IUCN Recommends Coordinated Action for Dolphins and Porpoises at Risk of Extinction

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has published a new report calling for a more integrated approach to the conservation of dolphins and porpoises.

Many species and populations are quickly declining as a result of problems that are well known but which have not been addressed. The report recommends a comprehensive approach with global experts on the protection of marine mammals, including both those working in natural habitats and those working in protected environments such as zoological parks to unite their efforts on essential conservation actions under the IUCN’s “One Plan Approach”.

According to information released today by the IUCN:

“This report aims to catalyze discussions on a delicate but long overdue subject: how to integrate ex situ options into the conservation toolkit for dolphins and porpoises, and prevent extinctions in coming decades” said Jon Paul Rodríguez, Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission.

“The rate at which our planet is losing cetacean species and populations (to say nothing of biodiversity as a whole) is alarming, and our efforts to reverse the trend have clearly fallen far short of what’s needed,” said Dr. Randall Reeves, Chair of the IUCN/SSC Cetacean Specialist Group. “Uncoordinated, piecemeal, and steadfastly hands-off approaches must be replaced by better planned, bolder, and more integrated collaborations if we are to avoid further cetacean extinctions.”

“The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is a membership Union composed of both government and civil society organisations. It harnesses the experience, resources and reach of its more than 1,400 Member organisations and the input of more than 17,000 experts. This diversity and vast expertise makes IUCN the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it.”