Future of the IWC

The ‘Future of the IWC’ process was established at the Commission’s 59^th Annual Meeting in 2007 and was an extensive body of work intended to address the main issues faced by the Commission.  The majority of this work was completed over a three year period between 2007 and the Commission’s 62^nd Annual Meeting in 2010.  The main product was a document called ‘A Proposed Consensus Decision to Improve the Conservation of Whales’.  This document was discussed extensively at the 62^nd Annual Meeting, but at the end of the discussions the Chair concluded that the Commission was not in a position to come to a consensus agreement on the measures proposed.

A chronological account of the work undertaken through the Future of the IWC process can be accessed here.

In 2011 the Commission stated its desire to maintain the progress achieved through the Future of the IWC process and agreed to:

• Encourage continuing dialogue amongst Contracting Governments regarding the future of the International Whaling Commission
• Continue to build trust by encouraging Contracting Governments to coordinate proposals or initiatives as widely as possible prior to their submission to the Commission
• Encourage Contracting Governments to continue to co-operate in taking forward the work of the Commission, notwithstanding their different views regarding the conservation of whales and the management of whaling.