Environment Canada

INUVIK, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES--(Marketwire - Aug. 28, 2008) - Canada's Environment Minister John Baird today announced he will convene a national roundtable later this year dedicated to the conservation and protection of Canada's polar bear population.

"As I have said before, our Government believes that the polar bear is an iconic symbol of Canada," said Minister Baird. "Clearly, we need to ensure that the polar bear does not become endangered or threatened in Canada."

"At the same time, we have a constitutional duty to work with a number of groups like the Inuit on protecting the polar bear, we can also learn from traditional aboriginal and Inuit knowledge. That's why I am calling a national roundtable of key stakeholders by the end of November 2008. This will bring together environmental groups, the Inuit and First Nations, provinces and territories, and other experts in one place to chart Canada's course on protecting this majestic animal."

Minister Baird's commitment comes as the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) issued its detailed scientific polar bear assessment, part of COSEWIC's 2008 Annual Report. The arm's length, independent scientific committee continues to assess polar bears as a species of "Special Concern," the same designation they've held since 1991.

"COSEWIC's work is vital to our understanding of the challenges ahead," said Minister Baird. "Their scientific work shows that while there are many encouraging signs for most sub-populations, there are others that need help. The time to act is now."

COSEWIC assesses the status of the wildlife in Canada, based on the best scientific, community and Aboriginal knowledge available. Certain Environment Canada scientists are members of COSEWIC and provide science expertise for the development of these assessments.

The national roundtable proposed by Minister Baird would bring together key players to consider the science of COSEWIC and traditional Northern knowledge. This meeting will take place by the end of November 2008. Minister Baird strongly believes that by working cooperatively now, we can protect polar bears across the full range of their habitat for generations to come.

"I also want to be clear that a previous government had the opportunity to take action to protect the polar bear in 2005," said Minister Baird. "At that time, COSEWIC made the same ruling that the bear was an issue of special concern. However, instead of taking action the Minister did not want to have to make a decision and sent the matter back for three more years of study, That was a failure of leadership, one this Government will not repeat."

The COSEWIC Annual Report and status assessments of polar bears and 45 other species are available online at: www.sararegistry.gc.ca.

(Egalement offert en francais)


BACKGROUNDER

Conservation of Polar Bears in Canada

Canada is home to approximately 15,000 of the estimated 20,000 to 25,000 Polar Bears in the world, including populations in Russia, Greenland, Norway and Alaska.

Management of Canadian Polar Bear populations falls under the jurisdiction of the provinces, territories and wildlife management boards in which they occur. Research is primarily conducted by government agencies and universities, including the Government of Canada.

Environment Canada plays a key role by providing scientific expertise on Polar Bears, and by working collaboratively with other jurisdictions on national and international committees to ensure populations are managed sustainably.

Research

Most Polar Bear research in Canada is conducted by federal, territorial and provincial governments and is important for the sound conservation and management of the species.

Co-operative research is often undertaken where the project is of interest to several jurisdictions, including Alaska, Denmark, Greenland, and Norway. Some research projects conducted by university researchers are coordinated with government scientists. Other projects are supported by funds from wildlife management boards established by the land claims process, by independent foundations, and through grants to graduate students co-supervised by government and university researchers.

Management

Management of Canadian Polar Bear populations is the responsibility of the provinces, territories and wildlife management boards in which they occur, including Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, the Yukon Territory, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and co-management boards/resource user groups, which are the main organizations of wildlife management in many northern areas.

The legislation, research and management programs of each of these jurisdictions, along with the national Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk, the Species at Risk Act, and the Canadian Polar Bear Technical and Administrative Committees, provide a management framework for ensuring the sustainability of Polar Bear populations in Canada.

In Canada the hunting and harvest of polar bears is restricted to Aboriginal people or sport hunters guided by Aboriginal people who harvest by traditional means and in accordance with sound conservation practices based on the best available scientific data.

The management of the harvest in Canada is consistent with the 1973 International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears. Responsible jurisdictions manage the polar bear harvest to ensure the sustainability of polar bear populations.

Quotas are set that take into account recommendations from federal provincial and territorial scientists, university specialists as well as United States researchers based in Alaska. All quotas are met with an exceptionally high level of compliance. Problem or nuisance polar bears that must be dispatched in the interest of safety and bears hunted by tourists are all accommodated within these quotas.

Some examples of Environment Canada's involvement in Polar Bear management:

- Participation on the national Polar Bear Administrative Committee, which takes the technical advice of the Polar Bear Technical Committee, makes coordinated decisions on the management of Polar Bears in Canada, and ensures that Canada fulfills its obligations as party to the international Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears (1973).

- Participation in a meeting of the Polar Bear Range States that provided an international forum to discuss the conservation and management of Polar Bears, including current information on national management and research programs underway in each country, and on the status of Polar Bear populations and factors affecting their conservation.

- Environment Canada plans to work with provinces, territories and wildlife management boards to develop an agreement with Greenland on the management of shared populations of Polar Bears.

- Although there is currently no formal protection of sea ice habitat, some protection of terrestrial habitat important to Polar Bears occurs through Canada's national parks and through provincial and territorial parks.

- Canada is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and through this the Government of Canada regulates the importation and exportation of live Polar Bears and Polar Bear parts.

- The Species at Risk Act is a federal law that is in place to prevent wildlife from becoming extinct in Canada. The Polar Bear has been assessed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) under this legislation, and the Government of Canada will consult with Canadians before making a final decision.

More information

For comprehensive information on Polar Bear research and management in Canada, refer to pages 101 to 132 of the proceedings of the last meeting of the Polar Bear Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission at: http://pbsg.npolar.no/Meetings/meetings.htm

For questions on Environment Canada research and contributions call 1-888-908-8008.