
The question now is how Canada will move forward with the situation. Canada holds 60% of the world's polar bear population and have ranked bears as a species of concern but not threatened as our American counterparts have. The issue is one of huge debate between environmentalist who claim the lack of sea ice is harming the survival of polar bears while Inuit groups claim there is a healthy, stable number of polar bears.
At the summit Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States all agreed to update the 1973 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears, which was primarily concerned with protecting polar bears from hunting, and outlawed the practice for all but indigenous people. The new agreement outlined a shift in focus to include climate change as a priority for future conservation efforts.
"The parties agreed that long-term conservation of polar bears depends upon successful mitigation of climate change," the countries said in a joint statement. "[The] impacts of climate change and the continued and increasing loss and fragmentation of sea ice … constitute the most important threat to polar bear conservation."
Environmentalists are hopeful the agreement will spur each of the countries to pursue more aggressive strategies for battling climate change it, however, falls short of making a direct appeal for action to the United Nations climate conference, scheduled to take place in Copenhagen in December 2009, where countries will plan to negotiate a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
What do you think? Should Canada list polar bears as a threatened species against the wishes of Inuit groups or are the environmentalists making too big a deal of the impact of climate change on sea ice and its impact on polar bears? Please post your comments and any further links you might have on this subject and give your opinion on my blog poll.
Canada needs to do anything within it's powers to help polar bears. it's within the government's responsibility to protect it's nations animals, as well this wouldn't be wasted public money either, I have never met one Canadian citizen who feels the threat for polar bears is over rated and that the country should not have to do anything, but quite the contrary. I believe that it is our responsibility as Canadians to express to our government that global warming is an issue and the fact that it is threatening a species makes it even more vital for our government to make an action plan to solve the situation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above post - Polar Bears are at risk and we need to do whatever we can to protect them. As usual it will take our government too long to make a decision and it will then be too late, the question is: What can you do on an personal level to make a difference?
ReplyDeleteTy