The Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Miguel Ceara Hatton, thanked the delegates and commissioners of eleven countries of the Buenos Aires Group (GBA), which held its 17th meeting this week in the country to agree on the consensus position to be taken to the next meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC 69).
“We are hosting an international meeting on the whale issue, where 17 Latin American countries are establishing a position and the idea is that this position coordinated here will be taken to a more international level, a world level, when the next world meeting on the whale issue is convened”, highlighted Ceara Hatton.
The minister advocated for the protection of whales and recalled that the country has been blessed by the humpbacks that arrive every year to the coast of Samaná and attract scholars, conservationists and tourists interested in learning about these great animals.
The next 69th meeting of the International Whaling Commission will be held September 23-27, 2024 in Lima, Peru.
The Dominican Republic and the Buenos Aires Group, which includes Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Panama, Mexico and Ecuador, maintain a position focused on the global conservation and non-extractive use of whales.
In the meeting, held between Tuesday and Thursday of this week in the Multipurpose Hall of the Ministry of Environment, opinions and proposals were exchanged focused on seeking a collective regional position before the discussions of the commission for this international event, whose purpose revolves around the conservation and protection of cetaceans (whales).
The event was attended by the Vice Minister of Coastal and Marine Affairs, José Ramón Reyes, who said that the event was very useful “to consider a conservation agenda of regional interest related to the International Whaling Commission, and at the same time, to strengthen us as an alliance, in addition to discussing the decisions adopted by the Scientific Committee and the Conservation Committee”.
In addition, Nina Lysenko, Alternate Commissioner and Director of Conservation of Coastal and Marine Resources, chaired the meeting. Also present were IWC delegates Marisol Castillo and Dorka Evangelista, as well as observers Harolenne Gómez and Elizabeth Taveras, from the Ministry of Environment.
The meeting also served to evaluate the current situation of the IWC, including its committees, finances and other topics of interest. It also addressed the update on the work of the Operational Effectiveness Working Group (OEWG), the report of the Scientific Committee, meetings with civil society organizations, the programs and initiatives of the Conservation Committee, among other topics related to the work of the GBA and the IWC.
The meeting was attended by Rosa Delia Gómez Durán, from Argentina; José Aníbal Fernández Barahona, from Chile; Juan Diego Stacey Chiriboga, Director of Environment and Sustainable Development of Ecuador; Julio Armando Reinoso Calderón, Director of Maritime Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Peru; the Commissioner of the Brazilian Embassy in the Dominican Republic, María Aparecida, and the Commissioner of Panama to the International Bilateral Commission, Lissette Trejos.
Also, Matías Paolino, from Uruguay, and Dulce María Ávila Martínez and Lorenzo Rojas Bracho, from Mexico.
In addition, the GBA delegate to the IWC, Yocelin Ríos Montero, and IWC alternate delegates Juan Diego Paniego and Miguel Ángel Iñiguez participated in the meeting. From Fundación Cethus, Carolina Casani and Vanessa Tossenberger; from the Cetacean Conservation Center, Elsa Cabrera; and from Humane Society International, Gretel Delgadillo.
Source:presidencia.gob.do
