The public discourse on the non-indigenous, commercial seal hunt is marked by connotations of barbarism and brutality. And indeed, stemming from my own fieldwork in the Newfoundland hunt, sealing is not pretty. But then again, is killing an animal ever pretty? The answer is quite obviously 'no'. Lookout of a sealing vessel © Nikolas Sellheim …
The interpretation of treaties
It is easy to talk about a law and to refer to its provisions: law XY states this and that and it is thus the case that we have to stick to it. But is it really this simple? Obviously it is not. Apart from the long-standing debate on what 'law' actually is, at least …
Local recognition in the Convention on Biological Diversity
The year 2018 saw several crucially important international conferences for the protection of our planet, such as the Convention on Migratory Species, the Convention on Biological Diversity or the Climate Convention. The United Nations are indeed active in trying to protect the environment. I attended the 14th Conference of the Parties (CoP) of the Convention …
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Whaling today – The 67th International Whaling Commission Meeting 2018
During the meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in September 2018 in Florianópolis, Brazil, aboriginal whalers experienced a relieving decision by the Commission: they were granted a new quota, which is now valid for 7 years, and which will be transferred automatically unless agreed otherwise. But the decision did not come lightly. After all, …
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