Across continents and oceans, migratory species trace routes that no single government controls. More than 130 countries agreed to expand protections along those pathways, adopting new measures under a U.N. wildlife treaty even as evidence mounted that existing efforts are failing to halt accelerating declines.
The decisions, adopted on Sunday at the conclusion of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals in Campo Grande, Brazil, add new or upgraded protections for 40 migratory animal species, including the cheetah, striped hyena, snowy owl, giant otter and several shark species. The treaty’s protection lists now cover more than 1,200 species across terrestrial, marine and avian ecosystems.
