1 Conserving animals on the move for over 25 years Convention on Migratory Species United Nations...

1Conserving animalson the move for over 25 years

Convention on Migratory SpeciesUnited Nations Environment Programme

Migratory Species: A Vision for 2020

Marine Mammals in CMS


Marine Mammals

Dolphin/Whale/Porpoise

Marine Mammals

Cetacea Carnivora Sirenia

Ursidae Pinnipedia Mustelidae

Polar Bear Seal/Sea Lion/Walrus Sea/Marine Otter

Manatee/ Dugong


Cetaceans: Classification

Whales Dolphins Porpoises

Cetaceans

Baleen Whales Toothed Whales

Number of Cetacea in taxa: ca. 85


Cetaceans and CMSCetaceans are one of the most important

taxonomic groups for CMS

• Research initiatives: Assessment of populations & impact of by-catch Training of local scientists Conducting field surveys

CMS lists 12 species on APP I and 39 species on APP II

2 „binding“ Agreements dealing exclusive-ly with cetaceans• ASCOBANS• ACCOBAMS

1 Agreement for the conservation of cetaceans in the Pacific Islands Region

1 Agreement is being developed for cetaceans/ manatees of the Atlantic Coast of Africa


Dolphins

5 river dolphins5 river dolphins 34 sea dolphins34 sea dolphins

Flagship endangered species

engage public interest in swimway (ecosystem) conservation

Hundreds of thousands of dolphins die every year as a result of human induced threats.


Whales

Some species of large whales are endangered as a result of large-scale whaling during the 19th and 20th centuries: they

have been hunted for oil, meat, baleen and ambergris.

• Whales are those cetaceans which are neither dolphins nor porpoises

– This often leads to confusion because Orcas (“Killer Whales”) and Pilot whales have “whale” in their name, but are dolphins for the purpose of classification


Porpoises• Porpoises are small cetaceans of the family

Phocoenidae

• Most obvious visible difference from dolphins: flattened, spade-shaped teeth distinct from the conical teeth of dolphins

• Porpoises, divided into six species, live in all oceans, mostly near the shore– Best known is the Harbour Porpoise, which

can be found across the Northern Hemisphere

Accidental entanglement (by-catch) in fishing nets is the main threat to porpoises today. One of the most

endangered cetacean species is the Vaquita, having a limited distribution in the Gulf of California.


Threats Fisheries & by-catch• Use of destructive fishing methods• Growth of modern commercial fisheries• Directly (by-catch)• Indirectly (prey depletion)

Deliberate hunting• Deliberate setting of nets• Harpoon hunts• Drive hunts• Live taking for display

Chemical pollution• Domestic sewage• Industrial discharges• Seepage from waste sites• Atmospheric fallout• Domestic & agricultural run-off• Operational discharges from mines & oil rigs• Accidents & spills at sea• Bio accumulation of toxins

reduced fitness & reproductive success


Threats Noise pollution and harassment

• Shipping• Military activities• Fisheries anti-predation devices• Air-guns used in seismic testing to find oil & gas deposits• Wind farms & tidal turbines

Climate change

• Sea ice changes• Higher water temperatures• Disruption of marine food chains

Habitat loss & degradation

• Dams• Fishing structures• Abstraction of water for human use


Adverse Human Induced Impacts on Cetaceans

CMS Resolution 8.22CoP of CMS

• identified ship strikes, marine noise, entanglement & by-catch, pollution, habitat & feeding ground degradation, which pose direct & indirect threats to the conservation of cetacean population

urges Parties to integrate cetacean conservation into other policy sectors

requests the Secretariat to cooperate with other organisations (IWC, Regional Seas Programmes, Regional Fisheries Management Organisations) to promote the Convention’s aim

instructs CMS bodies to draw this resolution to the attention of other relevant intergovernmental organizations (e.g. UNEP)

invites Parties to strive to ensure wherever possible that their activities within the scope of this resolution avoid harm to cetaceans


ASCOBANSAgreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the

Baltic and North Seas

Concluded in 1991 under the auspices of UNEP/CMSConcluded in 1991 under the auspices of UNEP/CMS

Entry into force: 29 March 1994

Aim of the Agreement:

Agreement Bodies:

• Meeting of the Parties (triennial meetings)

• Advisory Committee (annual meetings)• Secretariat (merged with CMS

Secretariat on 1 January 2007)

To achieve and maintain a favourable conservation status for small cetaceans in the Agreement Area


ASCOBANSAgreement Area

Marine environment of the Baltic and North Seas

Range States

Estonia

Ireland

Latvia

Norway

Portugal

Russian Federation

Spain

Parties

Belgium

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Lithuania

Netherlands

Poland

Sweden

United KingdomExtension of Agreement area likely to enter into force during 2007


ASCOBANS Species Covered

Any species, subspecies or population of toothed whales (Odontoceti) occurring in the Agreement area, with the exception of the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus)

Examples:Examples:

• Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)

• Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)

• Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis)

• Killer Whale (Orcinus orca)


ASCOBANS What ASCOBANS Does to Help

ASCOBANS aims to promote close cooperation among Parties with a view to achieving or maintaining a favourable conservation status for small cetaceans

A Conservation and Management Plan obliges Parties to engage in • Habitat conservation and management• Surveys and research• Pollution mitigation • Public information

ASCOBANS also cooperates with: Range States that have not (yet) acceded to the

Agreement Relevant IGOs Relevant NGOs


ASCOBANSThe Baltic Dimension

• Only native cetacean species in the Baltic: Harbour Porpoise

• Only some 600 of these animals remain• Urgent action is needed!

• ASCOBANS has elaborated a Recovery Plan for Baltic Harbour Porpoises (Jastarnia Plan)

• An Action Plan is also being developed for Harbour Porpoises in the North Sea


ACCOBAMSAgreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black

Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area Concluded in 1996 under the auspices of UNEP/CMSConcluded in 1996 under the auspices of UNEP/CMS

Entry into force: 1 June 2001

Aim of the Agreement:

Agreement Bodies:

• Meeting of the Parties (triennial meetings)• Bureau (annual meetings)• Secretariat• 2 Sub-regional Co-ordination Units• Scientific Committee

To reduce threats to cetaceans in Mediterranean and Black Sea waters and improve knowledge of these animals


ACCOBAMSAgreement Area

All the maritime waters of the Mediterranean & Black Sea & the Atlantic Area contiguous to the Mediterranean Sea west of the Straits of Gibraltar

Range States

Algeria

Bosnia & Her.

Egypt

Israel

Monaco

Russian Fed.

Turkey

United Kingdom

Albania

Bulgaria

Croatia

Cyprus

France

Georgia

Greece

Italy

Lebanon

Libya

Malta

Montenegro

Morocco

Portugal

Romania

Slovenia

Spain

Syria

Tunisia

Ukraine

Riparian States


ACCOBAMS Species Covered

All regular, vagrant & visiting cetacean species occurring in the Agreement area:

In the Mediterranean and Black Seas: 21 species (10 are resident) In the Black Sea: 3 species (regularly occurring populations)

Examples:

• Short-beaked Common Dolphin

• Sperm Whale

• Risso’s Dolphin

• Long-finned Pilot Whale


ACCOBAMSConservation Plan

• Adoption and Enforcement of national legislation• Assessment and management of human-cetacean

interactions• Habitat protection• Research and monitoring• Capacity building, collection and dissemination of

information, training and education• Developing responses to emergency situations


ACCOBAMS Guidelines for Commercial Cetacean-watching

ACCOBAMS encourages whale-watching practices that benefit

whales and help to sustain a flourishing tourism industry:

2 complete booklets, on guidelines on whale-watching and the development of national stranding networks

were published


ACCOBAMSWW Activities & Scientific Work

Monitoring of whale-watching in French

Mediteranean Sea Diagnosis of whale-watching activities Database (socio-economical and ecological

aspects) was created Monitoring & manage the activity

Whale-watching in the Mediterranean Sea and oil dependance Literature review on alternative energies Amount of CO2 presently emitted within the

Pelagos area by whale-watching vessels will be calculated

Working group will consider measures to be tested within Pelagos


Pacific Islands Cetaceans MoU Agreement Area

Signatories

Australia

Cook Islands

Fed. States of Micronesia

Fiji

France

New Zealand

Niue

Papua New Guinea

Samoa

Solomon Islands

Vanuatu

Covers all populations of cetaceans in the Pacific Islands Region and has 22 Range States and territories, many of which are Small Island Developing States


Pacific Islands Cetaceans MoU

Final version of the MoU was opened for signature at the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)

Ministerial Meeting in September 2006

• 9 countries signed the MoU bringing it into immediate effect • 2 countries followed & more will sign in the near future

• MoU has also been signed by CMS, SPREP, IFAW, WDCS and WWF International

• First meeting of the signatories: Apia, 6 March 2007


Pacific Islands Cetaceans MoU MoU provides a framework for governments,

scientists and others to monitor and coordinate conservation efforts

Many programmes are already underway and support the MoU’s implementation Countries are standardising the way they report and

collect data from stranded cetaceans Studies have been undertaken to look at the interactions

between cetaceans and commercial fishing Educational programmes help connect local communities

to conservation efforts (inter alia raising awareness)

Through the MoU, the Pacific Islands Region seeks to foster cooperation, build capacity & ensure coordinated region-wide

conservation for cetaceans & their habitats.


West & Central African (East Atlantic) Small Cetaceans and Sirenians

Agreement Area Range States

Shall cover all popula-tions of small cetaceans & sirenians in West African Waters

Exact geographical scope has to be determined during W.A.T.C.H. meeting

Angola

Benin

Cameroon

Cape Verde

Congo

Côte d’Ivoire

DR Congo

Equatorial Guinea

Gambia

Gabon

Ghana

Guinea

Guinea Bissau

Liberia

Mauritania

Morocco

Nigeria

Portugal

Sao Tome & Principe

Senegal

Sierra Leone

Spain

Togo



CMS Activities

Several projects aimed at improving the knowledge on cetacean populations, developing capacities for the study of cetaceans and raising awareness of threats on them

have been supported by CMS in recent years in Senegal, the Gambia, Ghana and Togo.

CMS-sponsored workshop “Conservation and Management of Small Cetaceans of the African Coast” held in Guinea in 2000

Two major objectives: A briefing on the biology and conservation aspects of small

cetaceans and other aquatic mammals of West Africa Generate recommendations which could lead to the development

of a Regional Action Plan for the conservation of small cetaceans of West Africa



Agreement Development (I)

• Res. 7.7 supports the development of an appropriate CMS instrument on small cetaceans and sirenians in West & central Africa pursuant to Rec. 7.3

• First W.A.T.C.H. meeting scheduled for October 2007 (hosted by Canary Islands) Scientific Symposium (1 day) Training Workshop on Whale-watching (1 day) Negotiation of Action Plan and Agreement (3 days)



Agreement Development (II)

Scientific Symposium: open to governments, institutions, NGOs and private sector to discuss threats and challenges for the conservation of small cetaceans & sirenians in the region

Training Workshop on Whale-watching: whale-watching capacity building workshop to present and discuss best practices in the region and worldwide (include whale-watching tour for participants)

Negotiation session: of the draft Agreement & action plans: session will include Range States and observers


The “Year of the Dolphin” 2007

Activities:

1. Outreach and Communication

2. Promotion

3. Education

4. Agreement Development

5. Science

CMS, together with ACCOBAMS, ASCOBANS and WDCS have declared 2007 the “Year of the Dolphin”

UN, Governments, NGOs and the private sector (TUI) are building a strong alliance to achieve a common objective: to protect wild dolphins & create an ocean home safe from harm


The “Year of the Dolphin” 2007

• Launch of YoD: 17 September in Monaco during celebration of 10th birthday of ACCOBAMS

• New partners and supporters can join the initiative through www.yod2007.org

• CMS is contacting all Governments to stimulate action

• Government supporters: Australia, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Kenya, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and ?


Sirenians: Classification

Dugong

Sirenian

Dugongidae Trichechidae

West Indian Manatee

African Manatee

Amazonian Manatee


Sirenians and CMS

• CMS lists the Dugong, West Indian Manatee, African Manatee and the Amazonian Manatee in its Appendix II

• The West Indian Manatee is also listed on Appendix I (populations between Honduras & Panama)

A CMS Agreement is being developed for small cetaceans and sirenians of the Atlantic Coast of Africa (s.a.)

A Dugong MoU/Agreement is being developed (ranges from the coast of East Africa to the Western Pacific Ocean)


DugongMoU/Agreement

First and Second Dugong Range State Meetings have endorsed a final MoU proposal including a conservation and

management plan (CMP) to conserve the Dugong

Text of the MoU/Agreement and CMP are now open for final consideration

CMS will coordinate with Range States to make arrangements for signing the MoU and to hold the first meeting of Signatories (tentative September 2007)

The three manatee species and the Dugong are endangered species. All of them are vulnerable to extinction from habitat loss and other negative impacts related to human population growth and coastal development.


DugongMoU/Agreement

MoU is designed to facilitate national level and transboundary actions that will lead to the conservation of Dugong populations and their habitats

Associated CMP provides basis for focused species and habitat-specific activities, coordinated across the Dugong’s migratory range

MoU and CMP primary platform for conservation actions in all of the waters of coastal & archipelagic States of the Indian Ocean, East Asia, and western

Pacific Ocean, as well as their adjacent seas


Carnivora: Classification

Polar Bear

Carnivora

Ursidae Pinnipedia

Seal

Sea Otter Marine Otter

Mustelidae

Sea Lion Walrus


Carnivora and CMS• CMS lists in its Appendix I:

Marine Otter, Southern River Otter Mediterranean Monk Seal

• CMS lists on Appendix II: South American Fur Seal South American Sea Lion Common Seal (only Baltic and Wadden Sea populations) Grey Seal (only Baltic Sea populations) Mediterranean Monk Seal

1 Agreement dealing exclusively with Wadden Sea Seals The Seal Management Plan also includes the Grey Seal An Action Plan elaborated for the Conservation of the Eastern Atlantic

Monk Seal



Wadden Sea SealsAgreement on the Conservation of Seals in the Wadden Sea

Signed in 1990 under the auspices of UNEP/CMSSigned in 1990 under the auspices of UNEP/CMS

Entry into force: 1 October 1991

Aim of the Agreement: Agreement Structure:

To cooperate closely in achieving and maintaining a favorable conservation status for the common seal population

It is an irreplaceable component of the Wadden Sea and an important indicator of its environmental health


Wadden Sea SealsAgreement Area

• Trilateral conservation area is situated within the Wadden Sea Area

• Consists of – The areas under Key Planning

Decision Wadden Sea (Netherlands) – The Wadden Sea national parks and – The protected areas under the Nature

Conservation Act seaward of the main dike

– The brackish water limit including the Dollard (Germany)

– The Wildlife and Nature Reserve Wadden Sea (Denmark)

Parties:

Denmark

Germany

Netherlands


Wadden Sea SealsSpecies & Threats

• Common seal: most numerous native marine mammal species in the Wadden Sea: ca. 10,000 individuals

• Diseases: severe outbreaks in 1988 and 2002 of phocine distemper claimed the lives of – 18.000 seals in Northern Europe– 20,000 seals in the North Sea (51% of the estimated

population)

• Disturbance through human activities (types of recreation, hunting and commercial fisheries)

• Marine pollution• Habitat destruction (through dredging, the construction of

dikes and dams)


Wadden Sea SealsSeal Management Plan

• Plan covers the Wadden Sea stock of the Common seal and is extended to cover the 2 breeding stocks of the Grey seal

• Plan specifies the actions in the following areas Conservation and management measures regarding habitats Pollution and wardening Research and monitoring Taking and exemptions of taking Public information

To restore and maintain viable stocks and a natural reproduction capacity, including improved survival rates among juvenile

Common and Grey seals

Overall aim of the Work Plan


Mediterranean Monk SealsDistribution Area

Algeria

Cyprus

(France)

Greece

Mauritania

Morocco

Portugal

(Senegal)

Spain

Turkey

Western Sahara

Range States

Only fragmented pockets around the coast of Greece & Turkey, and isolated sites in North Africa, Mauritania and the Madeira archipelago

Occasionally individuals are reported as far away as the French Atlantic coast and Senegal


Mediterranean Monk SealsSpecies & Threats

• Mediterranean Monk Seal is believed to be the world's rarest pinniped and one of the most endangered mammals of the world

• Entire population estimated: less than 600 individuals (Critically Endangered)

• Threats:– Direct exploitation in the past– Deliberate killing– Incidental entanglement in fishing gears– Destruction or alteration of costal habitat– Overexploitation of fisheries– Pollution


Mediterranean Monk Seals Action Plan for the Conservation of the Eastern Atlantic

Monk Seal

• Action Plan elaborated & approved at the 8th Meeting of the CoP• Plan provides a new focus for monk seal conservation • Plan is a guideline that lays down the procedures to implement

coordinated actions: It provides a means to combine programs from different states, local

and private organizations into effective, efficient, concentrated efforts, which should lead to the recovery of the depleted population of the species

• Latest Conference on monk seal conservation (2006 in Turkey) aimed at coordinating actions by strengthening common approaches and programmes between the Mediterranean and Atlantic Range States

The immediate goal is to stop the decline and, in medium term, to promote recovery


ASCOBANS

ACCOBAMS

South PacificCetaceans

Monk Seal

DugongCetaceans

& Manatees

Wadden Sea Seals

CMS Marine Mammal Activities Around the WorldAgreements – Projects – Year of the Dolphin

Marine Mammal Survey

Humpback Dolphin Survey

Dolphin Survey

CetaceansSurvey

Conference on Marine Mammals

Workshop on Aquatic Mammals

Franciscana Dolphin Survey

Marine OtterSurvey

Training CourseCetaceansWAFCET

Workshop onCetacean Survey


Marine Mammals CMS Vision for 2020 (I)

Global network of regional agreementsMain focus on cetaceans, but can also include

– Sirenians and– Seals (depending on species/region)

Flexible instruments: e.g. binding or non binding UN or independent (but with CMS link)

delivery through intergovernmental partners e.g. Regional Seas

Action oriented: rolling conservation plans, on-line reporting, activities through governments, NGOs & private sector


Marine Mammals CMS Vision for 2020 (II)

CMS as global “guardian” or “promoter” of regional network world-wide

Promotional and normative activities by CMS e.g.– “Year of the Dolphin”– Whale-watching guidelines– Technical and educational publications

Quadrennial “World Whales Conference” linking Conventions, regional network, Governments, scientists, NGOs and wider public

Permanent financing mechanisms for whale conservation via (voluntary) tax on whale tourism


Marine Mammals – CMS & IWC(Personal View)

Great whales & whaling agreement should be settled by IWC, but not at expense of wider cetacean conservation

CMS de jure & de facto, is main global convention for conservation and non-lethal use of small cetaceans (SC)

SC are migrating; CMS is a UN body; has already established 3 regional CMS agreements concerning SC; published encyclopaedias on SC; currently running global “Year of the Dolphin” 2007 with strong NGO, UNESCO & commercial support


Thank you!

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