# Range state
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'''Range state''' is a term generally used in [zoogeography](/source/zoogeography) and [conservation biology](/source/conservation_biology) to refer to any [nation](/source/nation) that exercises jurisdiction over any part of a [range](/source/range_(biology)) which a particular [species](/source/species), [taxon](/source/taxon) or [biotope](/source/biotope) inhabits, or crosses or overflies at any time on its normal [migration](/source/Animal_migration) route. The term is often expanded to ''also'' include, particularly in [international waters](/source/international_waters), any nation with vessels flying their flag that engage in exploitation (e.g. hunting, fishing, capturing) of that species.[{{cite conference | url=http://www.cms.int/documents/convtxt/cms_convtxt_english.pdf | title=Convention Text | book-title=Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals | access-date=17 February 2012 | location=Bonn, Germany | date=23 June 1979 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406235608/http://www.cms.int/documents/convtxt/cms_convtxt_english.pdf | archive-date=6 April 2012 }}][{{cite journal | url=http://www.fni.no/ybiced/94_05_klemm.pdf | title=The Problem of Migratory Species in International Law | author=de Klemm, Cyrille | journal=Green Globe Yearbook of International Cooperation on Environment and Development 1994 | year=1994 | pages=66–77 |editor1=Helge Ole Bergesen |editor2=Georg Parmann}}] Countries in which a species occurs only as a [vagrant](/source/Vagrancy_(biology)) or ‘accidental’ visitor outside of its normal range or migration route are not usually considered range states.
Because governmental conservation policy is often formulated on a national scale, and because in most countries, both governmental and private conservation organisations are also organised at the national level, the range state concept is often used by international conservation organizations in formulating their conservation and campaigning policy.
An example of one such organization is the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals ([CMS](/source/Bonn_Convention), or the “[Bonn Convention](/source/Bonn_Convention)”). It is a [multilateral treaty](/source/multilateral_treaty) focusing on the conservation of critically endangered and threatened migratory species, their habitats and their migration routes. Because such habitats and/or migration routes may span national boundaries, conservation efforts are less likely to succeed without the cooperation, participation, and coordination of each of the range states.