Japan's
proposals to transfer the Northwestern Pacific minke whales and Bryde's
whales from Appendix I to II were refused at the 12th meeting of the
Conference of Parties (COP12) of the Convention for International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) held in
Santiago, Chile, November 3-15. The biennial conference was attended
by some 1,200 people representing 135 of 160 member States, international
organizations and non-governmental organizations.
 The first votes
on the Japanese proposals were cast in the Committee I on November
8, with the result of 41 in favor and 54 against for the Northern
Hemisphere minke whales, and 43 to 63 for the western North Pacific
Bryde's whales. Based on these results,Japan tabled its proposal only
for downlisting the western North Pacific minke whales to the Plenary
on November 14. The voting result was 53 in support and 66 against,
showing an increase of 12 supporting votes. Despite the defeat, Japanese
conference sources observed that there exists a powerful bloc of countries
supporting sustainable use of abundant whale species, such as minke.
In earlier COP
meetings in Zimbabwe and Kenya, Japan had presented similar downlisting
proposals for minke whales and gained substantial support.
Marine Species
Besides the issue
of whales, what highlighted the COP12 was CITES' move to increasingly
involve itself in the issue of marine species. Three of the five listing
proposals regarding marine species were adopted. Whale Shark,Basking
Shark and the entire genus of seahorses are now in Appendix II as
a result of stepped-up campaign by environmental NGOs. On the other
hand,the Australian-sponsored proposal to list toothfish was withdrawn
after it was agreed that the species should come under the management
of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living
Resources(CCAMLR). The proposal to list Humphead Wrasse, another marine
species, was defeated.
|
COP12 Plenary Session |
It is the position
of Japan and other major fishing States that competence on the management
of marine species should primarily rest in the hands of the United
Nations Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) and international fisheries
management bodies which have specialized knowledge in this area, and
not in CITES which is a trade regulatory body. There is a mounting
concern among fishing States that increased involvement of CITES in
the management of marine and fishery species might go against the
current international resource management efforts and pose a serious
threat to sustainable use of marine resources.
One welcome development
in this respect at this meeting was the consensus adoption of a resolution
calling for closer cooperation between CITES and FAO. Another favorable
result was the withdrawal of the CITES Secretariat's proposal to delete
the word "endangered" from the title of the Convention--a
move to turn CITES into a more conservationist body--in face of the
overwhelming resistance from Contracting Parties.
The next COP
meeting will be held in Thailand in 2004. |
