UN Convention Grants International Protection to 40 New Migratory Species

The UN Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species approved 40 new species for international protection on Sunday, March 29, 2026, at the close of its 15th Conference of the Parties in Campo Grande, Brazil. The newly listed animals span a wide range of taxa, from the snowy owl and the Hudsonian godwit to the great hammerhead shark, the striped hyena, and the giant Brazilian otter. The decision came at the end of a week-long summit held in the Brazilian Pantanal, one of the planet's most biodiverse regions, situated south of the Amazon. The approval was made during the final plenary session of the meeting, which brought together representatives of 133 parties — 132 countries and the European Union.

Snowy owl and godwit join a legally binding protection list Among the most prominent additions to the list is the snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus), widely recognized from the Harry Potter saga, and the Hudsonian godwit (Limosa haemastica), a long-billed shorebird threatened with extinction that travels 30,000 kilometers per year along the Americas. The great hammerhead shark (Sphyrna mokarran), the striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena), and the giant Brazilian otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) were also added to the list. The CMS is a legally binding convention, meaning all 133 parties carry a legal obligation to protect listed species classified as threatened with extinction, conserve and restore their habitats, minimize obstacles to migration, and cooperate with other range states. The convention covers species that cross national borders during their life cycles, making international coordination a prerequisite for effective conservation. The listing of 40 new species in a single session represents a significant expansion of the convention's scope.

40 (species) — new migratory species added to international protection list

COP15 CMS — Key Events: — ; — ; —

Nearly half of listed species already in population decline The summit took place against a backdrop of alarming data on the state of migratory wildlife globally. A report published just before COP15 found that 49 (%) — of CMS-listed species show population decline trends nearly half of all species listed by the CMS show population decline trends, and nearly one in four is threatened with extinction on a global scale. A separate report, published on the Tuesday the summit opened, warned of the "collapse" of migrations essential to the survival of freshwater fish species such as eels, driven by the degradation of natural habitats, overfishing, and the construction of dams. According to that assessment, habitat destruction, overfishing, and water pollution from the Amazon to the Danube threaten hundreds of species whose migrations along the world's great rivers go largely unnoticed. The reports framed the week's negotiations as urgent, with the convention's own data indicating that the protection framework has not yet reversed the decline of the species it covers.

„This Convention reminds us of a simple but powerful message: migrations are natural. By crossing continents and connecting distant ecosystems, these species reveal that nature knows no border between states” — Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva via Ouest France

Brazil hosts back-to-back UN environmental summits Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who opened the summit a week before its conclusion, framed the gathering in terms of planetary responsibility. His remarks emphasized the transboundary nature of wildlife conservation and the shared duty of states to act collectively. The choice of Campo Grande, in the heart of the Pantanal wetlands, was itself a statement — the region is among the most ecologically significant on Earth, and faces its own pressures from agricultural expansion and climate change. Brazil also hosted COP30, the UN climate conference, last November in the Amazonian city of Belém, making the country a central venue for global environmental governance in the current period. The back-to-back hosting of two major UN environmental summits underscored Brazil's positioning as a key actor in international conservation diplomacy.

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, also known as the Bonn Convention, is an international agreement concluded under the auspices of the United Nations that aims to conserve migratory species throughout their ranges. It is one of the few legally binding global frameworks specifically dedicated to migratory wildlife, requiring signatory states to protect listed species and cooperate across national boundaries. The convention covers species that migrate across or outside national jurisdictional boundaries, recognizing that effective conservation requires coordination among all countries within a species' range. The 15th Conference of the Parties held in Campo Grande in March 2026 was the latest in a series of periodic meetings at which parties review the convention's annexes and adopt new conservation measures.