The Agreement on the Conservation of Populations of European Bats, or EUROBATS, is an international treaty that binds its States Parties on the conservation of bats in their territories. It was signed in 1991 under the auspices of the

Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, also known as the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) or the Bonn Convention, is an international agreement that aims to conserve migratory species throughout their r ...

(CMS), with the Agreement entering into force in 1994. In August 2021, the Agreement applied to 38 of 63

range state Range state is a term generally used in zoogeography and conservation biology to refer to any nation that exercises jurisdiction over any part of a range which a particular species, taxon or biotope inhabits, or crosses or overflies at any time on i ...

History

The Agreement was concluded as "Agreement on the Conservation of Bats in Europe" in September 1991 during the Third Meeting of the Parties of the Convention on Migratory Species. It entered into force on 16 January 1994, after the required number of five states (Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and UK) had ratified it. In 2000, the Parties decided to change the Agreement's name into its current form "Agreement on the Conservation of Populations of European Bats". In 2001, the Agreement became part of the

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the Declaration of the United Nati ...

(UNEP).

Aim of the agreement

The overall goal of the Agreement is to provide a framework for

bat conservation Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

for the member states and those that have not yet joined. According to the agreement text, member states prohibit the deliberate capture, keeping or killing of bats except for research purposes for which a special permit is required. Furthermore, the member states identify important sites for bat conservation, survey the status and trends of bat populations and study their migratory patterns. Based on the result of these monitoring activities the Agreement develops and reviews recommendations and guidelines that shall be implemented by the Parties on national levels.

Bodies of the agreement

Meeting of the parties

The Meeting of the parties is the highest decision-making body of the Agreement and adopts Resolutions. Every Party has one vote. Non-Party range states as well as bat conservation organisations may be represented as observers at the meetings. The Meeting of the Parties takes place at changing locations every three to four years, most recently in Prague, Czech Republic, 20 – 22 September 2010. (Status: October 2012)

Advisory committee

The advisory committee is the working body of the agreement. It evaluates data and discusses scientific issues concerning bat research and conservation to set priorities for the Agreement' future work. The committee deals with topics like bat migration,

light pollution Light pollution is the presence of any unwanted, inappropriate, or excessive artificial Visible spectrum, lighting. In a descriptive sense, the term ''light pollution'' refers to the effects of any poorly implemented lighting sources, during the ...

or the impact of wind turbines on bat populations. Furthermore, it drafts the Resolutions to be adopted at the Meetings of the Parties. The Committee meets once a year, most recently in Dublin, Ireland, 15–17 May 2012. (Status: October 2012)

Standing committee

The standing committee is the administrative body of the Agreement. It monitors the execution of the Secretariat's budget, oversees the implementation of policies by the Secretariat and discusses further administrative matters like staff issues. The committee was established by the 5th Meeting of the Parties in autumn 2006 to redesign the Advisory Committee to scientific issues. The Committee shall meet once a year, if a meeting is needed, at the UN Campus in Bonn/Germany. The first Meeting took place in March 2007, the most recent one in Paris, France, on 28 March 2012. (Status: October 2012)

Secretariat

The Secretariat is the executive body of the Agreement. It coordinates and organises the activities of the Meeting of the Parties, the Advisory Committee and the Standing Committee and undertakes initiatives for implementing the aspired aims, attracting more member states and exchanging information. Furthermore, it coordinates international research and monitoring activities. Another main task of the Secretariat is to raise public awareness. The “ European Bat Night” goes back to an initiative of the EUROBATS Secretariat and is today an event in more than 30 European states. The Secretariat was established by the 1st Meeting of the Parties in 1995 and started its work in Bonn/Germany in 1996. Since June 2006 it is accommodated at the UN Campus in the former parliamentary building of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Agreement area

When it was signed in 1991, the agreement defined the area of the agreement as "the continent of Europe." This ambiguity led to some confusion, and multiple resolutions were passed to try to clarify this matter. A resolution of the 2nd Session of the Meeting of Parties in 1998 defined the area as follows: the

Western Palaearctic The Western Palaearctic or Western Palearctic is part of the Palaearctic realm, one of the eight biogeographic realms dividing the Earth's surface. Because of its size, the Palaearctic is often divided for convenience into two, with Europe, North ...

region, excluding North Africa, Iceland and many of Middle Eastern states in its definition. This definition was reaffirmed in 2006. However, at the 6th Session of the Meeting of Parties in 2010, Resolution 6.3 defined the scope of the agreement as the Western Palaearctic region. More specifically, it stated that its boundaries were as follow: * To the North, the Svalbard Archipelago * To the East, longitude 50° E * To the South, the countries of the Mediterranean Basin * To the West, the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

at 30° West This new definition recognized that European bats were migrating to and from beyond the previously designated geographical scope of the Agreement as defined in 1998. This new definition included countries in the

Middle East and North Africa The Middle East and North Africa (MENA), also referred to as West Asia and North Africa (WANA) or South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA), is a geographic region which comprises the Middle East (also called West Asia) and North Africa together ...

, the islands owned by European states in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

as well as some

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

n states.

Species

EUROBATS currently lists 51 species of bat that occur naturally in Europe that the Agreement pertains to. They are as follow: * ''

Emballonuridae Emballonuridae is a family of microbats, many of which are referred to as sac-winged or sheath-tailed bats. They are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. The earliest fossil records are from the Eocene. Desc ...

'' ** '' Taphozous nudiventris'' * '' Molossidae'' ** '' Tadarida teniotis'' * '' Pteropodidae'' ** '' Rousettus aegyptiacus'' * '' Rhinolophidae'' ** '' Rhinolophus blasii'' ** '' Rhinolophus euryale'' ** '' Rhinolophus ferrumequinum'' ** '' Rhinolophus hipposideros'' ** '' Rhinolophus mehelyi'' * ''

Vespertilionidae Vespertilionidae is a family of microbats, of the order Chiroptera, flying, insect-eating mammals variously described as the common, vesper, or simple nosed bats. The vespertilionid family is the most diverse and widely distributed of bat familie ...

'' ** '' Barbastella barbastellus'' ** '' Barbastella caspica'' ** '' Eptesicus anatolicus'' ** '' Eptesicus isabellinus'' ** '' Eptesicus nilssonii'' ** '' Eptesicus ognevi'' * ''

'' (''cont.'') ** '' Eptesicus serotinus'' ** '' Hypsugo savii'' ** '' Myotis alcathoe'' ** '' Myotis bechsteinii'' ** '' Myotis blythii'' ** ''

Myotis brandtii Brandt's bat or Brandt's myotis (''Myotis brandtii'') is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is native throughout most of Europe and parts of western Asia. Taxonomy and etymology The species was described in 1845 by Germ ...

'' ** '' Myotis capaccinii'' ** '' Myotis dasycneme'' ** '' Myotis daubentonii'' ** ''

Myotis davidii David's myotis (Myotis ''davidii'') is a species of microbat in the Vespertilionidae family native to China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Russia. First identified in 1869 by Wilhelm Peters, it is similar in morphology to species like M. mystacinus, ...

'' ** '' Myotis emarginatus'' ** '' Myotis escalerai'' ** '' Myotis myotis'' ** '' Myotis mystacinus'' ** '' Myotis nattereri'' ** '' Myotis punicus'' ** '' Myotis schaubi'' ** '' Nyctalus azoreum'' * ''

'' (''cont.'') ** '' Nyctalus lasiopterus'' ** '' Nyctalus leisleri'' ** '' Nyctalus noctula'' ** '' Otonycteris hemprichii'' ** '' Pipistrellus hanaki'' ** '' Pipistrellus kuhlii'' ** '' Pipistrellus maderensis'' ** '' Pipistrellus nathusii'' ** '' Pipistrellus pipistrellus'' ** '' Pipistrellus pygmaeus'' ** '' Plecotus auritus'' ** '' Plecotus austriacus'' ** '' Plecotus kolombatovici'' ** '' Plecotus macrobullaris'' ** '' Plecotus sardus'' ** '' Plecotus teneriffae'' ** ''

Vespertilio murinus The parti-coloured bat or rearmouse (''Vespertilio murinus'') is a species of vesper bat that lives in temperate Eurasia, from Western and Southern Europe, eastwards over the Caucasus and Iran into Mongolia, north-east China, Korea, Afghanistan a ...

'' ** '' Miniopterus pallidus'' ** '' Miniopterus schreibersii''

Pertaining states

States parties

The following are all the states that have ratified the Agreement, and are regarded as its member states:

Range states

The following are all of the states that have territory within the range of the Agreement, but have yet to sign or ratify it:

References

External links

Agreement Text

Official Website of EUROBATS

Parties and range states
interactive map
Official Website of CMS (Bonn Convention)

Official Homepage of UNEP
{{Authority control 1994 in the environment Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals Treaties concluded in 1991 Treaties entered into force in 1994 Bat conservation Treaties of Albania Treaties of Belgium Treaties of Bulgaria Treaties of Croatia Treaties of Cyprus Treaties of the Czech Republic Treaties of Denmark Treaties of Estonia Treaties of Finland Treaties of France Treaties of Georgia (country) Treaties of Germany Treaties of Hungary Treaties of Ireland Treaties of Italy Treaties of Latvia Treaties of Lithuania Treaties of Luxembourg Treaties of North Macedonia Treaties of Malta Treaties of Moldova Treaties of Monaco Treaties of Montenegro Treaties of the Netherlands Treaties of Norway Treaties of Poland Treaties of Portugal Treaties of Romania Treaties of San Marino Treaties of Slovakia Treaties of Slovenia Treaties of Sweden Treaties of Switzerland Treaties of Ukraine Treaties of the United Kingdom Treaties extended to Gibraltar Treaties extended to Guernsey Treaties extended to the Isle of Man Treaties extended to Jersey