The Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of MigratorySpecies of Wild Animals (UNEP/CMS) would like to draw attention to CMS Resolution 11.11 on “Enhancing the Relationship between the CMS Family and Civil Society”.

With a view to promoting implementation of the Resolution, the Secretariat invites Parties, other Governments, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to review options for furthering the relationship between the CMS Family and the civil society including:

-        Mechanisms to enable CSO- and NGO-facilitated work to be formally and consistently reported across the CMS Family and to be considered by the Parties and the governing bodies of CMS Family agreements;

-        Models for further CSO and NGO involvement in CMS processes; and

-        Modalities for further strategic engagement with CSOs and NGOs to provide implementation and capacity-building expertise.

Any contributions to this process should be communicated to the Secretariat (cms.secretariat@cms.int) by 1 September 2015. The Secretariat will present a review of progress to the 44^th Standing Committee Meeting (14-15 October 2015, Bonn, Germany).

In accordance with paragraph 3 of the Resolution, Parties, other Governments, CSOs and NGOs Partners will be invited to provide recommendations in the course of 2016. The Secretariat will consolidate them for the consideration of the 45^th Standing Committee Meeting (last trimester of 2016) and the 12^th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (2017).