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 The night before and a naked
welcome.
There were two competing receptions last night – one run
by conservation and welfare organisations and the other by pro-use ones.
National delegates, therefore, had to decide which one of these events to
attend. The one run by the Whalewatch coalition was at the Timothy Beach resort
(on the beach and on the other side of the island) and featured a beautiful film
of humpback whales – showing a mother associating with her calf, gently stroking
him with one long flipper. An excellent reminder of why we are here.
Heavy rain follows overnight (some delegates returning to their hotels
received a good soaking) and, come the dawn, there are still angry clouds around
the horizon but it bright and the heat is starting to build as we move towards
the meeting room. En route, the many island birds are singing sweetly and loudly
(obviously pleased to have survived the storm). In the nearby capital,
Bassettere, warning notices have recently gone up reminding people to prepare
for the hurricane season.
How stormy will it be in the meeting today? On
the agenda, we have sanctuaries, scientific permits, environment and health
issues, interference with research (which will be about the activities of
Greenpeace during the Japanese Antarctic whale hunt) and the St Kitts and Nevis
Declaration. No doubt we will be hearing more about normalisation.
In the
foyer of the meeting hotel, a large naked lady, arms outstretched, greets those
arriving. She is always there – a metal statue with a frozen smile reaching out
from within a pool of water. Beyond her, in the same water feature, sits what is
possibly a half size model wooden pirate galleon. In the event that we have no
other way out of here, we may have to use this but probably not during a
tropical storm.
And so on to the start of the meeting:
Madam
secretary begins the day by saying that 70 head sets are missing. Unlikely
souvenirs? (We note that Senegal has now joined us in the meeting
room.)
We now move to the proposal for a south Atlantic sanctuary. Brazil
presents the case, noting that the IWC’s Conservation Committee, which met last
week, supported the sanctuary (with the exception of Denmark). It should be
noted here that about half of the Commission (most of the pro-whaling nations)
did not attend the Committee.
Brazil explains her case eloquently and
notes that the supporting countries (the latin American block plus South Africa)
do not want lethal takes in this area and stressing the importance of whale
watching. Argentina and South Africa speak to support her.
Some 25
countries then speak in favour or against in largely predictable manner.
We shall just pick out a few key comments.
Japan says that there is
no scientific reason for the sanctuary especially whilst the moratorium is still
in place (the pink panther anthem is playing as background to this for some
strange reason – probably a mobile phone ring tone). He suggests that linking
the sanctuary proposal to a lifting of the moratorium might be a way
forward….
Amongst the countries opposing is Palau – a south Pacific
Island nation – and Antigua and Barbuda in another forceful speech.
Many
speeches later, Brazil has the final comment. Its Commissioner notes that all
the range states support the proposal but that she will not put the matter to
the vote (it would require ľ in support and clearly she knows that she will not
get this because the anti-whalers oppose this).
And so to coffee.
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