Pacific nations recognised for providing sanctuary for whales
30 Mar 2004
WWF today presented a Gift to the Earth1 to Australia for its part in establishing the world's largest network of whale sanctuaries.
Encompassing the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of 11 South Pacific countries, the sanctuaries cover more than 30 million sq. km of ocean, creating a global blueprint for whale conservation and the management of shared marine resources.
Gifts to the Earth have been given to Australia, The Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Niue, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu. The countries have been given Gifts to the Earth for declaring their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) as whale sanctuaries or taking action to protect whales through national legislation. The Australian sanctuary is the largest at 8.6 million sq. km.
"This is an outstanding example of international co-operation for conservation," said David Butcher, WWF-Australia CEO. "The arrangement also has more benefits than an International Whaling Commission (IWC)-created sanctuary which could be overturned by a 75 per cent majority at an IWC meeting. The South Pacific sanctuary network is an important tool to deploy in the face of increasing numbers of IWC states who would vote with Japan against sanctuaries."
Australia and New Zealand have been given a Gift to the Earth not only for their protection of whales but also their four-year campaign for a South Pacific Whale Sanctuary at the IWC. They have been voted down on all occasions.
The new South Pacific sanctuary network - which WWF helped secure - includes long-standing commitments made by Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, and Vanuatu and demonstrates the commitment of Pacific nations to the conservation of whales. The sanctuaries also complement the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, which contains the Antarctic feeding grounds for whale species travelling to the South Pacific to breed and calve.
The sanctuary network will also support the valuable South Pacific whale-watching industry. Whale-watching tourism has doubled in the past 10 years and is now one of the fastest growing sectors of the tourism industry. In Australia, the whale-watching industry is worth $42.5 million annually, the related tourism revenue is $149 million annually. (source: DEH)
WWF has high quality whale images available for media
For media enquiries call:
Jacqueline McArthur, WWF Communications Officer
Ph: +61 2 8202 1242, 0408 626 780 or jmcarthur@wwf.org.au
1 The Gift to the Earth is a WWF initiative launched in 1996 to encourage governments, companies, organisations and individuals to make major conservation commitments. WWF celebrates the achievement publicly to recognise this act of environmental leadership and to inspire others to act.
