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WCC 2016 Res 017 - Activity Report

Submitted by cisneros on Thu, 01/31/2019 - 23:39
General Information
Actions to avert the extinction of the vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus)
IUCN Constituent: 
Regional Office for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean
IUCN Constituent type: 
IUCN Secretariat
Period covered: 
2018
Geographic scope: 
Meso and South America
Country/Territory: 
Mexico
In implementing this Resolution your organization has worked/consulted with...
IUCN Members: 
Fondo para la Biodiversidad CONABIO / Mexico
8CDCF253-B9A3-E011-96D3-002655853524
Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales ( SEMARNAT ) / Mexico
IUCN Commissions: 
F717E09E-5094-E611-97F4-005056BA6623
IUCN Secretariat: 
Yes
Other non-IUCN related organisations: 
SAGARPA-Mexico, UNESCO-WHC, NOAA, CITES,WWF-Mexico, Comité Internacional para la Recuperación de la Vaquita - (CIRVA)
Implementation
Indicate and briefly describe any actions that have been carried out to implement this Resolution: 
ActionDescriptionStatus
Scientific/technical activities- Participation of the Mexican Government to the 42nd UNESCO-World Heritage Committee Meeting (Manama, Bahrain, 24 June- 4 July, 2018) (For details, see the meeting report below) - In response to the resolution and to the Decision 41 COM 7B.15, adopted by UNESCO-WHC at its 41st session in Krakow on July 2-12, 2017 the Government of Mexico made substantial effort to implement the recommendations, in particular the significant progress made in strengthening surveillance efforts in the Upper Gulf of California, the enactment of the permanent gillnet ban, the increased net retrieval operations, progress made in coordinating the different law enforcement agencies and in streamlining the enforcement of regulations, as well as the efforts made to address the illegal international trade in totoaba through bilateral channels and the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). -SEMARNAT and CONABIO carried out in 2018 various actions and events to improve knowledge about the vaquita and promoting its conservation and avoid danger of extinction (the references of these activities can be found below). Completed
Please report on the result /achievement of the actions taken: 
According to A Reactive Monitoring Mission report conducted in 2018: despite Government´s effort insufficient progress has been made on the development and introduction of multiple and viable alternative fishing gears that do not endanger vaquita. Moreover the Vaquita Conservation, Protection and Recovery programme (CPR), set-up to establish a small captive population in order to avoid extinction of the species, had to be abandoned after one of the captured animals died.
What challenges have you encountered in implementing this Resolution and what measures have you taken to overcome them?: 
Urging the Mexican government to address the following recommendations of the 2018 UNESCO-IUCN mission: - Maintain a high level of surveillance and monitoring activities, particularly during the season when illegal totoaba fishing occurs; - Expedite the development, testing and application of multiple alternative fishing gears, in close cooperation with local fishermen - Ensure that the Decree t
Identify and briefly describe what future actions are planned for the implementation of this Resolution: 
Future ActionDescription
Scientific/technical activitiesThe Government of Mexico will submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2019, an updated report on the state of conservation of vaquita, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 43rd session in 2019, with a view to considering, in the case of the absence of significant progress, the inscription of the Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Scientific/technical activitiesThe IUCN Secretariat, as requested and according to the resources available, will provide technical support to future UNESCO-WHC missions and to the ongoing CITES study on the current status of totoaba and vaquita.
Additional Information
Upload document: 
File SEMARNAT-BOLETIN090218.docx
External link(s): 
Meeting report 42nd session of the WHC (Manama, 2018)
CIRVA Report - 2018
Vaquita Conservation, Protection and Recovery Programme (CPR)
PROCESIÓN EN HONOR A LA VAQUITA MARINA
La vaquita-Exhibition UNIVERSUM
Press report
Press report