Whaling a thorny issue at talks

Whaling a thorny issue at talks

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali

Government delegations managed to wrap up negotiations on most ocean affairs at a UN meeting in Bali on Thursday, but left the issue of whale conservation still undecided.

Ocean affairs was among the delicate issues discussed separately during the last preparatory committee meeting for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.

Among the contentious issues are the curbing of illegal fishing, allocation of fishing areas in high seas, coastal management and whale conservation, according to Ferry Adamhar, spokesman for the Group of 77 developing countries on the ocean affairs.

"Indonesia and many other developing countries suffered directly from the illegal fishing subsidized by certain developed countries, but it seems that we have agreed to use stronger terms of 'terminating illegal fishing' in the Chairman's Text," he claimed.

The Chairman's Text is a set of action plans to implement governments' commitment on sustainable development. The Chairman's Text, currently being negotiated in Bali, will be endorsed by world leaders in the summit.

The agreement at the contact group on ocean affairs, when it is adopted for the Chairman's Text, will serve as a stronger commitment from the international community to stop illegal fishing.

The move will also benefit maritime countries like Indonesia that do not have the ability to secure its ocean from illegal fishing, which has reportedly caused millions of dollars of losses to the country.

Countries like South Korea have wanted the term to be changed to "elimination of illegal fishing" as the country has a lot of fishermen but relatively few fishing areas.

"They want to keep the article just like the one in the Agenda 21. That article demands a gradual elimination of illegal fishing, but the rest of the world says that we have to move forward in keeping the sustainability of the ocean," Ferry said.

Another important issue that has been agreed upon at the ocean contact group is the distribution of fishing areas at the international waters.

Indonesia suggested that fishing areas in international waters be shared only among countries in the same region to avoid over- exploitation of the marine resources.

Based on the agreement at the ocean contact group, the Chairman's Text will also mention the obligation of developed countries to assist developing countries in terms of coastal integrated management.

"Support for coastal integrated management also includes aid for small-scale fishermen in developing countries," Ferry said.

Delegations at the contact group also agreed on taking stronger measures against any party responsible for sea pollution, including ships carrying radioactive material passing through the sea lanes of maritime countries.

"The only issues still under discussion are on whale conservation, as countries like Japan and Iceland are demanding regulations on sustainable whaling as opposed to outright elimination," Ferry explained.

Japan and Iceland regularly use whale products so an elimination would adversely affect their economies.

Although Japanese consumption of whale has been decreasing recently, because the younger generation does not eat whale anymore, the industry continues to exist.

"The G-77 fully understands those countries' dependence on whale. We would likely support the sustainable use of the whale resource," Ferry added.

However, it will be further discussed by each regional group, such as the G-77, before the stance will be presented to the working group's discussion.