The MoU was begun in an effort to bring coherence to ongoing cetacean conservation activities across the range. CMS’s key partner has been SPREP, an international environmental organization created by the governments and administrators of the Pacific Islands Region. SPREP developed a Whale and Dolphin Action Plan, which was adopted in 2003 and revised in 2007. This plan was appended to the MoU and formed the basis for on-the-ground conservation efforts throughout the region.

In 2009, at the Second Meeting of the Signatories, an Amending Protocol was adopted which replaced the Action Plan 2003-2007 in Annex 2 to the MoU with the Whale and Dolphin Action Plan 2009-2012, which is based on the Pacific Regional Environment Programme’s Whale and Dolphin Action Plan 2008-2012.  The SPREP Plan was amended during the 2nd Meeting of the Signatories.  The adopted Action Plan applies as the MoU’s Action Plan under paragraphs 4, 5, 6 and 15 of the MoU.

The text of the Action Plan in English can be found here.