Colombia’s Constitutional Court approved that the “International Convention for the regulation of whaling” and the “Protocol to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling” be incorporated into national legislation.
Magistrate Mauricio Gonzalez Cuervo said the treaty and its protocol builds on Colombian constitutional principles that aim to protect natural resources.
“This is very important because Colombia has two oceans where there is a big concurrence of these marine mammals, the Pacific waters off the coast of the Choco department are the birth place of the calves, and it is a blessing for Colombia to preserve its biodiversity,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez recognized that for many people whaling is their livelihood, and he stressed that the treaty did not ban whaling but rather regulated the practice.
The treaty and protocol had been tied up first at the foreign ministry and then in congress since 2007. Now that it has been adopted, it will be written into the Colombian constitution.
Humpback whales arrive off Colombia’s Pacific coast every year in August to mate and give birth.
There is controversy in Colombia as to whether Malaga Bay, a famous mating ground for humpback whales, into a national park or an industrial port.
