Bonn, 23 May 2016 – Every year more than 25 million of migratory birds are illegally killed or taken across the Mediterranean. They are shot or caught with nets and other indiscriminate traps. With the slogan “… and when the skies fall silent? Stop the illegal killing, taking and trade!”, World Migratory Bird Day 2016 highlighted the incredible numbers of migratory birds being lost each year as a result of these activities.

The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) announced today the creation of the Intergovernmental Task Force on Illegal Killing, Taking and Trade of Migratory Birds in the Mediterranean composed of Governments and the European Commission. UN organizations such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), international environmental treaties, INTERPOL, law enforcement and judiciary organizations, hunting communities and nongovernmental organizations will also be part of the coalition.

Nature Conservation Egypt (NCE), under the supervision of the BirdLife International Secretariat, has undertaken a socio-economic survey on bird hunting along the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, to understand the socio-economic dimensions of bird hunting, and assess the resource dependency and social resilience and communities’ ability to cope with any future changes in regulations and conservation strategies.