Description

Site-specific human-polar bear safety and conflict mitigation plans are an important tool for those working or living in polar bear habitat. Conflict mitigation plans are recommended whenever there is the potential for people to come into contact with bears, and they can be tailored for use by communities, temporary work or research camps, and permanent work sites. Conflict mitigation plans are intended to 1) minimize the occurrence of human-polar bear interactions; 2) reduce potential impacts to polar bears; 3) decrease the severity of human-polar bear interactions; and 4) minimize the potential for injury or death to people and bears. Implementation of conflict mitigation plans can help minimize the frequency and consequences of human-polar bear interactions. Effective conflict mitigation plans consider preventative measures for avoiding interactions with bears (e.g., attractants management), tools for detecting bears near communities or work sites, and protocols for responding to interactions if they occur. This template includes components to be considered when drafting site-specific conflict mitigation plans. Example interaction may be provided upon request to the Heads of Delegation (https://polarbearagreement.org/index.php/contactinformation/).

The work was conducted in association with Objective 5 in the Range States Circumpolar Action Plan is intended to manage human-bear interactions to ensure human safety and to minimize polar bear injury or mortality (PBRS 2015). The template is part of Action HBC-A8: Develop a template for site-specific, jurisdictional (e.g. community, military site, industrial site, etc.) conflict management plans and standardized training protocols.