Announcements: Archive

Conference Year of the dolphin in Europe 2007

Keynotes and download of the presentations

Strempel, Rüdiger

Framework for cetacean conservation in the European Union

• The current legal framework for cetacean conservation in the EU region consists of numerous legal instruments and regulations developed, frequently independ-ently of each other, at the global, regional, and sub-regional levels. Its effective-ness could be enhanced by better coordination. Gaps should be identified and filled, inconsistencies eliminated, overlap avoided and synergies promoted in or-der to create a more coherent whole.
• This could possibly be achieved within the context of the proposed EU Marine Thematic Strategy, provided that existing international instruments, structures, and processes are not marginalized or eliminated, but rather integrated and built upon to the greatest extent possible and that the EU and its Member States avail themselves of the full potential they offer.
• Moreover, despite the overall positive effects of the various legal instruments, these effects would be enhanced by strengthened and more efficient compliance and implementation.
• One important step in this direction would be the integration of cetacean conser-vation measures into all relevant sectoral and cross-sectoral policies of the EU and its Member States. Improved coordination at the EU and national levels would, moreover, contribute substantially to ensuring that this integration is re-flected in consistent positions of the EU and its Members throughout all relevant fora and processes. Efficient mechanisms should be developed to ensure that the results of such multilateral processes are then translated back into national action in a timely and comprehensive manner.

Presentation: 08-Ruediger_Strempel.pdf