§ Mr. LepperTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the proposals to be put forward by(a) Japan, (b) Norway and (c) other states on whales and whaling to the forthcoming meeting of the parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, indicating the position of Her Majesty's Government in relation to these proposals. [108492]
§ Mr. MeacherJapan and Norway have put forward four proposals to downlist whale populations to Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). These are the North-east Atlantic and North Atlantic Central, the West Pacific and Southern Hemisphere stocks of Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) and the Eastern North Pacific stocks of Grey whales (Eshrichtuis robustus.) We have already made clear to both countries our opposition to these proposals on the grounds that they would undermine the moratorium on commercial whaling under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW). This position was endorsed by the majority of EU member states at a recent informal meeting of EU experts.
The meeting of experts, which acts as a precursor to the formation of a common EU position through the Council of Ministers, also considered three resolutions concerning the relationship between CITES and the International Whaling Commission (IWC). There are two 153W competing resolutions: one from Japan, that seeks to weaken the primacy of the IWC in the field of managing and conserving whale stocks; and one from the United States, which underscores existing arrangements. In addition there is a simple consolidation of all extant CITES resolutions on whaling proposed by the CITES Secretariat. The majority of member states agreed that the EU should seek the withdrawal of the US and Japanese proposals in favour of the simple consolidation of resolutions which will preserve the existing arrangements between the two Conventions.