Environmental and civil society organizations in Latin America, with support from other regions, feel confident that an initiative for whale conservation in the South Atlantic will finally be approved this year. On the eve of the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission, taking place Jul. 2-6 in Panama City, Latin American activists are waging the final push for the creation of the South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary, which they have been striving to make a reality for a decade.

Roxana Schteinbarg of the Whale Conservation Institute of Argentina told Tierramérica that in order to pass, the initiative needs 75 percent of the votes of the commission’s member countries. Up until now, pro-whaling countries have managed to obstruct the creation of the sanctuary.

Schteinbarg said that this conservation initiative is the most important issue that will be addressed in Panama, and it is hoped that Japan and the United States will not block its approval, as has happened in years past.