by Bernard Unti
Highlights:
- Climate change resolution passed
- Denmark/Greenland proposal deferred
- New IWC Chair, new Scientific Committee Chair
- What happened, and what didn’t happen, at IWC 61
- Morocco to host IWC 62
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Climate change is just one threat facing whales. © Cetacean Society International |
Day Four, the final day of IWC 61 as it turned out, provided one of the conference’s most encouraging moments, as delegates passed a consensus resolution concerning the effects of climate and environmental changes upon cetaceans. But the assembly punted on the Denmark/Greenland proposal. Effectively, this meant that the IWC did not take a single action to regulate whaling worldwide during IWC 61. Instead, delegates sought to avoid having to deal with the most controversial subjects, and tried to set the stage for another round of intersessional work focusing on the future of the IWC.
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What Didn’t Happen at IWC 61, and What Did
Madeira will be remembered as an IWC event where certain things didn’t happen. The Japanese didn’t threaten to leave the IWC, and didn’t introduce their commercial coastal whaling proposal. A lot fewer of the Japanese client states were in attendance, and there was no vote on the commercial whaling moratorium. The European Union didn’t vote for or against the Denmark/Greenland proposal, because it wasn’t forced to. There were no sanctuary votes, either.
The Small Working Group, the centerpiece of Chairman William Hogarth’s roadmap for the future of the body, will meet next in the form of an even smaller "Support Group," consisting of 12 countries: the U.S., Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, Germany, Iceland, St. Kitts, Brazil, Cameroon, Mexico, Chile, and Antigua & Barbuda.
Of the like-minded nations, Australia distinguished itself for its strong statements against “Japanese scientific” whaling, and its serious demonstration of commitment to whale conservation. Australia’s voluntary contribution of 1.5 million Australian dollars to support IWC work in three areas—the Southern Ocean Research Partnership, conservation management plans, and small cetacean conservation research—received praise during the final day’s session.
The U.S. delegation hit a few high notes, too, supporting Australia’s request that the IWC address the problem of special permit whaling—the “scientific” exemption—and supporting the climate change resolution. Both of these moves represented changes in the U.S. delegation’s historic positions. Finally, the presumptive new U.S. IWC Commissioner, Monica Medina, made a powerful declaration of U.S. intent to do right by whales in a statement of praise for Hogarth, who is also giving up his position on the U.S. delegation.
Climate Change
The climate change resolution, which some feared would encounter opposition from various quarters, went through on a consensus vote. The resolution asks contracting governments to incorporate climate change considerations into their conservation and management plans, and to take action to reduce the rate and extent of climate change. The resolution underscores the importance of environmental research to the deliberations of the IWC Scientific Committee. Its passage was certainly eased by the emergence of a new literature on the impact of climate and environmental changes on cetaceans by non-governmental organizations like the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.
Denmark/Greenland: Not
To the dismay of many concerned parties, IWC Chair William Hogarth successfully persuaded the delegates to defer discussion or voting on the embattled Denmark/Greenland proposal for an annual take of 10 humpbacks. Throughout the week at IWC 61, proposals and counterproposals went back and forth, and for a moment it appeared that provisional approval of the proposal, with stringent standards, would be granted.
In the end, the chairman’s aversion for conflict won out over the determination of those who wanted to have a vote. As a result, the matter will be addressed at an intersessional meeting later this year.
Changing of the Guard at IWC, and A Way Forward
The path to the IWC’s future will involve a changing of the guard this year. Chilean Commissioner Cristian Maquieira succeeded Hogarth as IWC Chair, and American scientist Debbie Palka took over as chair of the IWC Scientific Committee from Norwegian Arne Bjorge. Australian Commissioner Donna Petrachenko will chair the Finance and Administration Committee.
Morocco will host IWC 62 in June 2010, and in addition to an intersessional focusing on the Denmark/Greenland proposal, a fall meeting of the Small Working Group is planned. This means that the next year, like the last, will see a flurry of action and exchange on the fate of the world’s whales.
Bernard Unti, Ph.D. is senior policy adviser and special assistant to the CEO of The Humane Society of the United States (The HSUS). He is the author of Protecting All Animals, a history of The HSUS, and is currently writing a book on the 19th century animal protection movement.
