× Information on this section of ECOLEX comes from the InforMEA Portal which compiled information from MEA Secretariats with the support of the European Union. The accuracy of the information displayed is the responsibility of the originating data source. In case of discrepancy the information as displayed on the respective MEA website prevails. Resolution for the Funding of Work on Environmental Concerns Document type Resolution Reference number 1998-6 Date May 16, 1998 SourceUNEP, InforMEA Status Adopted Subject Wild species & ecosystems, Sea Treaty International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (Dec 2, 1946) Meeting 50th Meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC50) Website crm.iwc.int Abstract RECALLING the directives by the Commission to the Scientific Committee and the Standing Working Group on Environmental Concerns (SWGEC) to consider and act on all priority areas for assessing the impact of environmental change on cetaceans; RECALLING that at the 49TH Annual Meeting the Commission adopted a resolution urging the Scientific Committee to produce detailed scientific proposals for future work on environmental concerns on a multi- annual basis; NOTING that at its 50th meeting the Scientific Committee reiterated its support for the two major environmental research programmes initiated within the SWGEC, which were originally proposed at the 49th meeting of the IWC Scientific Committee and subsequently endorsed by the Commission: i. a collaborative, multidisciplinary, multinational programme in Southern Ocean with CCAMLR and Southern Ocean GLOBEC; and ii. a multidisciplinary programme of work to investigate the adverse effects of pollutants on cetaceans. NOTING FURTHER that at this 50th meeting of the International Whaling Commission, the Scientific Committee agreed to an intersessional work plan that includes the following additional initiatives: I. the development of a proposal for a workshop on habitat degradation; and II. the identification of issues and activities related to assessing the environmental effects on Arctic cetaceans (IWC/50/4, 12.6) NOTING FURTHER that the Scientific Committee has identified eight priority topics that it hopes to address: climate/environmental change; chemical pollution; physical and biological habitat degradation; effects of fisheries; ozone depletion, and UV-B radiation; Arctic issues; disease and mortality events; and the impact of noise. NOW THEREFORE the Commission: AGREES to fund activities to be conducted in association with these programmes of research by drawing if necessary from the Commission’s reserves; INSTRUCTS the Secretariat in drawing up the provisional budget for 1999/2000 to make provisions for expenditure of £100,000 from the Commission’s reserves to fund selected proposals recommended from the Scientific Committee under these programmes, as well as to support Invited Participants with relevant expertise as necessary; AGREES to consider at its 51st Annual Meeting, the establishment of a dedicated Environment Research Fund to facilitate research on environmental change and cetaceans; and the attendance at the Scientific Committee and other related meetings of Invited Participants with relevant expertise in the priority areas of the Standing Working Group on Environmental Concerns.