Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- From 12 to 17 February 2024, the 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP14) will be held in the historical city of Uzbekistan - Samarkand.

The CMS Convention was signed in 1979 in Bonn (Germany) and came into force in 1983. 133 countries are members of the Convention. Uzbekistan ratified the Convention on 1 September 1998.

The Convention brings together range states through which migratory animals pass and provides the legal basis for internationally agreed conservation measures throughout the migratory range.

CMS COP14 is a high-level international conference that will bring together governments, scientists and stakeholders to agree on a strategy for the conservation of migratory species and their habitats.

The previous 13th Conference of the Parties was held on 15-22 February 2020 in Gandhinagar (India), which was attended by more than 1,000 delegates from 131 participating countries.

It should be noted that such an event has not been held in the CIS countries before and its holding will be of historical significance, which will be the first event among the Central Asian and CIS countries.

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

The snow leopard is one of the key biodiversity species in Uzbekistan, whose range extends across 12 countries. The mighty and elusive big cat is also the legendary symbol of Samarkand, which is widespread throughout the country, from the magnificent entrance to the historical Sher-Dor madrasah school to the national banknotes of Uzbekistan.

The UN conference will be held under the theme "Nature Knows No Borders", which, along with the event’s logo, is a reminder that the journeys of migratory species defy political boundaries and that their survival depends on international cooperation and cross-border efforts on biodiversity conservation.

The unveiling of the logo and tagline sets the stage for CMS COP14, an important international meeting where governments, scientists and stakeholders will come together to agree on conservation strategies for migratory species and their habitats.

The conference will be the first global gathering on biodiversity since the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) in 2022. The conference will examine a wide range of important conservation priorities and new initiatives, including many that will support the implementation of the GBF.

The triennial international meeting will highlight habitat conservation and restoration, as well as threats to species such as overexploitation, habitat loss and fragmentation, pollution and climate change. It will also provide a unique opportunity to launch major new reports and guidance, including the first-ever State of the World’s Migratory Species report, new global recommendations on light pollution, and best practices for linear infrastructure to minimize impacts on migratory species.

The event is expected to be attended by the Executive Director of the UN Environment Program I. Andersen, the Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature G. Aguilar, the Chairman and Director General of the Global Environment Facility C. Rodriguez, the ministers of the environment of the countries participating in the convention, the heads of the secretariats of international environmental agreements and leading scientific circles.

COP14-related events and meetings such as the 54th CMS Standing Committee High Level Segment and Migratory Species Champions Night will take place at the same venue on 11 February.