After the successful
Nairobi Seminar on Avian Influenza and the Environment in April 2006 and the
Avian Influenza and Wildlife Workshop: Practical Lessons Learned in June 2007, UNEP/CMS and FAO announced the 3rd Technical Meeting in the series held by the Scientific Task Force on Avian Influenza and Wild Birds. The workshop,
HPAI H5N1 and wild birds: reviewing the global issue and assessing future priorities, was held at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy from 15 to 16 March 2010. The meeting was co-funded by FAO and Ramsar, and brought together members of the Scientific Task Force as well as additional experts from FAO.
The meeting reviewed what has been achieved in addressing the spread of HPAI H5N1 of Asian lineage, both in terms of Task Force objectives and obligations under the relevant multi-lateral environmental agreements (MEAs), and determined the future role and direction of the Task Force. It build upon outcomes of Task Force meetings held in 2006 and 2007 which were of significant importance in developing a common international understanding of the direct and indirect implications of this disease for bird conservation and broader disease control.
In 2008, major guidance documents and Resolutions were adopted by governments at meetings of the Contracting Parties to the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar) and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS).
The third Task Force meeting in particular reviewed the elements of those international decisions and made recommendations as to their implementation. To that end, the meeting discussed preparing reviews of current activity related to avian influenza surveillance; most recent research related to the epidemiology of HPAI H5N1; and known direct and indirect impacts on the conservation of waterbirds and their wetland habitats.
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