World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) launched in Africa and around the World! |
On the occasion of the first World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD), Kuki Gallmann and The Great Rift Valley Trust together with the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), hosted WINGS, a cultural and artistic show inspired by the phenomenon of bird migration. The event took place on the Laikipia Nature Conservancy, a 350 km2 nature reserve and biodiversity oasis overlooking the Kenyan part of the 7200 km long Great Rift Valley - a bird migration route of global importance. It brought together key individuals from leading organizations such as BirdLife and Wetlands International dedicated to bird conservation and was the heart of a new global initiative initiated by CMS and AEWA to celebrate and inform about the phenomenon of bird migration annually.
On the occasion of the first World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD), Kuki Gallmann and The Great Rift Valley Trust together with the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), hosted WINGS, a cultural and artistic show inspired by the phenomenon of bird migration. The event took place on the Laikipia Nature Conservancy, a 350 km2 nature reserve and biodiversity oasis overlooking the Kenyan part of the 7200 km long Great Rift Valley - a bird migration route of global importance. It brought together key individuals from leading organizations such as BirdLife and Wetlands International dedicated to bird conservation and was the heart of a new global initiative initiated by CMS and AEWA to celebrate and inform about the phenomenon of bird migration annually.
A total of 68 (registered) activities to mark this year's first World Migratory Bird Day took place in over 44 countries and ranged from four additional celebrations throughout Kenya, educational activities in Mongolia and Sri Lanka and others in countries stretching from Norway to Antarctica and from India to Peru. The theme of this year's WMBD celebration was "Migratory birds need our support now!" It was part of a larger campaign initiated by CMS and AEWA in cooperation with a number of other organizations to try to counter the negative and unbalanced publicity migratory birds have received due to Avian Influenza. The WMBD event in Laikipia was staged one day before a Scientific Seminar on "Avian Influenza, the Environment and Migratory Birds" at UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi on 10/11 April. The central WMBD event took place on the famous estate of Kuki Gallmann and was directed by Monica Maimone of La Compagnia Di Valerio Festi. It included world renowned artists such as Paul Winter and Adrian Brendal and a diverse mix of other artists from Kenya and around the world. The show, which was presented to over 200 international guests, including several ministers, diplomats and conservationists, was preceded by an official ceremony during which the CMS Executive Secretary, Robert Hepworth, presented Kuki Gallmann with the first CMS Ambassadorship for Migratory Animals. On this occasion, Bert Lenten, Executive Secretary of AEWA, who worked closely with Kuki Gallmann to initiate WMBD and stage its main event at Ol Ari Nyiro, also thanked her for hosting this "magical artistic creation to celebrate the launch of World Migratory Bird Day" at her estate, which lies "in the cradle of humankind, on the edge of the Great Rift Valley corridor, where twice each year, millions of birds migrate along a bird migration route of global importance". During the event Bert Lenten also highlighted some of the activities that were taking place in other countries and also thanked the many local and international partner organizations that made this event and the launch of WMBD possible. These included the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), BirdLife International (Netherlands) and the BirdLife Africa Partnership Secretariat, Vogelbescherming Nederland and the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality as well as many more. Each of these organizations contributed to making WMBD and the launching event in the heart of Kenya a reality. More information and pictures of WINGS and other events that took place around the world to mark the first World Migratory Bird Day will be available on this Web site shortly. All organizers of WMBD-related activities in other countries are strongly encouraged to share their "WMBD stories" by sending information and pictures to the AEWA Secretariat
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