Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals
New Listing of Eurasian and Balkan Lynx
At the 14th Conference of Parties of the UN Convention of Migratory Species (CMS or Bonn Convention) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from 12-17 February 2024, the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) was newly listed under Appendix II, and the Critically Endangered Balkan lynx (Lynx lynx balcanicus) under Appendix I.
© Tierpark Bern
The listing proposal was submitted by the member states North Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, and Uzbekistan. In addition, the IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group and the Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention (represented by the United Nations Environment Programme Office in Vienna) have submitted a related Concerted Action proposal. Both proposals were accepted without opposition, but with favourable statements from the EU and several Central Asian Parties.
The Concerted Action Proposal suggests several activities for the four southern subspecies of the Eurasian lynx. For the Carpathian lynx (Lynx lynx carpathicus), actions proposed include:
- Production of a summary report on the conservation status of the Carpathian lynx.
- The development of a Conservation Strategy for the lynx in the Carpathian bow, in cooperation with the Range States, the Carpathian Convention, the Bern Convention, and CMS.
- Develop IUCN Guidelines for the recovery (reintroduction, reinforcement and connectivity) of the Carpathian lynx in West and Central Europe, based on the «Bonn Recommendations».
The Conservation Strategy for the lynx in the Carpathians will outline the recovery (where needed) and maintenance of a viable population across the mountain range in a «favourable conservation status». The Guidelines will help to streamline the reintroductions and reinforcements needed to build a viable population of Carpathian lynx in West and Central Europe, where the first Carpathian lynx were released more than 50 years ago. The «Bonn Recommendations» and the various protocols developed by the Linking Lynx expert network will form the basis and for both strategic documents.