THE MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION COMPENDIUM

BILATERAL / RUSSIA
First Update; pages 921-923


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Protocol of the First Technical Meeting Concerning the Intention of the United States and Russia to Conclude Bilateral Agreements on the Conservation and Management of the Pacific Walrus, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, 1995

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Done at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy 20 September 1995
Primary source citation: Copy of text provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of Interior


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PROTOCOL OF THE FIRST TECHNICAL MEETING CONCERNING THE INTENTION OF THE UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA TO CONCLUDE BILATERAL AGREEMENTS ON THE CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE PACIFIC WALRUS Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Russia September 13-20, 1995

Recognizing the intrinsic value of the Pacific walrus ("Odobenus rosmarus divergens) as a common resource shared by all people, representatives of the United States and Russia met in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Russia September 13-20, 1995, for discussions on the joint conservation and management of the shared population of Pacific walrus. The results of these talks established a basis for future efforts leading to bilateral Agreements.

This Protocol reflects the Protocol of Intentions signed on September 9, 1994, in Nome, Alaska, U.S.A. and the discussions conducted by the Native Peoples of Alaska and Chukotka in Nome during the Inuit Circumpolar Conference in July 1995. Representatives of the Governments of the United States and Russia, hereinafter referred to as "the Sides," have agreed as follows:

1. To note the constructive work of both Sides on implementation of the decisions of the Protocol on Intentions of September 9, 1994, for establishing Bilateral Agreements on the Conservation and Management of Pacific Walrus.

2. To accomplish the objective of conservation and management of this shared population by developing both a Government-to-Government Bilateral Agreement and an Agreement between the Native People of both countries. In this regard, both Parties encourage the establishment of a Chukotka Regional Walrus Association. The Parties will assist in the full interaction between the Alaska Native and Chukotka Native Peoples in the preparation of a Native-to-Native Agreement.

3. To recognize that the Bilateral Agreements must provide for the conservation, research, habitat protection and Native subsistence use of the Pacific walrus.

4. That reliable biological information, including scientific data and traditional ecological knowledge, will be fundamental to these Bilateral Agreements. The Parties therefore agree to continue and expand cooperative research programs to enhance knowledge of the Pacific walrus, in particular:

* there is a need to continue conducting joint population surveys at five-year intervals, subject to environmental conditions and available funding;

* it is necessary to carry out coordinated programs to monitor the abundance, age, and sex composition of walrus taken annually in each country;

* to routinely exchange scientific and technical information.

5. That the Agreements will be based on principles such as sustained yield and maintenance of walrus at optimum sustainable population levels. These principles will be embodied in the Bilateral Agreements as the basis for future harvest guidelines.

6. To recognize the need for Native participation in the allocation of harvest levels.

7. To recognize that subsistence use of Pacific walrus, including the manufacture and selling of articles of handicrafts and clothing, is an established traditional use.

8. That habitat protection shall be a cornerstone to future agreements.

9. That the Sides will take measures to curb illegal take and trade of walrus or their products within their respective jurisdictions.

10. To provide information and technical assistance to the Native Peoples of Alaska and Chukotka for the purpose of maintaining their traditions and living standards.

11. To coordinate and collaborate in accordance with International Agreements to which both Sides are signatories.

12. To assure the active participation of the Native Peoples of Alaska and Chukotka in technical meetings between the Sides' and participation by the Sides in meetings between Native Peoples of Chukotka and Alaska.

13. The Natives Peoples addressed by these Agreements will include: the Yupiit (Eskimos), Chukchi residing in the coastal areas of the Chaun, Schmidt, Chukotskiy, Providenskiy and Iultin Regions of the Chukotka Autonomous District, and Koryaks of the Koryak Autonomous District, the Inupiat of Northwestern Alaska and North Slope of Alaska, and the Yupiit of St. Lawrence Island and Western Alaska, including Bristol Bay.

THE SIDES RECOGNIZE THE NEED TO FURTHER DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING:

1. The methods used to determine biologically-based sustainable harvest levels of walrus shall be based on the best available scientific information and shall utilize traditional knowledge.

2. The need to create a Scientific Consultative Walrus Committee consisting of representatives of both Governments and the Native Peoples of Alaska and Chukotka to address issues related to walrus conservation and management.

3. A definition of the specific geographic areas to be covered in the proposed Bilateral Agreements.

4. To define specific terms in the final Bilateral Agreements, including "commercial harvest," "habitat," "Native Peoples", etc.

5. To take steps necessary to ensure that information from these and future deliberations is shared with interested and affected organizations.

THE SIDES THEREFORE RESOLVE:

To conduct the second meeting of the Sides in the U.S. in 1996 to discuss a proposed Government-to-Government Bilateral Agreement and a Native-to-Native Agreement between the Native Peoples of Alaska and Chukotka on conservation and management of the Pacific walrus population. The Sides agree to prepare and exchange draft documents for preliminary review two months before the meeting.

Signed on September 19, 1995 in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Russia in the English and Russian languages, both texts being equally authentic.

For the Russian side: [Signature] Grigory K. Kovalev Deputy Director, Biological Resources Protection Department. Ministry of Environmental and Natural Resources Protection of Russian Federation

For the American side: [Signature] David B. Allen Regional Director, Alaska Region U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service U.S. Department of the Interior