In the wake of the May 14 listing of Polar Bear as a “threatened species” under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA), Ms. Patricia Cochran, International Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council, called upon the Government of the United States to join with Canada, Denmark/Greenland, Norway and Russia to examine scientific data and traditional knowledge to definitively determine the current state of health and projected future of this iconic species in light of ongoing climate change.
Ms. Cochran noted that Polar Bears travel widely in the circumpolar Arctic. She added that at any given time, most are found in northern Canada not Alaska. Polar Bears are managed through a 1973 legally-binding treaty to which the USA, Canada, Russia, Denmark/Greenland and Norway are formal parties. “The status of Polar Bear populations throughout the circumpolar world should guide national decisions on listing” she said.
Ms. Cochran noted that ministers from the five Arctic ocean rim states are meeting in Illulissat, Greenland in late May 2008 to discuss environmental issues and application in the Arctic of the Convention on the Law of the Sea. She said, “I call upon the five Arctic ocean rim states—the parties to the Polar Bear Convention—to issue a statement in Illulissat to assess the current and projected state of health of Polar Bears throughout the circumpolar region.” She added that this assessment should recommend to national governments how better they should manage the species, including protection of key habitat.