Maldives’ unicameral parliament, the People’s Majlis, has on Monday sent a motion on ratifying the ‘Bonn Convention’ to committee review.

The Bonn Convention, officially the Convention of the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), aims to conserve ‘terrestrial, marine, and avian migratory species’.

The Maldivian government decided through cabinet vote to become a member of the CMS in March 2019, following a paper submitted by the Ministry of Environment.

A statement from the President’s Office following the decision says the Convention is ‘in harmony with the spirit of the laws of Maldives and commitment to safeguarding natural bounty’.

In 2010, Maldives signed the Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate the conservation of marine turtles in the Indian Ocean and South-East Asian region, which is an instrument of the Convention.

127 countries are participatory members of the treaty, which came into force in 1983.