The 58th Session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee
(MEPC 58) of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)
was held on 6-10 October 2008 in the IMO headquarters in
London, UK.
Two items on the Committee’s agenda
were of direct interest to CMS and its cetacean-related
agreements:
1) The development of a guidance document
for minimising the risk of ship strikes with cetaceans.
The inclusion of ship strikes in the work programme of the
committee was decided at its last meeting. Ship strikes
of cetaceans remain a serious threat to the survival of
several species or populations and the increasing number
of vessels travelling at high speeds is a serious concern
for a UN conservation body like CMS and the regional cetacean
agreements ACCOBAMS and ASCOBANS. Ships strikes are not
only a conservation concern, though, but have also serious
economic and safety impacts. The migratory nature of most
cetacean species requires mitigation efforts across their
entire migratory range. In order to be effective, these
measures need to be coordinated and consistent; requiring
close cooperation between the different intergovernmental
bodies whose mandate is to protect the marine environment.
The United States had provided a draft guidance document
on ship strikes, which was endorsed by the Parties as interim
guidance and which will be refined at the next meeting of
the Committee. UNEP/CMS stands ready to support the MEPC
in this respect.
2) The proposal to include a new work programme item on
the agenda of the MEPC on minimising the introduction of
incidental noise from commercial shipping operations into
the marine environment to reduce potential adverse impacts
on marine life. Growing levels of noise pollution in our
oceans are a serious concern for CMS and its cetacean-related
agreements. Therefore, UNEP/CMS is pleased to note that
IMO Parties endorsed the proposal made by the United States
to address the issue of marine noise in the framework of
the IMO MEPC.
In an evening side event, the representative of the UNEP/CMS
Secretariat, also on behalf of ACCOBAMS and ASCOBANS, gave
a presentation on the activities of these bodies with respect
to ship collisions of cetaceans and marine noise. The presentation
was noted with interest by the attendees and information
material could be distributed.
For more information, please contact:
Ms Heidrun Frisch
CMS Marine Mammals Officer
hfrisch@cms.int
|
