health
Snowy owl, hammerhead shark and cheetah among 40 new species granted international protection, U.N. says
Updated on: March 30, 2026 / 12:00 PM EDT / CBS/AFP
TL;DR
- 40 new species, including snowy owl, Hudsonian godwit, great hammerhead shark, striped hyena, cheetah, and giant otter, have been listed for international protection under the U.N. CMS.
- The decision was made at the COP15 summit in Campo Verde, Brazil, attended by representatives from 132 countries and the European Union.
- The CMS requires signatory countries to legally protect listed species, conserve their habitats, prevent migration obstacles, and cooperate with range states.
- A report released before the summit revealed that 49% of CMS-catalogued species are declining, and nearly 25% are threatened with extinction globally.
- Migratory freshwater fish populations are also in decline, facing threats from habitat destruction, overfishing, and water pollution.