WWF’s statement on Polar Bears and SARA
In 2008 Canada’s Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) assessed the Polar Bear based on scientific information and local knowledge, and recommended to the federal Minister that this species be classified as one of ‘Special Concern’ under Canada’s Species At Risk Act (SARA).
Following extensive consultations with northern communities over the past three years, and having considered social and economic implications, the federal government is now recommending that Polar Bears be added as a species of Special Concern under SARA.
WWF welcomes the federal government’s proposal. This decision will bring Canada into closer alignment with other Polar Bear Range States as well as the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Listing the Polar Bear as a species of special concern at the national level is a clear signal of Canada’s leadership and should bring increased attention to Arctic issues. This will result in sustained effective climate adaptation measures and increased financial and human resources for gathering essential research and monitoring information on the ground, including local Inuit knowledge of these northern ecosystems.
The greatest threat globally to the Polar Bear and other ice dependent species is rapid climate change resulting in the loss of summer sea-ice, which is critical to the survival of these species. Climate change is a major, long-term issue that requires immediate and sustained actions to lower greenhouse gas emissions, and transition to a low-carbon renewable energy based economy.
While officially recognizing the current and long term threat climate change poses to the Polar Bear through this recommended amendment, legislation such as the Species At Risk Act was never intended to deal with such a long term and global threat as rapid climate change. The solution to this threat will have to come from new agreements specific to greenhouse gas emissions at the local, regional, national and global levels of business and government.
As plans are developed to address all threats to Polar Bears, they should clearly recognize that the Arctic is not a homogenous ecosystem, and that climate impacts are not being felt the same way, at the same time, or in the same magnitude across the Arctic. As such, impacts to Polar Bear populations will vary in space and time and we need to be cautious of any “one size fits all” legislative solutions to such a complex issue in a vast region of the planet. We need to manage wildlife in a coordinated fashion across the Arctic, at regional and local levels, with the people who live among the bears, caribou, whales and walrus. We also need to recognize the efforts to date and management systems in place that are already working to conserve species while providing for the needs of local people.
“Ultimately, the best way to conserve Polar Bears is for Canada and the world to address climate change, which is altering the face of the Arctic at an unprecedented rapid rate,” said Dr. Peter Ewins, WWF’s Senior Arctic Species Officer. “Climate Change is the top threat to ice-dependent Arctic species, and addressing it fully will make the greatest contribution to conserving Polar Bear populations.”
To learn more about WWF’s work with Polar Bears, please visit our Polar Bear tracker at:
For additional information, please contact:
Riannon John
[email protected]
416-347-1894