“Sustaining all life on Earth” is the theme of this year’s World Wildlife Day (WWD) reflecting the importance of the sustainable use of natural resources as well as highlighting wild animal and plant species as key components of the world’s biodiversity. The theme also aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially the goals addressing life below water, life on land, eradicating poverty and ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns.

We would like to wish a relaxing holiday, season’s greetings, and the very best for the New Year!   

Migratory species in the oceans and seas travel across interconnected ecosystems throughout their lives. Highly migratory species, such as Mako Sharks, cross entire oceans, while a single Leatherback Turtle can travel 10,000 miles or more during its annual migration. As they travel, sometimes on journeys of thousands of miles, these species are especially vulnerable tohuman induced threats. To mitigate the impact of these threats, conservation and management plans need to consider geographical, spatial and temporal factors of migration.

The Species Action Plan (SAP) for the Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis), proposed in ASCOBANS Resolution 8.4 on the Conservation of Common Dolphins (2016), has been adopted in line with Resolution 8.4 and as per instructions from the 24th Meeting of the ASCOBANS Advisory Committee. The ASCOBANS Species Action Plan for the North-East Atlantic Common Dolphin sets out objectives for addressing the threats faced by the species in this region and describes a series of research, mitigation and monitoring actions aimed at improving its conservation status. The SAP seeks to involve a variety of stakeholders including national bodies, intergovernmental organizations, NGOs and regional bodies to achieve regional sea level actions.