The International Whaling Commission
- AWARE of continued concern about adverse impacts on some stocks of small cetaceans - RECOGNISING the need for international cooperation to address problems relating to small cetaceans and to facilitate the conservation and restoration of depleted or threatened stocks
- CONSCIOUS of the sovereign rights of coastal states, as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and recalling also the provisions of Article 65 of that Convention, and the decisions taken by governments during the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
- IN AN ATTEMPT to identify a framework under which small cetaceans issues can be addressed cooperatively in the IWC without prejudice to the views of member States on the regulatory competence of the IWC in this regard
Now THEREFORE
- DECIDES, with the objective of building confidence in the process, that future discussion should centre on:
(a) examination of the way in which the Small Cetaceans Sub-committee of the Scientific Committee identifies stocks for review
(b) mechanisms for encouraging and ensuring coastal State participation in small cetaceans research and review, including from non-member countries
(c) mechanisms for improving availability and reliability of data and information for the Small Cetaceans Sub-committee
(d) options for developing voluntary funding mechanisms to facilitate participation of coastal States on relevant small cetaceans matters
(e) examination of the roles of the IWC and international and regional organisations which, in the opinion of many member States, have a crucial role to play with respect to small cetaceans
- RESOLVES to hold a further meeting of the Small Cetaceans Working Group at IWC46 to continue the work identified in this Resolution