Photo credit: Christian Artuso
  

A white paper entitled “Polar bear harvest management: defining biological sustainability, the components of a quantitative subpopulation assessment, and the components of a sustainable harvest management regime” authored by E.V. Regehr, E.M. Andersen, M.P. Galicia, S.A. Iverson, L.S. Mangipane, E.S. Richardson, F. Ugarte, S.P. Woodruff has been published on the Polar Bear Range States website.

The purpose of the white paper is to provide consistent guidance while allowing co-management partners the flexibility to select harvest strategies that meet their specific situation and management objectives. The framework presented reflects the life history of polar bears and considers the current and future effects of climate change. It is based largely on a western science approach to harvest management and may not represent Indigenous-centered ways of defining or achieving sustainability.

The white paper can be viewed and downloaded here 

Polar Bear Range States Meeting of the Paries (Virtual event), on October 30 - November 2, 2023.

The Polar Bear Range States will host a Meeting of the Parties to the 1973 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears (Agreement). The meeting will be a virtual event scheduled for October 30 - November 2, 2023 (see PBRS website)

 
The purpose of this Meeting of the Parties is to:

• Provide update on conservation status of polar bears and their habitats throughout their range and in each of the Range States
• Provide an update on the collaborative efforts to implement the Circumpolar Action Plan (CAP) for polar bears as well as decide on future plans in this regard
• Highlight and discuss other key issues of relevance to polar bear conservation as well as financial and administrative issues in the agreement
• Celebrate the 50 year anniversary of the Agreement

Stakeholders and partners with a demonstrated interest in polar bear conservation may request to be recognized as an observer at public sessions of the meeting. Stakeholders and partners may include but are not limited to:

• Governments not Party to the Agreement
• Any Inter-governmental organization (IGO) not a party to the Agreement or any intergovernmental organization
• Indigenous Groups
• Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO)

Interested stakeholders and partners are requested to submit an application for observer status through an online form by August 31, 2023 (here).

The Range States Heads of Delegation will consider the applications received and make decisions on a consensus basis, and applicants will be informed whether their Observer application has been approved by September 10, 2023.

 
All observers at the meeting are reqired to adhere to the Code of Conduct for Observers contained in Annex A to the Rules of Procedures for the Parties (here).

Photo credit: destinationnunavut.ca
 

Polar Bear Range States meeting initially scheduled for May 9-11, 2023 in Iqaluit, Nunavut has been rescheduled to a virtual meeting for October 30 - November 1, 2023.

The Polar Bear Range States Heads of Delegation invite the meeting attendees to present posters on topics that align with the scope of the 1973 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears, 

Due to space limitations at the venue, it is possible that not all posters can be accommodated. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Heads of Delegation in February 2023, and at that time a decision will be made regarding which posters will be displayed during the poster session.

Poster presenters are required to:

• Complete the Poster Presentation Application Form before January 20, 2023.
• Submit an electronic version of the poster in advance of the MoP. The exact date for submitting the electronic version of the poster will be communicated to presenters with approved posters.
• Develop, print, and bring the poster to the meeting venue.
  
  

Polar Bear Range States responsibilities:

• Evaluate and approve poster applications.
• Distribute poster abstracts with the meeting material.
• Provide space and materials to display the posters.
• Present pdf copies of the posters on the Polar Bear Range States website.

Further guidelines of the poster format will be presented closer to the meeting.

Poster presentation application form

Deadline for submitting applications for poster presentations is January 20, 2023.

A report “Review and Analysis of Canadian Trade in Polar Bears from 2012-2021” authored by Ernest W. T. Cooper has been published and presented on the Polar Bear Range States website.

The purpose of the review was to compile information about the harvest and trade in Canadian polar bears for the years 2012–2021. The report is a follow-up to the 2015 report entitled "Review and Analysis of Canadian Trade in Polar Bears from 2005–2014" and attempts to provide a national picture of Canadian exports linked to harvest management at the provincial, territorial or settlement area level.

Polar Bear Range States meeting initially scheduled for May 9-11, 2023 in Iqaluit, Nunavut
has been rescheduled to a virtual meeting for October 30 - November 2, 2023.

The Polar Bear Range States will host a Meeting of the Parties to the 1973 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears (Agreement) on October 30 - November 2, 2023. The meeting will be virtual.

 
The Meeting of the Parties is the main governing body of the Polar Bear Range States where the States meet to discuss issues of importance to the cooperation under the Agreement.

The purpose of the 2023 Meeting of the Parties is to:

• Provide update on conservation status of polar bears and their habitats throughout their range and in each of the Range States
• Provide an update on the collaborative efforts to implement the Circumpolar Action Plan for polar bears as well as decide on future plans in this regard
• Highlight and discuss other key issues of relevance to polar bear conservation as well as financial and administrative issues in the agreement
• Celebrate the 50 year anniversary of the Agreement

For further information, see the meeting website here

Polar Bear Range States meeting initially scheduled for May 9-11, 2023 in Iqaluit, Nunavut has been postponed to fall 2023.

The Polar Bear Range States are now accepting nominations for the 2023 Polar Bear Range States Conservation Award.

 The 2023 Polar Bear Range States Conservation Award will be given at the Meeting of the Parties of the Polar Bear Agreement in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada in fall 2023 (exact date of the meeting is to be defined).

The award recognizes individuals and/or organizations for long-term/extraordinary service and major contribution towards the conservation of polar bears.

To be eligible for the award individuals or organizations must have:

• Made significant contributions to the management, research and/or conservation of polar bears both nationally (home country) and throughout the circumpolar range, and
  
  
• Been nominated by a member of the Range States for long-term service and/or extraordinary service or major contribution to the conservation of polar bears or meeting obligations under the 1973 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears.

Nominations for the award must include a completed nomination form and any relevant support material. The nominations must be sent by email to Caroline Ladanowski, Chair of the Heads of Delegation, at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by December 11, 2022. All received nominations will be evaluated and an award winner be selected by the Range States.

Criteria and guidelines are provided in the nomination form. Further information about the evaluation is also provided in the evaluation form. (please note that the evalutation form is for reference only and shall not be filled out).

For any questions about the nomination form and the nomination process please feel free to contact Caroline Ladanowski at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

 Further information of the Polar Bear Range States Conservation Award and previous winners is provided at the Polar Bear Range States website.

 The nomination form and the evaluation form can be downloaded from the Polar Bear Range State file archive.

The CAP 2020-2023 Implementation Plan pamphlet gives an overview of the Circumpolar Action Plan (CAP) and the main objectives set for the Implementation period of 2020-2023.

The pamplet can be viewed and downloaded here.

Further information of the 2015-2025 Circumpolar Action Plan is presented here.

Further information of the 2020-2023 Implementation Plan is presented here.

The Range States Human-Polar Bear Conflict Working Group has published recommendations of approach to be taken by appropriate authorities in situations when polar bears are dispatched in locations outside of their normal range. Occasionally, some polar bears get transported long distances by ocean currents and sea ice.

The purpose of the recommendation is to give practical information of polar bear sampling to local people and agencies in locations such as Iceland, Newfoundland or other areas outside of their normal habitat.

The position paper can be viewed and downloaded here.

Lists of Polar-Bear Deterrence Programs and Training Protocols available across the Range States have been published on the Polar Bear Range States website.

Human-polar bear interactions are becoming more common and frequent across the Arctic. These interactions are linked to expanding human activity including tourism and exploration in the Arctic, and polar bears spending more time on land due to sea ice loss. There is a continued need to address human-polar bear interactions to ensure public safety and minimize polar bear injury or mortality. Deterrence programs and training protocols can provide site- and situation-specific measures to minimize interactions between humans and polar bears.

For more information see here

Data on human-polar bear conflict has been published on the Polar Bear Range States website. The data icludes information on both polar bears and humans injured or killed in conflict situations:

Polar Bears injured or killed in conflict situations:
The Polar Bear Range States have published the numbers of polar bears killed or injured due to conflicts with humans in 2020. The data from 2020 was collected in a consistent way among the Range States and will set the baseline metrics for future monitoring.

For more information see here


Humans injured or killed by polar bears:
The Polar Bear Range States have published data on the numbers of humans killed or injured by polar bears in 2006-2020. The baseline metrics were establised using the data from 2006-2015 to represent the decade prior to establishment of the Circumpolar Action Plan (CAP).

For more information see here