The Declaration of the Responsible Ministers of the Polar Bear Range States 

Moscow, Russian Federation, 4 of December 2013

Photo credit: Morten EkkerThe Representatives of the parties to the 1973 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bear, met in Moscow, Russia on December 4, 2013 at the International Forum on the Conservation of Polar Bears. The forum commemorated the 40th anniversary of the 1973 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears and celebrated the cooperation of the range states to further the international conservation and management of polar bears. The Declaration of the Responsible Ministers is a recommitment of the Polar Bear Range States to Polar Bear Conservation, as outlined in the 1973 Agreement. The Declaration, among other items, committed the Range States to the development of a Circumpolar Conservation Strategy, recognized that climate change is the key threat to polar bears and recognized the importance of traditional knowledge in polar bear conservation.

Full text: 2013 Declaration of the Responsible Ministers of the Polar Bear Range States