Seven new migratory species champions, including India, were named at an event on Sunday evening, on the eve of the 13th Conference of Parties to the Convention of Migratory Species (CMS COP13) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
The six-day event in the state capital, which will be attended by experts and organisations from India and the world over, will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Mahatma Mandir.
The Migratory Species Champion Programme aims to provide initiatives developed under the CMS family and encourage their sustainable support. India is to join the ranks of CMS Champions at the event for the first time.
Among other champions awarded at the programme are governments of Germany, Italy, Monaco, Norway, the European Commission, and the Environment Agency—Abu Dhabi.
The governments together have committed US$6 million and in kind support to the work of CMS.
According to Amy Franenkel, executive secretary of the CMS, they could not have been as effective in the efforts to ensure conservation of migratory species and their habitats without the support of these governments.
