Civil organizations from more than a dozen Latin American countries and international NGOs have jointly submitted a Request to the Buenos Aires Group (BAG) met in the City of Santo Domingo de Heredia, Costa Rica, related to the conservation and non-lethal use of cetaceans

San Jose, Costa Rica, Nov. 14, 2008 - In order to move forward with concrete measures for the conservation and non-lethal use of cetaceans in Latin America, representatives of regional and international non-government organizations participated in the last working day of the 5th Meeting of the BAG held on November 10-13. The Instituto de Conservacion de Ballenas (ICB) was present there following the activities of the Group as well as coordinating its own efforts with those of other Latin American organizations to ensure that the International Whaling Commission (IWC) effectively meets the goal of the conservation of whales and dolphins around the world.

During the meeting, a document signed by thirty-three environmental non-government organizations from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela and international organizations involved in conservation activities in the region was submitted as a formal request to strengthen the IWC review process and ensure the effective protection of cetacean species in the Latin American region