A representative of two Solomon Islands communities that have agreed to stop hunting dolphins says the deal's come at a good time.
The environmental organisation, Earth Island Institute, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the villages of Fanalei and Walande in south Malaita to stop their annual slaughter of up to 2,000 dolphins for a two-year trial period.
The agreement, which involves a pledge by Earth Island to provide start-up funding for small, income-generating enterprises such as poultry farming to replace dolphin hunting, has attracted criticism for breaking with tradition.
But Joseph Wane, who represents both communities, says not only is climate change making it increasingly difficult to catch dolphins, it's also time to accept the consequences of globalisation.
"We benefit out of the evolution of the cultures because right now we cannot go back, we cannot take back the culture right back to the 1960s or even 1950s, because it doesn't work, it can't work because of the globalisation, people evolve. We are in a modern world that keeps changing."
Joseph Wane of Solomon Islands.
