The Berlin Initiative on Strengthening the Conservation Agenda of the International Whaling Commission: Toward a New Era for Cetaceans?

The fifty-fifth meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was held in Berlin on 16-19 June 2003. The key development at the meeting was the passage of a resolution, denominated 'the Berlin Initiative', which established a Conservation Committee to guide the IWC's future conservation agenda. This article will seek to assess the implications of the Berlin Initiative for the future of the IWC from both a conservation and political perspective. In this pursuit, the article will aim to (1)briefly outline the history of the IWC; (2)highlight the major elements of the Berlin Initiative, including the primary conservation issues it seeks to address; and (3)seek to evaluate the impact of the initiative on the future agenda of the IWC. Adapted from the source document.