, was signed in 1979 in Bonn. This international treaty targets conservation, on the global scale, of migratory species, i.e. species of which at least part of the population regularly crosses a national border.

This convention encourages research on migratory species (birds, fish...), the conservation and restoration of their habitats and migration pathways. It also imposes the strict protection of species listed in Annex I (endangered) of the said convention and the implementation of conservation and management measures for species in Annex II (unfavourable state of conservation).

These measures must cover on the entire area of distribution off the species. In fact, the Bonn Convention considers that a migratory species is threatened when it is in danger of extinction on part of the territory of a member state, even if the populations elsewhere are in a good state of conservation. The goal is to protect migratory species and their ecological functions on the global scale and, not in localised and isolated genetic islands.

This convention therefore encourages the constitution and upkeep of a global ecological network composed of habitats, migration corridors and populations distributed throughout the area of distribution for migratory species.