Montreal, 23 February 2005: IWMC, the world's leading pro-sustainable use conservation group, today joined the call for Shell to abandon its plans to develop gas fields near Sakhalin in the Russian Federation because of the threat posed to the small, local and critically endangered population of western gray whales.

A report commissioned by Shell's subsidiary, Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. (SEIC), and produced by an Independent Scientific Review Panel established by the IUCN (World Conservation Union), has concluded that the whale population, numbering around 100 animals, could be threatened by the further development of the project, known as Sakhalin II.

SEIC's industrial activities are based in the only known feeding grounds of the gray whales and the company tasked the Panel with determining whether the planned Phase 2 of the project could be managed in an effective way.

The Panel concluded that, in the case of this small whale population, the question is not how to manage risks but how to avoid them. The Panel demonstrated that the gray whale population may not recover even if there are no additional risks beyond those it already faces. Risks increased substantially under plausible impact scenarios considered by the Panel, with persistent and possibly small effects potentially having serious impacts on the overall status of the population.

Eugene Lapointe, President of IWMC, said: "There is now considerable doubt whether the next phase of the Sakhalin II project can be carried out in a sustainable manner. In the light of the report it commissioned, Shell would be foolish to plow ahead and risk the very survival of the western gray whale. Shell will become an international pariah if the whales suffer from the further development of Sakhalin II."

While it publicly welcomed the IUCN Panel report, Shell has indicated that it will press ahead with the project and that it will make its own decision on a final pipeline route.

Mr. Lapointe added: "The IUCN Panel's report is authoritative, independent and public and it cannot be side-stepped. While no commercial enterprise wants to forgo the benefits of a potentially lucrative business venture, Shell's shareholders must recognize that the company is now in an invidious position. Shell has already abdicated the right to make a decision on its own and, given the findings of the Panel, it now has only one realistic option available to it if it wants to protect its corporate reputation."

Instead of developing Sakhalin's gas fields, IWMC believes Shell should now consider organizing the comprehensive east Asian strategy to conserve gray whales that the Panel report recommends.

For further information, contact Eugène Lapointe
Florida: +1(727) 734-4949 or email: iwmc@iwmc.org