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Whaling Ban Unbanned

Category: Environment

Backtracking on one of history's most memorable international environmental acheivements? Or is it a diplomatic solution?

Whale hunting ban unbanned

25 years ago commercial whaling was banned. Today the International Whaling commission is divided, with fears that it may collapse, as countries argue for a lift on the ban stating that whaling should resume in return for a gradual drop in kills.

Today 88 countries of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) met in Morocco, in a closed session, to decide whether to allow Norway, Iceland and Japan to legally hunt whales for 10 years - in exchange for a gradual drop in the number killed. Yet commercial whaling has been banned for 25 years - some have suggested that international pressure from whaling nations is finally breaking down other member countries.

The EU, led by Britain, adopted a common position at the weekend which rules against the resumption of any commercial whaling, but it's not been enough. Whaling kills up to 2,000 whales a year, including species on the verge of extinction: Since the ban was introduced 25 years ago, approximately 33,000 whales have been killed, according to the Animal Welfare Institute (Washington).

Whale hunting

The Whaling ban, like CFCs, is referred to as a case study that international environmental politics can work, so this backtracking on the agreement comes with some wider concerns... if the whaling ban can fail and Kyoto doesn’t work, is there a future for international agreements? Is there a future for sustainability?

Controversial stuff, and at Rapanui we're with the rest of Britain and the EU: Whaling should be banned. Lets move on, not back.