Subsistence Take Committee, I doubt that countries would be willing to accept this.
A Japanese official expressed to me, for instance, that this would preclude the
consideration of whales as a future food source for countries that do not have a
whaling tradition or whaling culture. Therefore, whaling considerations should not
pay too much attention to cultural issues.
While Jefferies’ proposal holds extremely valuable considerations, I would
assume that it would correspond more to an ‘ideal world’ than to the bitter realities
of marine mammal management and conservation. After all, reason and science do
not prevail in the discourse on marine mammals. We therefore cannot assume that an
organisation which would be fully rested in reason and science would emerge in the
future.
9.6
Scenario 5: Marine Mammals Increasingly Find Their Way
Into Other Regimes
The last scenario I briefly wish to discuss is, given the fragmented nature of
contemporary international marine mammal law, the possibility of marine mammal
regulation finding its way into other regimes. As the observant reader may have
noticed, in Chap. 4 I omitted the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). This
was deliberate. I chose to do so since within the CBD, marine mammals play a rather
non-existing role. Much more attention is paid to overall strategies for conservation
and sustainable use of biodiversity instead of to specific species—after all the CBD
is not species-based. Of course, marine mammals are part of this approach, yet
contrary to other regimes, the CBD is significantly less confrontational, consensusbased and a regime that sets international standards but does not make management
decisions.
Given the history of cooperative spirit in the CBD, issues related to marine
protected areas for marine mammals or the inclusion of local communities for
marine mammal management, particularly whales, might occur in the future, in
case the IWC loses its authority. In this case it is also possible that the UN Fish
Stocks Agreement might make increasing reference to marine mammals and that the
responsible regional fisheries organisations might also extend to marine mammals.
Also the ongoing conference on an agreement on biodiversity beyond national
jurisdiction, a process under the UNCLOS, might make marine mammal conservation and utilisation a part of the discussions. Additionally, the climate change
regime, shipping and pollution regimes that have thus far not considered marine
mammals, might make increasing reference to them and even develop concrete
means for their protection. However unlikely, it all depends on the way the IWC
develops in the future and whether or not any of the other scenarios that I sketched
above (or any scenario that I have not considered) might come true.
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9 The Future of International Marine Mammal Law
A Japanese official expressed to me, for instance, that this would preclude the
consideration of whales as a future food source for countries that do not have a
whaling tradition or whaling culture. Therefore, whaling considerations should not
pay too much attention to cultural issues.
While Jefferies’ proposal holds extremely valuable considerations, I would
assume that it would correspond more to an ‘ideal world’ than to the bitter realities
of marine mammal management and conservation. After all, reason and science do
not prevail in the discourse on marine mammals. We therefore cannot assume that an
organisation which would be fully rested in reason and science would emerge in the
future.
9.6
Scenario 5: Marine Mammals Increasingly Find Their Way
Into Other Regimes
The last scenario I briefly wish to discuss is, given the fragmented nature of
contemporary international marine mammal law, the possibility of marine mammal
regulation finding its way into other regimes. As the observant reader may have
noticed, in Chap. 4 I omitted the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). This
was deliberate. I chose to do so since within the CBD, marine mammals play a rather
non-existing role. Much more attention is paid to overall strategies for conservation
and sustainable use of biodiversity instead of to specific species—after all the CBD
is not species-based. Of course, marine mammals are part of this approach, yet
contrary to other regimes, the CBD is significantly less confrontational, consensusbased and a regime that sets international standards but does not make management
decisions.
Given the history of cooperative spirit in the CBD, issues related to marine
protected areas for marine mammals or the inclusion of local communities for
marine mammal management, particularly whales, might occur in the future, in
case the IWC loses its authority. In this case it is also possible that the UN Fish
Stocks Agreement might make increasing reference to marine mammals and that the
responsible regional fisheries organisations might also extend to marine mammals.
Also the ongoing conference on an agreement on biodiversity beyond national
jurisdiction, a process under the UNCLOS, might make marine mammal conservation and utilisation a part of the discussions. Additionally, the climate change
regime, shipping and pollution regimes that have thus far not considered marine
mammals, might make increasing reference to them and even develop concrete
means for their protection. However unlikely, it all depends on the way the IWC
develops in the future and whether or not any of the other scenarios that I sketched
above (or any scenario that I have not considered) might come true.
196
9 The Future of International Marine Mammal Law