January 30, 1998

|
Upholding the cause of the whales, WWF's Mediterranean
Programme Office drew attention to its campaign for a whale sanctuary
with this 90-foot inflatable whale, during the International Whaling
Commission meeting in Monaco in October.
|
ROME--WWF-World Wide Fund For Nature and Europe Conservation
today called on the governments of France, Italy and Monaco to sign a
treaty establishing a whale sanctuary in the Ligurian Sea area of the
Mediterranean Sea.
The two groups joined forces and today launched a new joint campaign
to push government leaders to sign a treaty that would establish an
"International Pelagic Sanctuary" in an area where approximately 2,000
whales and thousands of other cetaceans gather to feed during the
summer months.
Despite pressure from local Italian authorities in the Regione Liguria and
initiatives taken recently by several international figures, including
England's HRH Prince Philip and Prince Rainier of Monaco, the
governments of France, Italy and Monaco have not yet signed the treaty
they originally agreed to in a 1993 declaration of intent.
The main provisions of the declaration ban driftnet fishing in the area,
provide the strict banning of all off-shore boating competitions, and urge
the enforcement of pollution control measures. Since 1993, the French
and Italian governments have not made any further concrete steps to
reach a binding agreement.
For this reason WWF and Europe Conservation are now calling for
negotiations among the governments of France, Italy and Monaco to be
re-opened immediately. The two environmental groups are calling on the
three to sign the treaty as a "Gift to the Earth" as part of the United
Nation's Year of the Ocean.
Today, a mere 0.22% of the Mediterranean marine area is protected. The
establishment of a Mediterranean Whales Park would increase the area
protected to 4 %. In total, the park would cover approximately 100,000
Km} , ranging from France's Giens peninsula, to Cape Caccia in
northern Sardinia, and from the Bonifacio Strait to Grosseto in Italy.
A further proposal to widen the borders up to the Balearic Islands in
Spain--an area well-known as a crucial stopover in whale migration
routes--will soon be put forward by WWF to Spanish authorities. In
addition, the recently signed Protocol on Biodiversity and Specially
Protected Areas of the Barcelona Convention specifically sets up the
legal framework for the establishment of protected areas in the
Mediterranean. With their new Campaign, WWF and Europe Conservation
are pushing for the Mediterranean Whales Park to be the first of these
Special Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMI).
The Mediterranean Whales Park Campaign will last throughout 1998 and
will include various initiatives to increase public awareness and lobby
national governments. Supporters of the campaign include: Acquario di
Genova, FIN - Italian Swimming Federation, MISA - Mediterranean
International Sea-Swimmers Association, LNI - Italian Naval League of
Pantelleria and Mazara del Vallo and Eco Guides Sans Frontiers. Various
entertainment personalities including: Bruno Lauzi, Enrica Bonaccorti,
Gino Paoli and Paolo Villaggio are also backing the campaign.
The opening event will be held tonight at the Acquario di Genova with a
fundraising dinner party. All the funds WWF and Europe Conservation
raise through the Campaign will be used both to improve the scientific
knowledge of the behaviour, and state of conservation of cetaceans in
the area, and to increase public awareness.
CONTACT:
Alessandra Poggiani, Communications Officer,
WWF Mediterranean
Programme Office,
tel. 39-6-844 97 424,
mobile 0039 - (0) 347 - 23 70 456
(languages: English, Italian)
Giulietta Rak, Assistant
at WWF Mediterranean Programme Office,
tel.39-6-844 97 360
(languages: English, Spanish, Italian)
WWF is known as World Wildlife Fund in Canada and the United States.