22 May 2007 - Gland, Switzerland
– Whales, dolphins and porpoises are facing
increasing threats from climate change,
according to a new report published by WWF
and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society
(WDCS) ahead of the 59th meeting of the
International Whaling Commission.
The report — Whales in hot water? — highlights
the growing impacts of climate change on
cetaceans. They range from changes in sea
temperature and the freshening of the seawater
because of melting ice and increased rainfalls,
to sea level rise, loss of icy polar habitats
and the decline of krill populations in
key areas.
Krill — a tiny shrimp-like animal that
is dependent on sea ice — is the main source
of food for many of the great whales.
Accelerating climate change adds significantly
to disturbances from other human activities,
such as chemical and noise pollution, collisions
with ships and entanglement in fishing nets,
which kills some 1,000 cetaceans every day.
“Whales, dolphins and porpoises have some
capacity to adapt to their changing environment,”
said Mark Simmonds, International Director
of Science at WCDS, “but the climate is
now changing at such a fast pace that it
is unclear to what extent whales and dolphins
will be able to adjust, and we believe many
populations to be very vulnerable to predicted
changes.”
Climate change impacts are currently greatest
in the Arctic and the Antarctic. According
to the report, cetaceans that rely on polar,
icy waters for their habitat and food resources,
such as belugas, narwhals and bowhead whales,
are likely to be dramatically affected by
the reduction of sea ice cover.
And as sea ice cover decreases, there will
be more human activities, such as commercial
shipping, oil, gas and mining exploration
and development as well as military activities,
in previously untouched areas of the Arctic.
“This will result in much greater risks
from oil and chemical spills, worse acoustic
disturbance and more collisions between
whales and ships,” said the lead author
of the report, Wendy Elliott of WWF’s Global
Species Programme.
Other projected impacts of climate change
listed in the report include: reduction
of available habitat for several cetacean
species unable to move into colder waters
(e.g. river dolphins); the acidification
of the oceans as they absorb growing quantities
of CO2; an increased susceptibility of cetaceans
to diseases; and reduced reproductive success,
body condition and survival rates.
Climate change could also be the nail in
the coffin for the last 300 or so endangered
North Atlantic right whales, as the survival
of their calves has been directly related
to the effects of climate variability on
prey abundance.
WWF and WCDS and are urging governments
to cut CO2 global emissions by at least
50 per cent by the middle of this century.
The latest report of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change showed it was possible
to stop global warming if the world’s emissions
start to decline before 2015.
The two conservation organizations further
call on the International Whaling Commission
to facilitate research on future impacts
of climate change on cetaceans, including
by supporting a special climate change workshop
in the coming year; elaborate conservation
and management plans in light of the climate
change threat; and increase efforts and
resources to fight all the other threats
to cetaceans.
Joanna Benn, Communications Manager
WWF Global Species Programme
Olivier van Bogaert, Senior Press Officer
WWF International
