International Whale Conservation in a Changing Climate: The Ecosystem Approach, Marine Protected Areas, and the International Whaling Commission

Abstract Whale populations are exposed to a suite of contemporary threats, including by-catch, ship strikes, habitat degradation, and climate change. Of these threats, climate change presents the most challenging management dilemma because it pressures whale populations directly (e.g., by altering habitat suitability) and indirectly (e.g., by increasing disease transmission and exposure to toxicants, by affecting prey abundance, and by exacerbating other threats). There is also an emerging scientific understanding of how healthy whale populations constitute an important biological component of the climate system and contribute to climate change mitigation. The International Whaling Commission (“IWC”), which is the primary international organization dedicated to whale conservation and management, has investigated and studied climate change but has failed to develop a commensurate management response. Conversely, parallel developments in international wildlife conservation and management evince support for an integrated and holistic ecosystem approach (“EA”) and urge the immediate development of climate-adaptive measures. The EA has been operationalized in prominent legal instruments and through various management techniques, including marine protected areas (“MPAs”). In view of observed and predicted effects of climate change on whales, this article proposes a new approach to designating and protecting whale sanctuaries at the IWC that better aligns with a contemporary understanding of the EA and MPAs, and that can advance the IWC’s institutional transition towards climate-informed modernized management. This proposed innovation is tested for its legal permissibility and political feasibility, and the analysis concludes that improving the IWC’s regulatory functionality remains a crucial conservation objective.