ICB IN THE MEDIA INTEGRATING WHALE WATCHING AND CONSERVATION

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Juliana Wilkinson
6 years ago
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INTEGRATING WHALE WATCHING AND CONSERVATION With funds from IFAW, 40,000 copies of ICB s Whale Watching Guide were re-printed with graphic design assistance of Puerto Web.

The Secretaría de Turismo y Áreas Protegidas from Chubut helped distribute the guide.

1 INTEGRATING WHALE WATCHING AND CONSERVATION With funds from IFAW, 40,000 copies of ICB s Whale Watching Guide were re-printed with graphic design assistance of Puerto Web. The purpose of the guide is to improve the educational experience of whale-watch trips and to increase public awareness of the conservation needs of right whales and their habitat. The Secretaría de Turismo y Áreas Protegidas from Chubut helped distribute the guide. The guides are given to tourists going on whale-watch trips through the six whale-watch companies in Puerto Pirámides, to stores in Puerto Pirámides and Puerto Madryn, and at the toll booth at the entrance to the Península Valdés Natural Reserve ICB IN THE MEDIA With support from Consultora ZC&M, ICB continued to have a strong presence in the national and provincial media. In 2003 ICB appeared in: 18 articles in major newspapers 7 articles in magazines 25 radio and TV shows ICB s outreach through the internet was also significant. By the end of 2003, ICB reports and articles were found in 84 internet portals, through 227 links to its website, 21 banners and 26 citations on provincial, national and international sites. ICB is using the media as a way of increasing the public s awareness of issues confronting whales and, when needed, enlisting their support to pressure governmental officials on issues that require their attention and action. Tourists in Puerto Pirámides receive the Whale Watching Guide at one of the six local whale-watch companies 8

2 LISTA FRANCA In 2003, ICB sent 30 issues of its e-newsletter, Lista Franca, to 3,300 subscribers. The aims of Lista Franca are to alert its readers of key issues in marine conservation, increase their knowledge of whales and the threats they face, report solutions to environmental problems and encourage the readers to become involved in resolving environmental problems. We are grateful to Madryn.Com which provides the service and technical support for Lista Franca. WEBSITE With the assistance and support of Puerto Web, we periodically update the information on our website. In 2003 we added several educational resources, online forms for volunteers, and improved the website s quality and technology. Over 85,000 people visited ICB s website in 2003, 70% more than in Visitors to the website asked over 900 questions of our information service and looked at about eight different sections of the site per visit. FUND RAISING Despite the economic problems that Argentina faced in 2003, ICB managed to maintain its level of cash income. While ontinuing too work with its main donors, it also accessed new funding sources. As a result, ICB was financially stable in However, new objectives and increased research and conservation initiatives will require stronger strategic planning in the near future. $ 120,000 $ 100,000 $ 80,000 $ 60,000 $ 40,000 $ 20,000 $ 0 Donaciones Merchandising Instituto de Conservacion de Ballenas Annual Income per program (cash) Programa de Adopcion Educacion y Donations from companies, foundations and corporate adoptions Funds in pesos, exchange 1 U$S = 2.9 pesos 9

$ 200,000 $ 150,000 $ 100,000 $ 50,000 $ 0 Annual Income 2000 / 2004 (Cash + Supplies and Services) 2000 2001 2002 2003 Efectivo Bienes y Servicios (Efectivo are cash contributions, Bienes y

3 $ 200,000 $ 150,000 $ 100,000 $ 50,000 $ 0 Annual Income 2000 / 2004 (Cash + Supplies and Services) Efectivo Bienes y Servicios (Efectivo are cash contributions, Bienes y servicios are in-kind donations) - Donations and Agreements with Companies Hoteles La Dorada from Spain adopted 600 whales to offer to their customers as a marketing strategy for their resorts. The Apart Hotel Villa Pirén in Puerto Madryn continued to support our programs. They provided lodging in Puerto Madryn free of charge to the participants of ICB s Regional workshop on the research and conservation of right whales. Several companies in Puerto Madryn and Puerto Pirámides supported us by providing discounts to members of our Adoption Program and services to us. These services are essential to our work, as they allow us to use other funds for research and conservation actions. We would like to thank Motel ACA Puerto Pirámides, Hydrosport, Whales Argentina, Restaurant Na Praia, Cabañas Nueva León, The Paradise Resort and Ryans Travel. - Donations from Individuals 136 new adoptants joined us in They contributed $2,586 (U$S), a 10% increase from Also, 40% of adoptants from 2002 renewed their adoptions in Graciela Keidansky, who has actively supported us since 2000, made a major contribution toward ICB s growth. Graciela contributed the space for ICB s current offices in Buenos Aires for the next 7 years. This was a significant improvement for our every-day work with the whales! We also thank Sarah Haney, Megan Davis and Emilio Ferro, whose generous support allowed the Right Whale Program to carry out another successful field season with the whales in Patagonia and to continue working for the rest of the year to protect the whales and their habitat. Our Volunteer Team is doing a great job too, and we want to thank the over 300 people who submitted volunteer applications to join us in our efforts! - NGOs and Government Agencies As in 2002, International Foundations and Organizations were ICB s main source of income in 2003, and provided a total of $34,620 (U$S) to our programs. 10

4 For the fourth year in a row Kodak Charitable Trust made a generous contribution to the Right Whale Program in In 2003, The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), funded two of ICB s proposals. One was for a tourist education project (whale-watching guides, educational panels for Península Valdés) and the other provided funds to hold a meeting of South American right whale researchers and conservationists and for work that coordinates conservation and research efforts both nationally and internationally. The US National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) donated equipment and funded the first field season of the new Stranding Project at Península Valdés. The project is a collaborative effort with WCI/ICB, the Wildlife Conservation Society and Fundación Patagonia Natural. The Whale Conservation Institute/Ocean Alliance continued to support ICB s programs and activities in Buenos Aires as well as in the field. DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME AND EXPENSES 2% Instituto Income de Conservacion in 2003de Ballenas Distribucion de Ingresos % 23% Instituto Expenses de Conservacion in 2003 de Ballenas Distribucion de Egresos 2003 Programa de Adopción Merchandising Donaciones de Empresas y Fundaciones In 2003, we received help from the Fundación Compromiso to train our staff in human resource and NGO management. Fundación Ecocentro contributed their conference rooms for the Regional workshop of right whale researchers and conservationists. Government agencies in Argentina have also continued their support of our work. The Argentine Navy provided an airplane and its crew to conduct the aerial surveys of the whales. The Secretaría de Turismo y Áreas Protegidas from Chubut and the Secretaría de Turismo from Puerto Madryn were also been generous with their assistance. 13% 27% 18% 25% 17% Administraci ón Investigació n Educacion y Difusion Conservació n Desarrollo de Recursos 11

5 CONTRIBUTORS The Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas develops its programs with the support of those who join the Right Whale Adoption Program, and with contributions from Companies, Foundations, Institutions and Individuals. We are grateful for their help and collaboration so we can work to protect whales and their habitat through research and education. FOUNDATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS Armada Argentina Fundación Compromiso Fundación Pro Tejer Biblioteca Del Congreso de La Nación Argentina International Fund For Animal Welfare (IFAW) Fundación EcoCentro Fundación Patagonia Natural Wildlife Conservation Society Prefectura Naval Argentina Dirección de Fauna y Flora- Min. Producción Chubut Secretaría De Turismo y Áreas Protegidas de Chubut Secretaria De Turismo de Puerto Madryn Museo De Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia COMPANIES Kodak Charitable Trust Puerto Web - Internet Solutions Club La Dorada España TN & Platee Identia PR- Comunicaciones Estratégicas Villa Pirén Apart Hotel Cabañas Nueva León - Puerto Madryn Hydrosport Puerto Pirámides Juan A. Bartolomé Despachantes de Aduana Whales Argentina Minolta Corporation Motel ACA - Puerto Pirámides Na Praia - Puerto Madryn The Paradise Resort - Puerto Pirámides INDIVIDUALS Sarah Haney Megan Davis Aldo Karagozian Graciela Keidansky Emilio Ferro (Estancia La Adela) Guardafaunas de Península Valdés Juan y Astrid Curti Juan Facundo Taboada Marcelo Taboada Pedro y Malvina Trespailhe Rossana Boglione Sergio Viñas Silvia Resnik y Oscar Comes Mariano Taboada 12

ACTIVITIES REPORT

ACTIVITIES REPORT - 2008 PROTECTING WHALES AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH MONITORING THE PATAGONIAN RIGHT WHALE POPULATION THROUGH ANNUAL AERIAL SURVEYS Diego Taboada, Mariano Sironi and John Atkinson