It seems the land of Polar bears is rich in acronyms. Initial efforts to better understand the bears had a formal start in Fairbanks, Alaska with the establishment of the Polar Bear Specialist Group (PBSG) by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) in 1965. Meeting in private, the working group developed the Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears that was discussed by circumpolar nations in Oslo, Norway in 1973. By 1977, Canada, Norway, Russia, Denmark and the United States had ratified the agreement.
Parties to the accord set an initial trial period of five years for the agreement. Participants decided to leave the program in place after the initial period until one of the signatories requested its termination. Norway expressed interest in reopening discussions under the agreement in 1981, but could garner no support by other participants. Finally by March of 2009, it was apparent that the conservation of Polar bears needed to be revisited in the North. Delegates from Arctic nations met in Tromsø, Norway on March 17 to 19, 2009 to discuss the bears for the first time since 1981.
The Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears – Its History and Future
Understanding a significant event was being scheduled to discuss the future of Polar bears, the Polar Bear Specialist Group has commissioned researchers Thor Larsen and Ian Stirling to write a report on the history of Polar bear conservation and the multinational agreement concerning them. The Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears – Its History and Future is available for viewing or download online and does an excellent job of detailing the history of the concord developed in 1973 and its future.
In their report, Larsen and Stirling detail the events leading to the first international meeting on Polar bears called for by United States Secretary of the Interior Steward L. Udall and Senator E. L. Bartlett to pool scientific knowledge concerning the bears. Establishment of the PBSG is discussed and a recap of its accomplishments is detailed. Working during the height of the Cold War, the group was able to broker an international agreement between the Arctic nations. The PBSG paved the way to adoption and subsequent ratification of the Polar bear agreement.
The Future of Polar Bears
Circumpolar nations have recognized the importance of continued research and monitoring of Polar bears. Another change since 1977 is the inclusion of indigenous peoples in research and protection efforts. Through the efforts of Inuit in Canada, Greenland and Alaska, Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) has been recognized as part of the conservation effort. The future of Polar bears is tied to health of continuing international relations in the North. The authors of the report support the continuation of the PBSG and its work to conserve these symbols of the Arctic.
Copyright © 2009 by Alan Sorum
