MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON THE CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF MARINE TURTLES

Measure #63 in the Work Programme 2020-2024 instructed Signatory States, the Advisory Committee (AC) and the Secretariat to “cooperate with CMS in the joint development of a draft Single Species Action Plan (SSAP) for the conservation of the Hawksbill Turtle to address the trade, use and other threats to the conservation of hawksbill turtles in South-east Asia, and the adjacent western Pacific.” T. [...] The SSAP seeks to integrate the actions necessary to address trade and use at both the domestic and the international level, in line with the mandate of the Decision, to assist governments in implementing their commitments under CMS, the IOSEA Marine Turtle MOU, CITES and other frameworks in a cohesive way. [...] Additional partners, such as the CITES Secretariat, the Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) and the Secretariat for the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), were consulted in the development of this SSAP. [...] In March 2022, under the leadership of the AC, the Assessment of the Conservation Status of the Hawksbill Turtle in the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia Region was published. [...] At the recent 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CMS (COP14), the SSAP was adopted by all Parties to the Convention (see CMS Resolution 14.11).