Download A Thought for Food

A Thought for Food:
Conservation of Charismatic
Megafauna in the Arctic
Rachael Lorna Johnstone, University of
Akureyri and University of Greenland
[email protected]
Photo: National Geographic
Photo: Paul Nicklen / National Geographic
Photo: National Marine Mammal Labaoratory
Photo: Firstpeople.us
Food for
Thought?
Photo: National Geographic
 Conservation (stewardship; ustainable use; sustainable
Photo: National Marine Mammal Labaoratory
Photo:
National Geographic
development;
Intergenerational
equity)
 Protection (no-take approach; rejection of stewardship;
“sentimental” reasons)
Photo: National Geographic
The right to food
Photo: John Tyman
right to adequate food (article 11 ICESCR):
that must be free from adverse substances,
and acceptable within a given culture (UN
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, General Comment No 12, para 8).
UN Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, General Comment #12
 The right to adequate food shall therefore not be
interpreted in a narrow or restrictive sense which
equates it with a minimum package of calories, proteins
and other specific nutrients (para 6).
 Food should be culturally acceptable, taking: into
account, as far as possible, perceived non-nutrientbased values attached to food and food consumption
(para 11).
Classifications (IUCN)
Extinct
1.
Extinct (Caribbean Monk Seal; Canarian oystercatcher)
2. Extinct in the Wild (Black soft shell turtle; Hawaiian Crow)
Threatened
3. Critically Endangered (Southern bluefin tuna)
4. Endangered (fin & blue whales; Atlantic bluefin tuna)
5. Vulnerable (polar bear, walrus)
Non-Threatened
6. Near Threatened (narwhal & beluga)
7. Least Concern (minke, bowhead, humpback, grey, harp seal)
Photo: firstpeople.us
Photo: firstpeople.us
IUCN Polar Bear (vulnerable)
Loss of Arctic sea ice due to climate change is the most
serious threat to Polar Bears throughout their
circumpolar range… Our analyses highlight the potential
for large reductions in the global Polar Bear population if
sea-ice loss continues, which is forecast by climate models
and other studies. (IUCN Red List 2016)
IUCN Polar Bear (vulnerable)
For the two subpopulations (Southern Beaufort Sea,
Western Hudson Bay) that are known to have been
impacted by climate change and where a long time series
of abundance exist, harvest represents an additive
impact. Illegal take of polar bears in Russia, combined
with legal subsistence harvest in the U.S., may exceed
sustainable limits for the Chukchi subpopulation. (IUCN
Red List 2016)
Polar Bear Populations (WWF 2014)
CITES
Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora 1973
Appendix I – “species threatened with
extinction”
Appendix II - “species not necessarily threatened
with extinction, but in which trade must be
controlled in order to avoid utilization
incompatible with their survival”
Appendix III – species protected under some
States’ domestic laws
Polar Bear Hunting Tours
IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group
The primary global threat to polar bears is loss of sea ice
habitat due to anthropogenic climate change — not
international trade. Habitat loss and the resulting population
declines can only be mitigated through global reduction in
emissions of GHGs.
… international trade does not currently appear to be a
significant threat to the global polar bear population, and the
global harvest is currently managed to avoid negative effects
on persistence. (PBSG statement on proposed transfer of
polar bear to CITES Appendix I)
Narwhal
Distribution
Baffin Bay: >90,000
Northern Hudson Bay: c 12,500
East Greenland: c 6,400
(TRAFFIC/WWF Report 2015)
DFO estimate for Baffin Bay
2013: > 140,000
Narwhal quotas in Canada
DFO: Department
of Fisheries and
Oceans
recommendation
for TAH
Hunters submit
evidence based
on indigenous
knowledge and
practice
NWMB: Nunavut
Wildlife
Management
Report makes
recommendation
for TAH
Federal Minister
accepts or rejects
NWMB TAH
recommendaiton
Photo: Paul Nicklen / National Geographic
Narwhal quotas in Canada
DFO: Map of the six
Canadian narwhal
summer
aggregations as well
as two aggregations in
Greenland
recognized as part of
the Baffin Bay
population by the
CanadaGreenland Joint
Commission on
Conservation and
Management of
Narwhal and Beluga
(source:
NAMMCO/SC/21JCNB/SWG/14-05).
Narwhal quotas in Canada
2013 Aerial Survey Results: Baffin Bay Narwhal Stocks – new TAH advice
Narwhal Stock (Management Unit) Current TAH
New TAH Advice
Somerset Island (SI)
Admiralty Inlet (AI)
Eclipse Sound (ES)
East Baffin Island (EBI)
Unassigned (Jones Sound) *
Unassigned (Smith Sound) *
TOTAL
532
233
236
122
50
1173
658
389
134
206
76
77
1540
* TAH of 50 approved for Jones Sound & Smith Sound together
DFO 2013 narwhal survey in Baffin Bay
• Survey conducted in August 2013; but narwhal summer
in area from May through October.
• “Human error” of spotters.
• The conditions were foggy for part of the survey
period.
• Narwhals changing route in response to extraneous
factors (noise, orca, even the spotter plane).
• DFO considers only Western method and ignores
indigenous knowledge.
• Inuit believe that Admiralty Inlet and Eclipse Sound
whales are the same sub-population (hence no
decrease).
Inuit Polar Bear and Narwhal Products
(c) Tim Melling
(c) Fur Canada
Thank you!
[email protected]
Photo: firstpeople.us