This month, IWC Chair, Bruno Mainini of Switzerland, will host a meeting of the IWC Bureau in Bern. The Bureau was established when IWC meetings moved from an annual to biennial cycle in 2012, and its role is to oversee delivery of the Commission’s workplan during the longer intersessional period.
The seven members of the Bureau are all IWC Commissioners and always include the Chair, Vice Chair and Chair of the Finance and Administration Committee. The four remaining members vary but are selected to ensure the full geographic and political diversity of the Commission is represented.
There are currently more than forty groups and sub-committees working to meet the objectives set by the Commission at its last meeting in 2014. The Bureau will review progress across all groups on topics ranging from management of aboriginal whaling to increased co-operation with other international organisations.
The Bureau also handles planning for Commission meetings, working to ensure arrangements make the most constructive use of the biennial meeting time. This month’s meeting will start to consider the agenda, duration and timings for the 2016 Commission meeting in Portoroz, Slovenia next October.
To read the reports of previous Bureau meetings click here.
To read about the purpose and structure of the Commission click here.