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The Fourth Session of the Meeting of the Parties (MoP4) to the Albatross and Petrel Agreement took place last week over 23-27 April 2012 at the Atton San Isidro Hotel in Lima, Peru.

The meeting was officially opened by local authorities on Monday the 23rd, with an opening statement made by the Peruvian Vice-Minister of Fisheries, Patricia Majluf Chiok.  Ambassador Nicolas Roncagliolo Higueras of Peru was appointed as Chairperson of the Fourth Session.

In terms of attendance, all 13 Parties to ACAP were represented at MoP4.  Two Range States as well as several intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations also attended the meeting.

Most of the delegates attending MoP4  took Thursday morning off for a field outing.  The delegates boarded a bus early in the morning and travelled about 40 km south-east of Lima to visit the temple of Pachacamac in the Valley of the Lurin River.  Pachacamac was an important religious and ceremonial centre along the Peruvian coast in pre-Hispanic times.  It was the main destination for pilgrims in the coastal region and attracted worshippers from all over Peru.  A number of adobe and stone palaces and temple pyramids have been uncovered by archaeologists, revealing the fascinating history and significance of the site.  Built centuries before the time of the Incas, Pachacamac is noted not only for its great pyramid temples, but also for the remains of frescoes adorning its adobe walls.

En route back to Lima, the bus stopped briefly at a wetland site along the coast.  No ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels were seen on the outing, but delegates thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and returned refreshed for the final day of the Fourth Session of the Meeting of Parties.   The meeting's Peruvian hosts are thanked for arranging an enjoyable outing.

Balearic Shearwater: a new ACAP species
Photograph by Daniel Oro

It is planned to post a summary of the fourth session's outcomes as soon as the meeting's report is finalized.  However, one piece of news already available from the meeting is that the Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus was adopted as an ACAP-listed species, the first shearwater to be so listed.  A news item featuring this new ACAP species is planned.

For an Australian perspective on the meeting click here.

Juan Pablo Seco Pon, ACAP South American News Correspondent, Anton Wolfaardt, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, UK and John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 5 May 2012, updated 11 May 2012