 |
| A minke whale surfacing. |
By Bernard Unti
In the final moments of the 59th annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Anchorage yesterday, an embittered Japan withdrew both its small scale whaling proposal and its bid to host the 2009 IWC meeting. The Japanese strongly criticized the introduction of "provocative resolutions not worthy of support" and characterized the meeting as one that displayed both "the dysfunctional nature of IWC and the double-standard at play."
It was a far cry from the attitude and demeanor displayed by Japan at the start of IWC 59 a few days earlier. The Japanese came to Anchorage with a newly proclaimed commitment to building consensus, and they were not alone.
Other delegations also sought to bring a greater degree of harmony to the IWC. With respect to the Greenland proposal, the aboriginal subsistence whaling quota, and the issues of whale watching and safety at sea, they succeeded.
In the case of proposals bearing directly upon the interests of Japan, however, consensus proved unattainable.
Japanese Whaling Agenda Defeated
In the end, rather than submit to a losing vote, Japan withdrew its small scale coastal whaling proposal, which in various forms the IWC has rejected for a number of years. Japan's efforts to take advantage of the goodwill accorded to a set of aboriginal subsistence proposals by casting the proposal as traditional rather than commercial was not convincing to the majority, which continues to see it as a breach of the moratorium.
Japan suffered other setbacks as well. By a decisive majority, delegates approved a resolution that affirmed the continuing significance of the IWC's commercial whaling moratorium to the protection of whales.
Maneuvering for Advantage at CITES Meeting
Japan's defeats come just days before the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in The Hague. There, Japan is expected to introduce a resolution that calls into question the status of all the great whales covered by the IWC, as part of a strategy to downgrade their protection and facilitate international trade in their meat and other parts.
The CITES-focused resolution at the IWC meeting, which passed by a vote of 37-4-4, effectively nullifies the damaging (to whales) IWC 58's St. Kitts Declaration. The year-old declaration asserted that the commercial whaling moratorium was no longer necessary.
For the second time in two days, Japan and its allies sought to undercut the result by boycotting the vote. They did the same thing, and got the same outcome—nothing—a day earlier when they chose not to vote on a resolution asking Japan to end the lethal sampling methods employed in its Antarctic whaling program.
Greenland Whaling Program Expanded
The true beneficiary of this year's general willingness to compromise was Greenland, which, after two days of background negotiations, secured an increased quota of minke whales, up 25 per year for five years. Greenland will also be permitted to hunt two bowheads per year, but only if the Scientific Committee gives approval. Greenland came to the conference seeking a quota of 10 bowheads per year.
In order to secure the needed three-quarters majority vote for the quota, Denmark, of which Greenland is a self-governing territory, agreed to support the previous evening's resolution in favor of whale watching, a priority for the growing Latin American bloc at IWC.
This deal was the one significant compromise of IWC 59, although it left many non-governmental organizations unhappy. Most saw the Greenland proposal as a case of shameless opportunism, one that would not have survived if the IWC had not been so preoccupied with discussions concerning the renewal of the U.S. bowhead whaling quota.
Iceland Avoids Rebuke for Resuming Commercial Whaling
The latter observation might well have applied to Iceland, too, for, in the tense atmosphere that marked the first several days, hardly a word was said concerning its resumption of commercial whaling in October 2006. Only on Day 4 did the United Kingdom address the topic in a sustained way. Commissioner Richard Cowen charged that Iceland's actions undermined the status of the IWC, but that, "despite considerable pressure from constituents to do so," his nation would not offer a resolution of censure.
This provided yet another example of the mood of restraint that hung over IWC 59.
Whales' Future Still Uncertain
When the delegates took their translation headsets off at 5 p.m., there was probably none happier than IWC Commissioner William Hogarth, who had successfully averted the delegation walkout some observers thought likely to occur this year. With anxiety about the future of the IWC high coming into the week, Hogarth had also persuaded member nations to commit to an intersessional meeting devoted to its future. The exact form that event would take was not clear, but it was a fitting legacy for IWC 59, where efforts at dialogue and compromise brought some tangible results.
Pointing to the CITES resolution, the preservation of the commercial whaling, moratorium and the decision to authorize the Scientific Committee to undertake a study of global warming’s possible impacts on marine mammals, members of the HSI team at IWC this year were for the most part satisfied with its outcome. Japan’s exaggerated late stage posturing was unsettling even to those who had witnessed its threats to leave the IWC in the past. With the fate of thousands of whales at stake, it still seemed a risk worth taking.
Bernard Unti, senior policy adviser and special assistant to the president, received his doctorate in U.S. history in 2002 from American University. His book, "Protecting All Animals: A Fifty-Year History of The Humane Society of the United States," is available from Humane Society Press.
