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  UNEP 15 Sep 06
UN Launches the Year of the Dolphin 2007 Campaign
Prince Albert Dives in Monaco’s Waters to Protect Dolphins

Monaco/Bonn, 15 September - Threats for dolphins are on the rise. They face entanglement in fishing nets, marine pollution, prey depletion due to over-fishing, deliberate hunting and disturbance from noise. These are only some of the causes why they might soon be extinct in the world’s seas.

To help stop this process, the United Nations Environment Programme/Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) along with ACCOBAMS and ASCOBANS decided to launch the Year of the Dolphin 2007.

This campaign will involve Governments, NGOs and the private sector around the world to emphasize the need to protect dolphin species. The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) and the tourist group TUI are partners.

“The Year of the Dolphin gives me the opportunity to renew my firm commitment towards protecting marine biodiversity. With this strong initiative we can make a difference to save these fascinating marine mammals from the brink of extinction”, said Prince Albert, the patron of the campaign.

The Year of the Dolphin will be launched at a public event on Larvotto´s beach in Monaco on 17 September 2006. Together with professional divers and the Executive Secretary of the Monaco-based “Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic Area” (ACCOBAMS), Prince Albert will submerge the statue of a dolphin in the Larvotto Reserve to mark the 10th Anniversary of the agreement and its achievements made during the last decade. The statue is a tribute to the memory of Prince Rainier III. Representatives of the Convention on Migratory Species and other UN officials and of Monegasque institutions will attend the event.

Under the auspices of the Convention on Migratory Species two special Agreements have so far been concluded to help protect dolphin species: the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas (ASCOBANS) and ACCOBAMS.

The fact that ACCOBAMS is based in Monaco stresses the Principality’s environmental commitment, with a particular focus on the sea and marine life.
links
Year of the Dolphin 2007 website
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