Story | 27 Sep, 2018

IUCN seeks whale conservation expert to lead advise on industry development impacts

IUCN invites applications for the Chair of its Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel (WGWAP) to provide objective independent advice on the impacts to whales and their marine habitat during offshore oil and gas development and beyond. The position will run for three years from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2021. The application deadline is extended to 31 October 2018.

Photo: David Weller

For the last 14 years, the IUCN-led WGWAP has worked with Sakhalin Energy – an oil and gas company with Gazprom, Shell, Mitsui and Mitsubishi as shareholders – and other actors to ensure the long-term conservation of the western gray whales that feed each summer and autumn off Russia’s Sakhalin Island, just north of Japan.

The Chair’s responsibilities include:

establishment of the Panel’s annual programme of work and recruitment of necessary expertise;
leadership of the Panel and output delivery;
integration of the Panel’s expertise and experience into relevant processes at range-wide level, including the revision and implementation of the IWC/IUCN Conservation Management Plan and the Range-state Memorandum of Cooperation Concerning Conservation Measures for the Western Gray Whale Population.

Once the Chair has been appointed, the recruitment of the members of the Panel will follow for the same three-year period of 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2021.

The Panel’s core principles are independence, transparency, accountability and engagement.

The full Call for Applications to serve as Chair of IUCN’s Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel (WGWAP) is available on the IUCN HRMS portal.

LINKS:

Full Call for Applications