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Review of progress and outcomes at the 69th meeting of the International Whaling Commission

Report One: Collaboration, Cooperation and Partnerships

Collaboration was a dominant and positive theme throughout IWC69. The Commission endorsed two Resolutions, two Memoranda of Understanding and one Letter of Intent, each committed to strengthening or formalising cooperation between IWC and other organisations. All five of these initiatives were endorsed by consensus.

Biodiversity was the focus of a Resolution on Synergies between the IWC, the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and the Agreement on Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ).  The Resolution builds on existing cooperation in several specific areas. These include contributing to the implementation and monitoring requirements of the Global Biodiversity Framework and supporting BBNJ objectives to establish area-based management tools such as marine-protected areas, and conduct of environmental impact assessments.

This Resolution noted IWC’s role as one of the eight global agreements related to biodiversity and underlined the Commission’s mandate to contribute expertise on cetaceans, their status and habitats to work led by other intergovernmental organisations, notably the Convention for Biological Diversity

Also at IWC69 and continuing this theme, the Commission endorsed a proposal by the Conservation Committee to align its next Strategic Plan (2027-36) with both the Global Biodiversity Framework and the BBNJ. In addition, the Secretariat reported on recent and planned work with the Convention for Biological Diversity and will be actively participating in the 16th meeting of its Conference of the Parties in October.

The focus of the second Resolution was cooperation in Antarctica, specifically the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).  This Resolution acknowledged the critical importance of the Southern Ocean as the single largest feeding area for whales in the southern hemisphere, and the history of cooperation, particularly between the scientific committees of the IWC and CCAMLR. The Resolution sought to strengthen this cooperation, highlighting exchange of information on the effects of fisheries, and global environmental change relevant to whale populations as two key topics.

The two Memoranda of Understanding and the Letter of Intent were focused on the South Pacific, Mediterranean, and Caribbean regions respectively. The Memorandum of Understanding with the Permanent Commission for the South Pacific (CPPS) was signed in the margins of IWC69, at a ceremony which included presentations on the threats to whales in the region.  The Memorandum of Understanding with the Pelagos Sanctuary in the Mediterranean and a Letter of Intent between IWC and the United Nations Environment Programme Cartagena Convention (Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife Protocol) both received universal support and will be signed in due course.

All three collaborations highlight the importance of data and information sharing, capacity building and mutual meeting attendance as key to strengthening partnerships and finding new ways to work together and maximise impact.

Away from the meeting, another important development was an invitation to the IWC’s Executive Secretary, Martha Rojas Urrego, to become a member of Friends of Ocean Action.  Hosted by the World Economic Forum, this multi-stakeholder community is focused on developing synergies and accelerating action across a diverse range of ocean-related topics. Many are directly relevant to the IWC work programme, such as the Global Plastic Action Partnership, and the focus of the group’s activity is the third UN Ocean Conference in June 2025.