IUCN/Polar Bear Specialist Group delegates at the July 2009 meeting cited PBI for our leadership role in polar bear conservation. PBI is supporting over 70% of the research initiatives in North American.
News from the field is sobering but the PBSG remains optimistic that the warming trend can be reversed if humans work quickly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions—thus ensuring that polar bears remain a part of the Arctic ecosystem.
“The situation is not irreversible,” says Dr. Steven C. Amstrup. “We can save polar bears and the Arctic, but we must act soon.”
Sobering news. Leading polar bear scientists met in Copenhagen, Denmark, to discuss the status of the world's polar bears. At the meeting, members of the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group (PBSG) linked sea ice loss in the Arctic and the health of polar bear populations.
Delegates reported that eight of the 19 worldwide polar bear populations are declining, compared with five at the group's last meeting in 2005. Of the remaining populations:
- 8 are declining
- 3 are stable
- 1 is increasing
- 7 have insufficient data on which to base a decision
The group noted that the disturbing trend is directly linked with the rapid melt-down in the Arctic. “Studies published since our last meeting confirm that body condition in polar bears is linked to the availability of sea ice and the time of the spring ice break-up,” says Dr. Erik W. Born of the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, chair of the group.
A shorter hunting season on the sea ice, says Born, not only leads to a drop in body condition, but affects reproduction in female bears and cub survival rates. Polar bears rely on ice as a platform from which to hunt seals, the mainstay of their diet.
Experts from Five Nations
PBSG comprises active polar bear researchers from the five circumpolar nations—U.S., Canada, Greenland, Russia, and Norway. The group formed in response to severe over-hunting of polar bears in the 1950s and '60s that threatened the bears with extinction. Careful management allowed populations to rebound. Today, however, delegates agree that the biggest threat to the bears is ecological change in the Arctic due to unprecedented sea ice loss.
Four of PBI Research Advisory Council scientists—Dr. Steven C. Amstrup, Dr. Andrew Derocher, Dr. Nick Lunn, and Dr. Nikita Ovsyanikov—took part in the meeting, representing the U.S, Canada, and Russia. In addition, for the first time, PBSG invited two conservation groups, PBI and WWF-Arctic Program, to join them.
“Our role is to support the PBSG scientists through educational outreach and underwriting research,” says PBI president, Robert Buchanan. “We attended the meeting to listen, learn, and explore ways to further support the PBSG's efforts.”
In addition to the Western Hudson Bay population that has been declining for almost two decades, the PBSG cited:
Chukchi Sea population, shared by the U.S. and Russia. It has one of the highest rates of sea ice loss in the Arctic and is also stressed by illegal hunting on the Russian side.
Baffin Bay population, shared by Canada and Greenland. It may be simultaneously suffering from significant habitat change and over-harvesting.
Canada's High Arctic population is the only one showing an increase. That area has not seen as much sea ice loss as other areas, demonstrating the link between the health of polar bears and their sea-ice habitat.
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