Agreement on the Conservation of Bats in Europe

The Convention on the Conservation of European Bat Populations (EUROBATS) was concluded in London, United Kingdom, in September 1991 and entered into force in January 1994. The title of the agreement makes it clear that the scope of the agreement is more biogeographical than politically limited. The agreement aims to address threats to the 45 bat species identified in Europe resulting from habitat degradation, disturbance of resting places and harmful pesticides. To this end, the Parties to the Convention agree to cooperate with other Members of the Convention and with those that have not yet acceded to it through legislation, education, conservation measures and international cooperation. CONVINCED that the conclusion of an agreement for these species would bring great benefits to the conservation of bats in Europe, RECOGNISING that the threats to bats in Europe and in non-European territories are common to migratory and non-migratory species and that dormitories are often shared by migratory and non-migratory species, Keywords: inventory, threatened species, biodiversity, ecosystem conservation, birds, protected animal species, research, habitat protection, institution, species protection, management/conservation, data collection/reporting, dispute settlement, wildlife, protected area, mammals, migratory species The United Kingdom ratified EUROBATS in January 1994. All bats and their dormitories are protected in the UK under the provisions of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) and the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 (as amended). Some bat species from the UK are also listed in Appendix II and all are listed in Appendix IV of the Habitats Directive as defined by the Habitats and Species Conservation (as amended), Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc.) Regulations 2017. Regulations 1994 (as amended) (in Scotland) and Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 1995 (as amended). The United Kingdom had designated maternity and hibernation areas as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs).

The implementation of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan also included measures for a number of bat species and the habitats they support. Keywords: protected area, habitat protection, protected animal species, text of the international agreement, endangered species, mammals Many species of bats migrate. In some species, these movements may be local; for others, they may include distances of thousands of kilometres that cross national borders. Some European bat populations have declined sharply in the recent past. The reasons for this are mainly the loss of sleeping and feeding places, poisoning due to the increased use of pesticides, as well as misunderstandings and prejudices resulting from the ignorance of bats, their lives and habits. For bats to be adequately protected, conservation measures must be implemented at international level throughout the migratory zone of these species. 1. Each Party shall prohibit the deliberate capture, possession or killing of bats unless authorized by its competent authority. 2. The provisions of this Agreement shall not release the Parties from their obligations under existing treaties, conventions or conventions.

However, at the 6th session of the Meeting of the Parties in 2010, Resolution 6.3 defined the scope of the agreement as the Western Palearctic region. Specifically, it noted that its limitations were as follows:[4] The JNCC supports the government by providing information for the UK`s Annual National Report, which collects information on bat conservation activities across the UK and provides scientific advice to the government at advisory committee meetings and party meetings. 8. In assessing pesticides for use, each Party shall consider, where appropriate, the potential effects of pesticides on bats and shall endeavour to replace wood-treatment chemicals that are highly toxic to bats with safer alternatives. 3. Any territorial State or regional economic integration organisation which is not a Party to this Convention, the Secretariat of the Convention, the Council of Europe in its capacity as Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wild Fauna and Flora and their Natural Habitats and similar intergovernmental organisations may be represented by observers at meetings of the Parties. Any body or body technically qualified in the field of bat conservation and management may be represented by observers at meetings of the Parties, unless at least one third of the Contracting Parties present object. Only the Parties may vote at meetings of the Parties. RECOGNISING that conservation measures are needed to protect all types of microchiroptera in Europe, the Advisory Committee is the working body of the Agreement. It evaluates the data and discusses scientific issues in bat research and conservation to set priorities for future work on the agreement.

The committee deals with issues such as bat migration, light pollution or the influence of wind turbines on bat populations. It also drafts resolutions to be adopted at meetings of the Parties. 7. Each Party shall, where appropriate, promote research programmes for the conservation and management of bats. The Parties shall consult each other on these research programmes and shall endeavour to coordinate these research and conservation programmes. Source: www.eurobats.org/documents/agreement_text.htm, 2 20040526. The provisions of this Agreement shall not affect the right of the Parties to adopt stricter measures for the conservation of bats. The general objective of the agreement is to create a framework for the protection of bats for Member States and those that have not yet acceded to it. In accordance with the text of the Agreement, Member States shall prohibit the deliberate capture, detention or killing of bats, except for research purposes for which special authorisation is required.

In addition, Member States shall identify sites important for the protection of bats, study the status and trends of bat populations and study their migration patterns. On the basis of the results of those monitoring activities, the Agreement shall develop and consider recommendations and guidelines to be implemented by the Parties at national level. 4. Each Party shall take appropriate measures to promote bat conservation and raise public awareness of the importance of bat conservation. When it was signed in 1991, the agreement defined the scope of the agreement as “the European continent”. [1] This ambiguity has led to some confusion, and several resolutions have been adopted to try to clarify this issue. In a resolution of the 2. The 1998 Meeting of the Parties defined the region as the Western Palearctic region, which excludes North Africa, Iceland and many Middle Eastern States in its definition. This definition was confirmed in 2006. [2] [3] 3. In deciding which habitats to protect for general conservation purposes, each Party shall place due emphasis on habitats of importance to bats. 6.

Each Party shall take such additional measures as it deems necessary to protect bat populations that it considers threatened and shall report on measures taken in accordance with Article VI. The main points for the Advisory Committee are follow-up and international activities. International bat protection measures should focus primarily on the species that move furthest across Europe in order to identify and address the possible dangers of bottlenecks on their migration routes. 5. Each Party shall delegate to an appropriate body the responsibility to provide advice on the conservation and management of bats in its territory, in particular with respect to bats in buildings. The Parties shall exchange information on their experience in this field. The Assembly of Parties is the highest decision-making body of the Agreement and adopts resolutions. Each party has one vote. Non-Contracting States and bat protection organizations may be represented at meetings as observers.

RECOGNISING the unfavourable conservation status of bats in Europe and non-European grazing states, and in particular the serious threat posed to these bats by habitat degradation, disturbance of resting places and certain pesticides, this new definition recognised that European bats were included in the previously defined geographical scope of the Agreement as defined in 1998 in the scope previously defined geographic. Immigrants. This new definition included countries in the Middle East and North Africa, islands belonging to European Mediterranean states and some Central Asian states. [4] 2. Each Party shall designate areas under its own jurisdiction that are important for the conservation status, including protection and protection, of bats. It shall protect, where appropriate, those areas against damage or disturbance, taking into account economic and social considerations. In addition, each Party shall endeavour to identify important feeding areas for bats and to protect them from damage or disturbance. The Convention on the Conservation of European Bat Populations (EUROBATS) is an international treaty that binds its States Parties to the conservation of bats on their territory. It was signed in 1991 under the auspices of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and entered into force in 1994. As of August 2019, the agreement applied to 37 of the 63 Range States. Convention on the Conservation of Bats in Europe, EUROBATS, 1991.

1. Each Party shall adopt and apply the legal and administrative measures necessary for the implementation of this Agreement. The Meeting of the Parties takes place every three to four years at different locations, most recently from 20 to 22 September 2010 in Prague, Czech Republic. (As of October 2012) The Convention was concluded in September 1991 as the “Convention on the Conservation of Bats in Europe” at the third meeting of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species […].