Open
letter from WWF International President Chief
Emeka Anyaoku to Commonwealth governments attending
the IWC
Your Excellencies of the Commonwealth,
09 Jun 2006 - I am writing to
you in my capacity as President of WWF International
as the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, a
Commonwealth member country in the Caribbean is
set to host the forthcoming meeting of the International
Whaling Commission (IWC) from 16–20 June.
Before joining WWF, I had the
honour to serve two terms as Secretary-General
of the Commonwealth (11000-2000). These two perspectives
confirm me in the view that it is necessary to
build international cooperation to ensure the
survival of the world’s whales as a priority in
itself and also to benefit local communities.
WWF is concerned that a number
of countries are supporting the efforts of Japan
to reopen commercial whaling. I seek the support
of your country for whale conservation — in keeping
with global agreements such as the World Summit
on Sustainable Development (WSSD) and the Convention
on Biological Diversity (CBD) — for the benefit
of both the whales and sustainable development.
For over 30 years, WWF has been
working to conserve the world’s whales and smaller
cetacean species. Such highly migratory animals
need international cooperation to ensure their
long-term conservation. The regulated management
of legitimate, sound, science-based whaling is
one of the functions of the IWC, and is vital
to the conservation of whales.
Currently, 66 countries are
members of the IWC, including Antigua and Barbuda,
Dominica, Granada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia
and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
In 1986, in response to the
overexploitation of whales, the IWC established
a global moratorium on commercial whaling. Despite
this, and other conservation measures, several
whale species remain highly endangered. In at
least one case, the situation is so precarious
that even the loss of a single individual may
cause population extinction. Whale conservation
is important both to maintain their key role in
marine ecosystems, and also to enable coastal
communities to benefit from activities such as
whale-watching tourism.
Depletion of whale populations
also negates the aims of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs), especially Goal 7 which defines
the need to maintain a healthy environment, including
species. Studies show that species conservation
carried out in consultation with communities contributes
to four MDGs: poverty alleviation (MDG 1), gender
empowerment (MDG 3), partnerships for development
(MDG 8) and MDG 7.
In such circumstances it is
essential to maintain the strongest measures in
favour of whale conservation. The majority of
IWC members recognizes this and supports increasingly
strong protection measures. In 2003, 12 countries
in the South Pacific — mostly members of the Commonwealth
— jointly announced a commitment to proclaim their
waters as whale sanctuaries: a total area of 29
million hectares.
Since all IWC voting details
per country are publicly available, and WWF has
attended all IWC meetings for more than 25 years,
WWF is aware of the many countries supporting
the conservation of whales and other cetaceans.
However, other countries vote against moves to
benefit whale conservation, and support initiatives
that will lead to increased threats to whales.
For example, some countries are supporting Japan’s
misguided non-scientific “scientific whaling”
programme (which includes the controversial take
of sei whales, a species recognized as endangered).
Unfortunately, the voting records show that many
countries that are members of the IWC, have consistently
not voted in the interest of whale conservation.
As the number of countries voting
against whale conservation approaches a majority
within the IWC, several existing conservation
measures are in imminent danger of being overturned
and important new actions are being blocked by
Japan and its supporters. This is a global issue
of huge public concern.
The purpose of this letter is
first to draw your attention to this issue, and
secondly to ask you to direct your votes at the
IWC meeting this year to support whale conservation.
My personal wish is that it
will be possible to see Caribbean countries play
a key role in this next meeting of the IWC as
proponents of whale conservation — publicly joining
the nations committed to a future in which the
world’s whales are safe and secure for generations
to come.
In particular, this meeting
offers the opportunity to announce a strong regional
commitment by Caribbean nations, and will further
strengthen the voice of the Commonwealth in favour
of whale conservation and help ensure coastal
communities realize the benefits from having healthy
whale populations.
I look forward to your support
for this hugely important initiative.
Yours sincerely,
Chief Emeka Anyaoku
WWF International President
