德國波昂4日開始推廣「2007海豚年」，參與計劃的夥伴團體卯足全力，試圖引起公眾關切對這些海洋哺乳類的威脅，如遭受漁網纏困、生存環境每況愈下等等。海豚年是由聯合國遷移物種公約、區域性海豚保育協議、英國非營利鯨豚保育組織及德國頂尖旅遊機構之一TUI，所聯合發起。他們會將海豚的資訊印製在摺頁、旅遊目錄、飛機上雜誌及專門的網站 www.YoD2007.org上。
他們也將製作多種語言寫成的介紹，廣發給TUI各地分店的年輕旅行者及他們的家人，以及在當地學校傳播，並且專為孩童設計「海豚獎狀」。
鯨豚保育協會的魚類專家羅絲（Ali Ross）說，這種小型的鯨豚類受到嚴重的威脅，以前常見的海豚已不再常見。「在地中海域常見的海豚，現在正式列入瀕危物種，」她說。「情況至此是受到多種因素影響，但其中，漁具糾纏是一項能夠、也應該要避免的因子。」
漁具糾纏是海豚被為捕捉經濟魚類所放置的魚網纏住的現象。據估計，全世界一年有超過30萬隻鯨魚、海豚或鼠海豚因絆在魚網中而溺斃。
專注在跨國界野生動物的聯合國遷移物種公約，又稱波昂公約（Bonn Convention），該組織宣佈2007年為海豚年，邀請企業及其他國際性組織協助散佈亟需救助、保護海豚的訊息。聯合國教科文組織將海豚年運動選為聯合國永續發展十年教育計畫的活動之一。這個運動也將是各國政府同意聯合國在2010年前達到減少野生動物損失目標的一項實質建設。
The Year of the Dolphin 2007, Launched in Bonn on Monday, will be marked by an all-out effort to raise public awareness of threats to these marine mammals, such as entanglement in fishing nets and degradation of their habitats. The Year of the Dolphin is a joint initiative between the United Nations Convention on Migratory Species, its regional dolphin conservation agreements, the British nonprofit Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, and TUI, one of Germany’s top tour operators. The partners will publish dolphin information in brochures and travel catalogues, in-flight magazines, and on a dedicated website, www.YoD2007.org.
Multilingual dolphin manuals will be developed and distributed to young travellers and their families in TUI destinations and passed on to local schools. And a "dolphin diploma" will be created for children.
Ali Ross, fisheries expert for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, says threats to these small cetaceans are so severe that once common dolphins are no longer common. "The tragically mis-named common dolphin in the Mediterranean Sea is now officially endangered," she said, "driven to this state by a combination of factors of which bycatch is just one, but one that could and should be avoided."
Bycatch is the entanglement of dolphins in the nets of fishing vessels targeting commercial fish species. It is estimated that world-wide over 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises drown in fishing nets each year.
The UN Convention on Migratory Species, known as the Bonn Convention, which focuses on wild animals crossing national boundaries, declared 2007 the Year of the Dolphin, and invited corporations and other international organizations to help spread the message on the urgent need to protect dolphins. The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, selected the Year of the Dolphin campaign to be part of the activities of the UN Decade for Education on Sustainable Development. The campaign is also a tangible contribution towards meeting targets to reduce the loss of wildlife by 2010, which governments have agreed to do through the UN.
作者
In my healing journey and learning to attain the breath awareness, I become aware of the reality that all the creatures of the world are breathing the same breath. Take action, here and now. From my physical being to the every corner of this out of balance's planet.
