Global conference rejects bans on trade in bluefin tuna, polar bear
Posted: 03/18/2010 07:21:42 PM PDT
Updated: 03/18/2010 07:21:43 PM PDT
In the contest between commerce and conservation, a global conference this week aimed at protecting imperiled wildlife seems to be giving commerce the upper hand.
Delegates gathered in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday rejected proposals pushed by the United States to impose restrictions on trade in polar bears and Atlantic bluefin tuna, despite arguments that climate change was endangering the polar bears and that bluefin tuna has been fished to precipitously low levels. The group earlier defeated a measure aimed at exposing problems in the global shark trade.
The 175 nations represented at the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora could reconsider the decisions before the meeting ends next week, but they have shown little inclination to make economic sacrifices for the sake of conservation.
CITES, which meets every 2 & 1/2 years to decide whether the world should curb trade in an array of coveted plants and animals, has over four decades restricted the sale of such things as rhino horns, elephant tusks and mahogany trees in the Amazon.
This year, delegates are considering an unprecedented number of commercially valuable marine species, including eight kinds of shark and more than two dozen corals.
U.S. officials and environmentalists thought the case for protection was strong, with the prospect of climate change melting polar bears' sea-ice habitat and the dramatic drop in
the adult population of bluefin tuna.
But while the conference serves to focus public attention on the plight of vulnerable species, it does not always result in heightened environmental protections.
"Today it is clear countries are not ready to ban trade in species that are commercially important," Juan Carlos Vasquez, a spokesman for the CITES secretary general, said in a phone interview from Doha.
The world's economic difficulties added an undercurrent to this week's deliberations.
Frank Pokiak, an indigenous leader from Canada, said indigenous peoples had earned the right to organize commercial bear hunts because of their long history of environmental stewardship. "If it wasn't for polar bears and other wildlife that we harvest, we wouldn't exist today," Pokiak said.
A delegate from Morocco, in opposing the trade restrictions, said that fishing for bluefin tuna "allows 2,000 families to survive."
Tom Strickland, the assistant interior secretary for fish and wildlife and parks, who left Washington on Thursday night to lead the U.S. delegation, said the administration was "deeply disappointed" in the two votes but was still considering how it could press its case.
Any vote can be reconsidered until the last day of the meeting, and delegates have yet to vote on new protections for red and pink corals, tigers, elephants and several shark species.
http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/gallery/100303/GAL-10Mar03-3924/media/PHO-10Mar03-208809.jpg
My first impression when I heard the news was, "Hey! It is alright to eat Bluefin Tuna! When are we going to Japanese restaurants this week?" I am a pledged Bluefin Saver, yet I have this feeling. I'm immensely worried what the rest of the world will think when they hear the same news.
But I have no doubt that some people will be on cloud nine. Here's a clip from mysinchew.com,
What can we say? It is money and food we are talking about!!! Who cares about the poor dying fish? One die out and we can switch to other species!!
MY GOD!!! There should be a limit to the consumption of any natural resources by us human beings!!! We shouldn't go all the way! We need to know when to stop! Why genocide??? Don't these people have any guilt??
Guys, let's save the bluefin tuna once again, human beings have let them down, and they are on their own now.
Vocabulary:
imperil -- verb
to put something or someone at risk or in danger of being harmed or destroyed
precipitously -- adverb
If a reduction or increase is precipitous, it is fast or great
curb -- verb [T]
to control or limit something that is not wanted
covet -- verb [T] formal
to want to have something very much, especially something which belongs to someone else
unprecedented -- adjective
never having happened or existed in the past
plight -- noun[S]
an unpleasant condition, especially a serious, sad or difficult one
vulnerable -- adjective
able to be easily physically, emotionally, or mentally hurt, influenced or attacked
indigenous -- adjective
naturally existing in a place or country rather than arriving from another place
stewardship -- noun [U]
Someone's stewardship of something is the way in which that person controls or organizes it
genocide -- noun [U]
the murder of a whole group of people, especially a whole nation, race or religious group
Resources:
But I have no doubt that some people will be on cloud nine. Here's a clip from mysinchew.com,
"It was good," Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told reporters after a UN wildlife meeting in Qatar voted down a proposal to ban the international trade of bluefin caught in the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic.
"It means the import of bluefin tuna will continue for the time being, and I think it's good that the price of bluefin tuna will not rise further," Hatoyama said.
But he added that Japan "should be on alert as we still don't know what will happen" until the end next week of the meeting in Doha of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
A smiling Finance Minister Naoto Kan said he often enjoys "negi-toro", minced fatty tuna mixed with leek usually served on rice.
"It's good that I will be able to keep eating it," he said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano, the top government spokesman, said: "I am relieved that it was voted down last night. I am delighted about that.
What can we say? It is money and food we are talking about!!! Who cares about the poor dying fish? One die out and we can switch to other species!!
MY GOD!!! There should be a limit to the consumption of any natural resources by us human beings!!! We shouldn't go all the way! We need to know when to stop! Why genocide??? Don't these people have any guilt??
Guys, let's save the bluefin tuna once again, human beings have let them down, and they are on their own now.
Vocabulary:
imperil -- verb
to put something or someone at risk or in danger of being harmed or destroyed
precipitously -- adverb
If a reduction or increase is precipitous, it is fast or great
curb -- verb [T]
to control or limit something that is not wanted
covet -- verb [T] formal
to want to have something very much, especially something which belongs to someone else
unprecedented -- adjective
never having happened or existed in the past
plight -- noun[S]
an unpleasant condition, especially a serious, sad or difficult one
vulnerable -- adjective
able to be easily physically, emotionally, or mentally hurt, influenced or attacked
indigenous -- adjective
naturally existing in a place or country rather than arriving from another place
stewardship -- noun [U]
Someone's stewardship of something is the way in which that person controls or organizes it
genocide -- noun [U]
the murder of a whole group of people, especially a whole nation, race or religious group
Resources:
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=39358&dict=CALD
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=62244&dict=CALD&topic=hills-and-mountains
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=18985&dict=CALD
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=17829&dict=CALD
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=86856&dict=CALD
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=88731&dict=CALD
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=40261&dict=CALD&topic=race-and-ethnicity
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=78033&dict=CALD
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=32516&dict=CALD&topic=murder-and-attempted-murder
I always think how we treat the earth and animals, how they will teat us as well. That why there are more and more nature disaster,terrible climate and different kind of disease. So, it's not only a sad day for animals but also human.
ReplyDeleteSharon
You are absolutely right Sharon, couldn't agree more.
ReplyDelete