HL Deb 26 January 1988 vol 492 cc623-4WA
Lord Craigton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What steps are being taken to implement the Bonn Convention on Migratory Species, with particular reference to bats.

The Earl of Caithness

The United Kingdom ratified the Bonn Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Fauna on 23rd July 1985 and is actively involved in its implementation. Following the first meeting of the conference of the parties to the convention in October 1985, the UK was invited to draw up an agreement under the convention to protect bats in Europe. Work on the agreement is at an advanced stage and recently the Government, with the Nature Conservancy Council, the Flora and Fauna Preservation Society and the World Wildlife Fund, co-hosted an international conference in London at which delegates from several other European states discussed and agreed at draft text. The next step will be for the draft to be circulated to all potential signatories for agreement and eventual adoption of its provisions.