CMS COP 10 Wednesday

There is heavy rain overnight and a few delegates malingering late in the streets may even have been washed away.

However, come the morning the Meeting of the Whole is quorate again and in session in one place and the Future discussions are going on somewhere else.

There is a faint whiff of panic now prevailing and particularly around the marine issue as the relevant working group is struggling in the margins to find suitable compromises and the clock is now ticking loudly. All resolutions should have been passed by their working groups by tomorrow lunchtime.

Meanwhile a large pile of books published by the Norwegian Marine Institute detailing their policy for marine mammals have appeared outside the main hall. These were last seen at the IWC Scientific Committee meeting where all the scientists were awarded a copy. These are placed on the same table as many other non documents (documents that are not officially submitted to the meeting).

The Whole is soon again dealing with the sly ways of birds {Editor- I have already warned you about this!}. And the WDCS delegation is now hidden behind a significant pile of Erich Hoyt’s excellent new (but very heavy) MPA book. They occasionally emerge from behind this bastion to offer copies to unsuspecting delegates as they try to pass by.

Sly-ways are followed by a review of work on terrestrial animals. Issues covered there extend to Concerted Actions for the Sahelo-Sahara antelope, gorillas and elephants.

Bats also now fly in and a new African bat agreement may be in the offing.

Turtles follow and there is a presentation from the World Conservation Monitoring Unit about progress and how to strengthen measures for them.

The US (not a CMS party) now speaks up to offer joint opportunities to work on sea turtle conservation. Others speak likewise.

The distinguished councillor for Turtles, Professor Col (or Colin) Limpus, now thanks WCMC for their report and he notes that there are many successes in countries that also need to be complemented.

Enter the giant manta ray.

This species is seeking to be moved onto both Appendix I and II of CMS. Ecuador presents the proposal and notes that the species is of importance for tourism and tends to congregate in protected areas (well done Manta, one step ahead of some of the other fish species!). The EU supports the proposal. Norway says that they too support the proposal and note that IUCN has moved the species higher on its protected list. The species has a low reproductive rate and hence is very vulnerable. However, there is at least one similar species: the reef manta with which it can be confused. Has the proponent considered this matter? You have to be almost an expert to separate them he adds.

Shark Advocates International are now waving their flag at the back of the room.

Ecuador replies that researchers are looking at the classification issue. Initially in their national park they though they had the alfredi species but in fact the only species is the giant one and there is no confusion. The alfredi does not extend into Ecuadorian waters; hence they amended the proposal and only the giant ray is covered.

The Chair asks Norway if this takes care of your concerns. This is OK for Ecuador says Norway but this is a global listing. Let us take note of this and take it to the next CoP.

Ecuador says yes we would probably support a future listing for the alfredi ray. The Chairman now identifies the Shark Advocates still waving towards the back of the hall. She says the following:

‘On behalf of Shark Advocates International, Humane Society International, and the Norwegian Shark Alliance, we appreciate this opportunity to express our strong support for Ecuador’s proposal to include in the CMS Appendices the giant manta ray: the largest living ray, and an exceptionally vulnerable, highly migratory, and increasingly Threatened marine species.

The giant manta ray has exceptionally limited reproductive capacity, even when compared to other rays and sharks. [Females are thought to mature at 8-10 years of age, produce just one pup after a year-long gestation period, rest for a year or two between pregnancies, and live at least 30 years.]

[The giant manta ray has been classified by IUCN as Vulnerable and therefore Threatened.] The sparsely distributed and highly fragmented regional subpopulations of giant manta often consist of just a couple hundred individuals, which regularly migrate across national boundaries and have been tracked venturing onto the high seas.

The giant mantas’ large size and tendency to move slowly in predictable aggregations make them easy targets to fishing, the greatest threat to their survival. In recent years, increased East Asian demand for manta ray gill rakers for use in Chinese medicine has been driving dramatic increases in directed, likely unsustainable manta fisheries. Some local populations have already been depleted.

At the same time, manta ray eco-tourism is increasingly generating significant economic benefits for local communities across the globe, particularly in Mozambique, Maldives, and Hawaii. A new estimate puts the value of manta-based tourism at $100 million/year globally.

Existing national protections by Range States are insufficient to effectively conserve this migratory species. Inclusion in the CMS Appendices can serve to dramatically improve awareness of the threats faced by manta rays and as a major step toward the effective conservation of these exceptionally vulnerable and valuable animals.

Based on these factors, our organizations respectfully urge adoption of Ecuador’s proposal as well as complementary conservation and research initiatives for the giant manta ray.

Australia next takes the floor – in fact for the first time – and thanks Norway for their hospitality. They are a range state for the species and they support the listing proposal.

The USA speaks up and supports too. Chile also supports.

The Chairman asks if we have exhausted our interventions, but Mozambique waves to say that they also have it in their waters and they too are supportive. Uruguay is also supportive.

We pause for a tea break but first the bycatch councillor Barry Baker, today resplendent in a vast red body-warmer, tells the marine working group to migrate to Hodden (a room in a distant part of the sprawling Scandic hotel complex). Marine-orientated delegates scramble, pausing only to grab a handful of fruit or a cake and their yellow hats, ponchos and umbrellas, which they will need as the heavens are again opened.

The Noise, Bycatch and Cetacean Work Programme resolutions are looked at. The last in particular seems to be floundering a little.

Delegates whiz around over lunch in the rain; much coordination goes on and many umbrellas turn inside out. Several more delegates are washed away by the rain. Teams of young Norwegian volunteers in their CMS T-shirts and shorts are despatched to retrieve them from the town's drains.

After lunch and a dowsing we resume in plenary. The various working groups report on their progress. The credentials committee reads out the names of all the countries with credentials in order. There are many and they include Luxembourg.

The Committee of the Whole resumes. Chairs exchange batons.

We move to resolution 10.16 on Priorities for CMS Agreements. This has a long list of species actions at the end divided up under the headers: Fish, Birds, Marine Reptiles, Terrestrial Mammals and Marine Mammals. The text that precedes this says ‘Endorses the following actions’.

Norway says put all this species stuff in an annex. No says the EU resolutely.

A compromise might be to soften the language that introduces this section so that it becomes advice and not instruction. We shall see.

We come to the issue of whether a work plan in the Indian Ocean should be applied to coastal cetaceans or only small cetaceans. The EU prefers ‘smalls’ only. Others prefer ‘coastal’ and Heidi of the Secretariat now explains that coastal was recommended by the Scientific Council. The EU will coordinate further on this.

The Resolution on Synergies and Partnerships now takes to the stage. (Each resolution has an associated member of staff who moves to the stage and follows changes in real time in a version projected onto the stage. So Melanie Virtue - who was dealing with the 'Priorities' resolution now hands over to one of the Lauras.)

A question now arises from the floor about whether comments sent earlier have been recorded.

The resolution about synergies seems a little sticky – as is the floor around the coffee area where many delegates (notably NGOs) are now updating their calorific supply.

By the time we roll back into the room (having discussed exercise but not having done any for several days apart from chewing) a resolution concerning the relationship with the Global Environmental Fund (GEF) is up for discussion. Melanie is back on stage again to capture amendments.

Note that the process here is that the Committee of the Whole – which is currently meeting – approves changes and then the revised resolutions are brought back to the plenary and finally approved. So in effect we are now meeting in one huge working group.

The resolution which covers the Strategic Plan is now in play (this is another of Melanie’s - a busy day for her: still it could have been worse, she could have been dealing with the marine resolutions). There are many changes here.

The electrocution of birds is now discussed, and this is clearly a bad thing. Those in most danger are the “poor-flyers”, although we’re reassured that this means they’re not as manoeuvrable as other birds and not simply bad at flying. There is also concern about wind turbines which can also knock them from the skies. Poor birds.

Now we are sorry that the coverage is again patchy here but we are now deeply engaged in the Marine Working Group again and the cetacean work plan has become ensnared in some very difficult problems and that ticking clock is very loud now. A very small working group is deployed to work on this matter. Other delegates depart to yet another reception, this time in the Bergen aquarium, and a few others wander off into town and despite their yellow hats are washed down the street by an especially violent cloud burst. Hopefully the Nordic youth will again be able to rescue them.