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Humpback whale in Caribbean waters: "We must act urgently to protect these magnificent creatures before it is too late"

Photo: OceanPhoto / IMAGO

Climate change, ship noise and whaling threaten the giants of the sea, and the indigenous people of New Zealand, Tahiti and the Cook Islands want to do something about it. To them, whales are more than animals, which is why some of their leaders have now banded together to give them a new status: that of legal entities. The Maori even see a direct connection between themselves and the marine mammals and consider them to be their ancestors. As relatives.

A few days ago, a corresponding agreement called “He Whakaputanga Moana” – Declaration for the Ocean – was signed on Rarotonga, the largest of the Cook Islands. In addition to the Maori King Tuheitia Paki, more than a dozen high-ranking representatives of the indigenous people of the Cook Islands and Tahiti took part in the ceremony. Their hope is that other islands in the region will join the initiative and that such a step can ultimately become established internationally. The goal: to create a basis for better protecting whales worldwide.

"The song of our ancestors has become weaker and their habitat is threatened, which is why we must act now," said King Tuheitia Paki. »We can no longer turn a blind eye. Whales play a crucial role in the health of our entire marine ecosystem.” The decline in their populations is disrupting the delicate balance on which all life in the Pacific is based. “We must act urgently to protect these magnificent creatures before it is too late.”

According to a report by the environmental foundation WWF, indigenous peoples are the best allies for protecting nature. "Over generations they have collected invaluable knowledge about nature and its sustainable use." But the global greed for resources threatens these peoples just as much as the ecoregions in which they live.

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A humpback whale off the coast of Ecuador

Photo: A2800 epa Jose Jacome/dpa

Whales are threatened not only by climate change, pollution, noise or collisions with ships, but also by commercial whaling. Species such as the blue whale, the bowhead whale and the Western Pacific gray whale are already considered critically endangered and are at risk of soon becoming extinct.

At the same time, whales are important climate protectors: "They mix nutrients in the sea and, through their excretions, promote the growth of phytoplankton, which produces more than half of the world's oxygen," says the website of the organization Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC). Their bodies served as huge carbon stores and, after their death, were a valuable source of food for life in the deep sea.

"Across the Pacific, indigenous peoples have always lived in harmony with the ocean," wrote Maori environmentalist Mere Takoko about the now signed declaration in the climate and culture magazine Atmos. The sea is not just a source of food, "but a living ancestor, a repository of knowledge that is passed down through generations." And whales are more than just resources that need to be exploited: "They are also sentient beings and our ancestors."

But what does legal status entail? According to Takoko, such a measure goes far beyond traditional protection measures because it recognizes whales as persons with inherent rights. "This includes the right to freedom of movement, to a healthy environment and to thrive alongside humanity." If a ship were to injure or even kill a whale, this would probably result in high fines.

Takoko is convinced that the declaration is not yet a binding international treaty, but it still has considerable weight. There is already a global discussion about the legal and ethical status of whales.

Personal status for more visibility

Giving nature such rights is not a new idea. Rather, it is an increasingly common method of countering climate change, said Ralph Chami, CEO and co-founder of Blue Green Future, to the US broadcaster “NPR”.

“In Costa Rica they give the bees personality,” Chami said. »In Panama they gave leatherback turtles personality. In Ecuador, nature has rights.” The idea of ​​being human is primarily about visibility. “In this case, the whole thing is intended to make the whale visible,” says Chami. Because things that are visible cannot be ignored.

eru/dpa