TUI Aktiengesellschaft
http://www.tui-group.com/yod/en/activities/watch.html
WATCH Western African Talks in Cetaceans and their Habitats

WATCH Western African Talks in Cetaceans and their Habitats

Panel discussion

Panel discussion

 

 

With the essential support of TUI and as part of the Year of the Dolphin a series of meetings - WATCH (Western African Talks in Cetaceans and their Habitats) - was held between 16 and 20 October in Adeje ( Tenerife ). Important topics included environmentally benign whale and dolphin watching activities and educational measures to raise public awareness and sensitivity.

 
The main objective of these meetings was to lay the foundation for an agreement on the protection and conservation of small cetaceans in western African coastal waters.
 
As founding partner of the Year of the Dolphin TUI played a crucial role: to ensure the comfort of the 100-plus participants from western Africa, Spain and Portugal , at the meetings TUI provided and coordinated travel and transfer to and from the conference as well as accommodation in its hotels. Furthermore, TUI’s experience as a business enterprise in the conservation and protection of biodiversity flowed into the results.
 
In collaboration with involved countries from the region under the auspices of the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) it was possible to establish the framework for a major agreement on small whales.
 
The area covered by the agreement to protect whales and dolphins stretches from Morocco to South Africa , and covers the waters rich in cetaceans around the Macaronesia islands (Azores, Canaries, Cape Verde islands, Madeira) in the Eastern Atlantic .  
 
On the side small working groups developed complex action plans that provide for regional and international collaboration with an ecosystem approach as well as legislation and policy to implement conservation, for instance reducing bycatch and the impact of fisheries.
 

A symposium is also planned for 2008.