The recent inconclusive meet of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) at Agadir in Morocco failed to arrive at an agreement to end commercial whaling.
Dilip Kumar, inspector general of forests, wildlife, ministry of environment & forests, expressed regret that no firm decision had been arrived at by the 88 member states especially since 1,200 whales are being hunted every year.
As the International Whaling Commission prepares to hold its 62nd annual meeting from June 21 in Agadir, Morocco, there are strenuous attempts by a few nations to get the moratorium on the slaughter of whales lifted. The 24-year-old ban on commercial whaling has become an emotive issue for Japan, which cites historic and cultural reasons to justify its abhorrent hunts.
Paris: Southern Ocean sperm whales are an unexpected ally in the fight against global warming, removing the equivalent carbon emissions from 40,000 cars each year thanks to their faeces, a study found on Wednesday.
The International Whaling Commission issued a draft proposal on 22 April that would lift the current ban on commercial whaling, established in 1986, in favour of a progressive reduction and regulation approach. If approved, the proposal would allow limited commercial whaling to continue over a ten year period.
London: Australian scientists have found that whale faeces could help combat global warming by allowing the Southern Ocean to absorb more carbon dioxide.
In 1986, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) implemented a moratorium on commercial whaling. Many people believed that this would save the whales and end forever the industrial slaughter that had decimated entire species. Not so. A proposal before the IWC could lead to the resumption of commercial whaling as early as next year.
NEW DELHI: There is a need to make films which can effect social change, renowned film-maker and conservationist Mike Pandey said here on Thursday.
Practical skills
Conservation practitioners are increasingly turning to incentive-based approaches to encourage local resource users to change behaviors that impact biodiversity and natural habitat. We assess the design and performance of marine conservation interventions with varying types of incentives through an analysis of case studies from around the world.
Mass strandings of beaked whales (family Ziphiidae) have been reported in the scientific liter-ature since 1874. Several recent mass strandings of beaked whales have been reported to coincide with naval active sonar exercises. To obtain the broad-est assessment of surface ship naval active sonar operations coinciding with beaked whale mass strandings, a list of global naval training and anti-submarine warfare exercises was compiled from openly available sources and compared by location and time with historic stranding records.
