16 Dec
2006 - The number of polar bear populations in
decline has increased from one in 2001 to five
in 2006, WWF warned today. There are only 19 polar
bear populations in the world, so this decline
represents more then a quarter of the species’
populations.
Declining populations of polar
bears indicate that the entire Arctic is under
immense stress as a result of climate change.
With the Arctic warming at more than twice the
rate of the rest of the world, and sea ice over
the Arctic projected to disappear in summer before
the end of this century, polar bears face serious
trouble, especially as they depend on sea ice
to live, hunt and breed.
“The polar bear’s powerful grip
on the Arctic is slipping," said Stefan Norris,
head of conservation with the WWF International
Arctic Programme.
“We need to stop run-away warming.
Climate change is melting the ice-bear’s toe-hold
on life. This bad news for polar bears is also
bad news for other arctic species, and for the
indigenous peoples whose traditional ways of life
depend on them.”
According to a newly-published
report by the World Conservation Union’s (IUCN)
Polar Bear Specialist Group, the two best studied
polar bear sub-populations in the world, the western
Hudson Bay population in Canada, and the southern
Beaufort Sea population (USA/Canada), have declined
by 22 per cent and 17 per cent respectively over
the past two decades.
The other three populations
in decline are those in Baffin Bay and Kane Basin
– shared between Greenland and Canada – and Norwegian
Bay in Canada.
"Climate change is the
main threat to polar bears and is clearly implicated
in the western Hudson Bay sub-population. It is
likely also a key factor in the Southern Beaufort
Sea,” said Professor Andrew Derocher, chair of
the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group. “Climate
stabilisation is the key conservation action now
for polar bears."
Findings of drowning polar bears,
cannibalism, increased numbers of ‘problem’ bears
— bears looking for food near Arctic communities
— were reported from many areas in the range of
the bears. These observations are consistent with
predicted changes caused by climate warming.
The report's findings have prompted
WWF to issue an urgent call to action to the governments
of the world to cut carbon pollution, the cause
of dramatic warming in the Arctic.
Alison Sutton Senior, Press Officer
