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International Endorsement of “Whale Carbon”

By Steven Lutz and Heidi Pearson

By Blue Forests Project

September 20^th, 2018

Nations recognize ocean conservation as a measure to combat climate change

In a surprising decision at last week’s meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), ocean conservation was supported as a measure to combat climate change.

Endorsed by 41 of 71 nations, two resolutions at the IWC meeting in Florianópolis, Brazil, highlighted the potential role whales play in retaining carbon in the ocean and helping to reduce the effects of climate change. This endorsement was surprising and welcomed by civil society, because it has broad potential implications for the management of marine resources, and could be a significant opportunity to combine ocean conservation with climate action. The resolutions and relevant passages follow:

Resolution on Advancing the Commission’s Work on the Role of Cetaceans in the Ecosystem Functioning – This resolution commends the IWC’s “Scientific and Conservation Committee for their efforts to increase understanding of the contribution of cetaceans to ecosystem functioning.” This is a reference to a resolution endorsed by 36 nations and passed at the 66th meeting of the IWC in 2016, which asked the IWC’s Scientific Committee to research how whale conservation may help mitigate climate change. The current resolution also encourages the IWC to seek synergies and collaborations on this issue. It further encourages member states “to integrate the value of cetaceans’ ecological roles into local, regional, and global organisations on biodiversity and environment, including climate change.”

The Florianópolis Declaration – This resolution focused on the role of the IWC in the conservation and management of whales in the 21st century. Relevant to whales and climate change, the resolution recognizes that the role of the IWC has evolved to include “the maintenance of healthy cetacean populations to fulfil the vital ecological and carbon cycling roles these animals play in the global marine ecosystem functioning.”

Voting on the resolution on the role of cetaceans in ecosystem functioning (credit: Sue Fisher, Animal Welfare Institute)

Whale Carbon

Recent science has revealed that the natural, biological processes of whales can help to trap carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and reduce climate change. These processes are commonly referred to as “whale carbon” and they can take a number of forms.

Whales eat a lot and they excrete enormous quantities of nutrients that help phytoplankton grow. When whales swim from ocean depths to the surface, they also increase nutrient availability for phytoplankton. Like plants on land, phytoplankton absorb carbon dioxide. More phytoplankton means more carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere. Whales are also big and long-lived. This means they store a lot of carbon in their bodies, and for long periods of time. When they die and sink to the ocean floor, they bring all of that trapped carbon with them where it can remain buried for millennia.

Much work remains to measure the value of whale carbon and harnessing it for climate change action. However, the majority of countries that have endorsed the IWC resolutions clearly indicate that there is great potential interest in the roles that whales and other marine life can play in combating climate change. And this is good progress.

41 nations endorsed two ‘whale carbon’ resolutions at last week’s meeting of the International Whaling Commission (credit: GRID-Arendal)

Additional information and references

Countries that endorsed the Resolution on Advancing the Commission’s Work on the Role of Cetaceans in the Ecosystem Functioning (IWC/67/17 Rev1): Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America, and Uruguay.

Countries that endorsed the endorsed the Florianópolis Declaration (IWC/67/13.Rev1): Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America, and Uruguay.

Animal Welfare Institute (2018). 2018 IWC 67 Meeting in Florianopolis, Brazil. Web page.

Blue Forests Project (2018). Fighting climate change with whale conservation. Blog post.

Blue Forests Project (2016). Save a whale, save the planet. Blog post.

IISD Reporting Services (2018). Summary of the 67th meeting of the International Whaling Commission: 10-14 September 2018. Earth Negotiations Bulletin. Vol. 34 No. 2.

Lutz SJ, Martin AH (2014). Fish carbon: exploring marine vertebrate carbon services. Published by GRID-Arendal, Arendal, Norway.

Footnotes

Cover: A humpback whale calf breaches in Southeast Alaska (credit: Heidi Pearson)

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FootNotes

Cover: A humpback whale calf breaches in Southeast Alaska (credit: Heidi Pearson)

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