Grænir dagar: Virði hvala á norðurslóðum

GAIA, nemendafélag meistaranema í umhverfis- og auðlindafræði í Háskóla Íslands, stendur fyrir árlegum Grænum Dögum daganna 18-22. mars. Í ljósi þess að Ísland undirbýr sig um þessar mundir fyrir að taka við formennsku Norðurskautsráðs, munu Grænir dagar einblína á uppbyggingu sjálfbærni á norðurslóðum. Dagskrá Grænna daga má finna á facebook

Flutt verða þrjú erindi um hvali á norðurslóðum og vistkerfin sem þeir eru hluti af. Viðburðurinn fer fram á ensku.

Joe Roman:

The recovery of the great whales after centuries of unregulated hunting is one of the great conservation success stories of the twentieth century. Yet the return of marine mammals can also cause conflict, as they are sometimes viewed as competitors with fishing and other human activities. Joe Roman will discuss the ecological role of whales in the oceans, including their role in enhancing productivity, and highlight the many ecosystem services they can provide in marine systems. Joe Roman is a Fulbright-National Science Foundation Arctic research scholar at the University of Iceland, and a Research Associate Professor at the University of Vermont.

David Cook:

The debate in Iceland about the merits of whale watching and whaling has been heated, all the more so in 2019 following the Icelandic government's decision to continue minke and fin whaling for a further five years. In recent years, around one-third of Faxaflói Bay has been reserved as a whale sanctuary, an area where whales may not be killed and whale watching prospers. Advocates such as the International Fund for Animal Welfare have demanded the whale sanctuary is expanded to the full extent of the bay, arguing that whale watching is a more economically viable and ethical industry. In this economic valuation study, we examine preferences and elicit willingness to pay for this expansion, as well as sourcing data concerning Icelandic attitudes towards whaling and whale watching. We estimate mean willingness to pay of 5.082 ISK per person for the expanded whale sanctuary. David Cook is a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Iceland in the Environment and Natural Resources program.

Tom Barry:

CAFF is the biodiversity working group of the Arctic Council and consists of National Representatives assigned by each of the eight Arctic Council Member States, representatives of Indigenous Peoples' organizations that are Permanent Participants to the Council, and Arctic Council observer countries and organizations. Tom Barry is Executive Secretary for CAFF and will be talking about how the Arctic Council works to monitor and report on changes to marine ecosystems, including marine mammals.