Range States Meeting
At the Range States Meeting in Norway, PBI Advisory Council member Amy Cutting gave a presentation on PBI's Sustainability Alliance. Photo © Geoff York. Click the image to enlarge.
Snow swirled in the northern fishing village of Tromso, Norway, as Polar Bears International (PBI) took part in the Range States Meeting of the five polar bear nations—Canada, Greenland (Denmark), Norway, Russia, and the United States—March 17th-19th, 2009.
The five nations originally met in 1973 to forge an agreement to save the polar bear from severe over-hunting, which had pushed the species to the brink of extinction. By the early 1980s, hunting restrictions allowed populations to rebound. In Tromso, however, participants agreed that today's polar bears face a much graver threat: the loss of their sea ice habitat due to rapid climate warming.
Meeting Outcome
The first day of the meeting was dedicated to reports from each member nation on the status of polar bears within their borders. Delegates met to craft their outcome document on the second day. The final day concluded with presentations by the two conservation organizations invited to take part—one of which was PBI.
PBI's Sustainability Alliance
Amy Cutting, co-chair of PBI's Sustainability Alliance, gave a brief address that was warmly received by delegates. In her talk, she emphasized PBI's desire to work with all parties in forging effective strategies to help conserve polar bears in the face of global climate change.
“It was an opportunity to explain that we're not telling anyone what to do, that we're here to offer support and help,” she says.
The five nations originally met in 1973 to forge an agreement to save the polar bear from severe over-hunting, which had pushed the species to the brink of extinction. By the early 1980s, hunting restrictions allowed populations to rebound. In Tromso, however, participants agreed that today's polar bears face a much graver threat: the loss of their sea ice habitat due to rapid climate warming.
Meeting Outcome
The first day of the meeting was dedicated to reports from each member nation on the status of polar bears within their borders. Delegates met to craft their outcome document on the second day. The final day concluded with presentations by the two conservation organizations invited to take part—one of which was PBI.
PBI's Sustainability Alliance
Amy Cutting, co-chair of PBI's Sustainability Alliance, gave a brief address that was warmly received by delegates. In her talk, she emphasized PBI's desire to work with all parties in forging effective strategies to help conserve polar bears in the face of global climate change.
“It was an opportunity to explain that we're not telling anyone what to do, that we're here to offer support and help,” she says.