MAY 31, 1999 IWC '99 WRAP UP NOTES Hello everyone, We'd hoped it would be with a bang, but the 51st meeting of the IWC wrapped up on Friday with a whimper. We'd hoped, indeed we'd virtually been assured that some stalwart nation was going to stand up for whales and make a clear statement condemning the Makah gray whale kill. We expected another clear statement condemning the Caribbean humpback killings. What we got was total silence on the Makah issue, and a bunch of semi pious comments about the brutal killings of humpback mothers and babies that have been taking place as a "tradition" on the island of Bequia. We got expressions of hope that 77 year old whaler Athneal Ollivierre would do it better next time, that St. Vincent would finally explain their "need" to kill whales. And we got stern warnings that vigilant eyes would be watching. The problem was consensus, the way the IWC tries to operate these days. Most of the issues are thrashed out in back rooms where there are no observers to report on positions stated, deals made, or even body language. At the end of Thursday's session it seemed clear that the Bequia humpback issue was a stumbling block. The Irish had proposed a Schedule amendment to restrain Mr. Ollivierre from killing babies and mothers. Precisely why we couldn't fathom, because the ICRW already prohibits the practice. The Netherlands seemed to object and had just begun to speak when Chairman Canny decided to end the plenary discussion for the day. By 11pm there was no longer a problem... the commissioners had met privately to hash things out and apparently done so to a point of satisfaction. There was no debate at all when the plenary resumed the next morning, simply a restatement of the proposal by Ireland (to make it explicit in the Schedule that St. Vincent's whaler could not kill babies and their mums) and a waving of enough country name cards in the air when the question was asked for the Chair to pronounce consensus. There was nodissent. The statements followed, and though some countries like the U.K. even proclaimed their continued "reservations", it seemed that the best anyone was looking for now were "improvements". We were shocked by this, to say the least, because we'd been told the "like minded" nations were going to close down the hunt once and for all. Dream on. Despite the disappointments, there were positive sides to this meeting, Japan being the unlikely source of the best thing that happened. It came on the afternoon of the second day when Japan, having lost on the issue of conducting votes in secret, proposed that television cameras be invited into the meeting in order to ensure total "transparency". The logic for the startling move probably relates to Japan's conviction that its cause is right, and that once the world sees this it will demand that the IWC does the proper thing and allow openly commercial whaling to start up again. To us it seemed like an announcement of the End Game, one which pro whale advocates are more than happy to join. Let's conduct the debate with as much visibility as possible, we say, and let the world decide. In the past, a big problem with the IWC has been its habit of keeping outside eyes off it as far as possible. Hence the difficulties created for observers (cost + access) and the tendency to hold as many meetings in far off or difficult to reach corners of the world. To illustrate the consequences of this, we were inhibited by cost ($9 EC per minute) from sending images to go with the stories we've been emailing to the world this week. Possibly we should have just swallowed & sent them anyway. But worse, when we first arrived in Grenada on the evening before the plenary meeting began, we found many NGOs too afraid of the consequences of breaking the "rules" even to speak to us privately about what had happened in the Scientific Committee and at the various sub-committee sessions. Though we didn't have a timer keeping track, we think the Commission spent more time on NGO conduct than on any other issue or agenda item at this meeting. Next year in Adelaide, with the implementation of Japan's transparency initiative, there should be a sea change in the quality of information flowing from the meeting. Finally, the world will know. Apart from the continued stalemate around the Irish efforts to get commercial whaling going again, one other good news item deserves mention. Lurking in the wings is the threat that CITES will "down list" minke whales from Appendix I to Appendix II, thereby legitimizing trade between nations (e.g. Norway and Japan). The whalers and (un)wise (ab)users have been working on CITES for years, knowing that a down listing by CITES would place huge pressure on the IWC. The CITES meeting next April is sure to see a battle over minke whales, so it was very important for the IWC to send a clear "hands off" message to CITES. That was done with a resolution that received a substantial majority, so hopefully CITES will get the message and opt not to meddle with whales just yet. At the very least, pro-whale forces at CITES will have a tool they can use. Slightly encouraging was the Commission's willingness to bring Japan's shocking treatment of small cetaceans into the light of day. Japan and its Caribbean allies walked out before the resolution on Dalls porpoises was voted on, to restate their position that the IWC has no right to deal with small cetacean issues. But the point was made, nevertheless. There is now some pressure on Japan to reduce the unthinkable thousands of Dalls porpoises it slaughters annually. A change of heart seems unlikely to occur soon, so the tragedy seems certain to continue. The best hope of dealing with it lies in exposing what is happening to the world, as EIA (the Environmental Investigation Agency) and a few others have been doing brilliantly. The truth of what is happening to small cetaceans, not just in Japan, must be told. The morning after the meeting closed, we woke to great news in the form of a banner headline on the front page of Grenada's weekly newspaper, the Grenadian Voice. THE MINISTER LIED! The story explained Agriculture Minister (Grenada's IWC Commissioner) Michael Baptiste's explicit misrepresentation of IWC decisions and Japan's outlaw behaviour. It also explained Grenada's role as a pawn of Japan at IWC meetings... along with Antigua, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, St. Kitts & St. Nevis, and the Solomon Islands. Though the story must have come as news to most Grenadians, and must certainly encourage the growing number of Caribbean NGOs who are taking on their countries' embarrassing positions at the IWC, there may be little immediate fallout from the revelation. All of these nations are the recipients of substantial aid from Japan, and their votes reflect it. Change the vote, forget the aid, is certainly understood if not explicitly stated. For us, the low point of the week was our error in publishing a cartoon that others found offensive. It certainly got attention, but not the reaction we wanted. Though we did our best to explain our reasons and the context in which it was published elsewhere, there's no doubt it cost us and our side... though we're sure it had no impact on the outcome of this meeting. In retrospect, we know that we could have done something else with that front page space ... but of course hindsight is always perfect. Hoping to do things better next time, we move on. Perhaps above all, this meeting served to highlight the dangers inherent in the "aboriginal whaling" provisions of the ICRW. It's clear that the US has opened a can of worms with its sponsorship of Makah whaling. With native whalers in British Columbia poised to get into the act, the best hope is that the US will actively pursue a negotiated settlement with the Makah now that their treaty "right" has been acted out. Whether there's the will in Washington to follow this course is perhaps doubtful, we can only hope. The decision on Bequia revealed the IWC as virtually helpless in dealing with "aboriginal" issues, even when a situation obviously calls for action. With the World Council of Whalers stirring the pot, it will be surprising if "aboriginal" issues don't keep surfacing. Thorny (and tragic) as they were, the Makah and Bequia issues had a thought provoking aspect to them that may help whales in the long run. Both cases brought the issue of the individual whale forward. The thought that the Makah may have killed JJ got a lot of people thinking. The chances are that whale wasn't JJ, but she could have been, and that's upsetting to many... because JJ was known as an individual gray whale. The mum and baby humpbacks brutalized in Bequia may not have been exactly known as individuals, but hundreds of others are. The combination of photo identification work and its growing data base with adoption programs that link people to the story of individual whales is a powerful device for underscoring the relevance of looking at issues in the finest detail possible. The story of whales is only beginning to unfold. It's becoming common for us to be amazed each time we learn something new. Who's to know what the consequences of removing that mum and her progeny from the gene pool and social history of Atlantic humpback whales might be? We'll never know. What we do know is that each individual whale has a role to play in the greater scheme of things, and that each and every one of them is important, and precious. The numbers game being played at the IWC, where whale populations are referred to as "stocks" like cans on a supermarket shelf, is perhaps best seen as a phase and a prelude to a new day that is certainly coming. It will dawn when the world finally decides that its prime interest in cetaceans is getting to know them for what they are. We have Japan to thank for opening the door. Guess what you're going to hear about next? Right. Corky. cheers, & our best to you all, Paul & Ben. Back to Eco Main Page. The USA's oldest and original Greenpeace, proudly unaffiliated with Greenpeace USA