Presentations and Meeting Documents

Presentation Title: The Polar Bear Research in Russia, 2016-2017
Summary: Summary not available.

Presentation Title: Polar Bear Research in the US: Responses to Environmental Change and Capacity for Resilience
Summary: In the United States, polar bear research efforts are focused on the Southern Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea subpopulations. The overarching goal of these efforts is to provide information that can be used to the meet the objectives of the U.S. Polar Bear Conservation Management Plan. This presentation summarizes key findings from recently completed research.

Presentation Title: Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Canada, the Government of Nunavut and the Government of Greenland for the Conservation and Management of Polar Bears
Summary: The MOU, signed on November 11, 2009 in Kangerlussuaq (Greenland), requires signatories (via their delegates on a Joint Commission) to collect and exchange relevant information in a timely manner towards effective management and conservation of the Kane Basin and Baffin Bay polar bear subpopulations. The results of each of each of the three Joint Commission meetings (January 2010, May 2010, and October 2017) are described, including progress made in terms of data collection (both scientific and Traditional Knowledge) and collaborative decisions that have been made. Challenges and ongoing work are identified and will help guide continued work as it relates specifically to Kane Basin. Additional future work is also described and includes revision and restructuring of the MOU Agreement; revision and finalization of the Terms of Reference for the JC and each Working Group; and development of a formalized Rules of Procedure to guide future work.

Presentation Title: Inuvialuit-Inupiat Polar Bear Management Agreement in the Southern Beaufort Sea
Summary: The Inuvialuit-Inupiat Polar Bear Management Agreement in the Southern Beaufort Sea covers the Canada/U.S. shared population of Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears. The presentation begins with a background on the beginnings of the Agreement, the six parties involved, and the governance structure that involves Commissioners and technical advisors. Actions that both parties commit to through the agreement (i.e. highlights of the agreement) are outlined. They address: viable and sustainable management; protection; traditional and scientific knowledge including research; monitoring and meetings. Successful results are illustrated. Then key recommendations from 2017 (population estimates/surveys, a 5-year research plan and Russian involvement) are shared. Best practices are mentioned and include: information sharing; traditional knowledge; collaboration and a moratorium on collars. Information is provided as to why this Agreement could be used as a model for other user-to-user agreements and continuing collaboration on this and other issues.

Presentation Title: Circumpolar Action Plan Implementation 2015-2017
Summary: Summary not available.

Progress report on CAP actions from 2015 to 2017

Presentation Title: Polar Bear Circumpolar Action Plan Scorecard
Summary: Summary not available.

Presentation Title: Coping with Increasing Polar Bear Use of Alaska’s Coastline
Summary: As sea ice diminishes, polar bears are increasing their use of terrestrial habitat along the northern coast of Alaska during summer and fall months, raising concerns for public safety in rural villages and industrial work areas, as well as for the welfare of polar bears. Recent studies indicate that the proportion of polar bears using the Beaufort Sea coast has increased, and that trends of earlier arrival, increased length of stay, and later departure back to sea ice are occurring.
The highest density of polar bears along the Beaufort Sea coast of Alaska occurs at Barter Island, home to the small Inupiat community of Kaktovik, whose residents rely on the annual fall harvest of bowhead whales for food sustenance. The un-salvaged remains from this harvest are deposited in a “bone pile” that attracts a large aggregation of polar bears annually. Over the last decade, the predictable presence of polar bears around Kaktovik has also led to an increase in polar bear tourism and commercial filming. This increase of both polar bears and humans along the coast, particularly around Kaktovik, presents unique management challenges and a collaborative approach during a time of rapidly changing environmental conditions.
This presentation provides an overview of actions being taken by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in collaboration with a variety of others, to cope with the increased presence of bears along Alaska’s Beaufort Sea coast, as well as the human visitors who wish to view them. Specific actions include: 1) conducting biological monitoring and research; 2) implementing deterrence programs in villages and industrial areas; 3) managing food attractants; 4) managing polar bear viewing, tourism, and commercial filming around Kaktovik; 5) developing educational materials and conducting outreach; and 6) improving emergency response capabilities for oiled, orphaned, and injured polar bears.

Presentation Title: Living with Polar Bears
Summary: WWF works with communities around the Arctic to reduce human-polar bear conflict. Together with communities, we support community-customized implementation of deterrence and conflict avoidance/prevention tools that are becoming standard for polar bears. We help initiate and institutionalize polar bear conflict avoidance, deterrence, and monitoring efforts in coastal communities within polar bear range. Ultimately, we hope to see conflict avoidance/deterrence programs operating in each Arctic community within polar bear range.

Presentation Title: Wildlife Deterrence Program, Government of Nunavut – Department of Environment
Summary: The Wildlife Deterrence Program helps mitigate human-wildlife conflict in Nunavut. Human-wildlife conflicts have negative social and economic impacts. Between 2000 and 2017, hundreds of defense of life or property kills occurred in Nunavut in order to protect people and their property. Wildlife patrols are primarily carried out by Conservation Officers, with support from the Hunters and Trappers Organization, Municipalities, and NGOs. Polar Bear Guard (PBG) training provides exposure to deterrence equipment and safe practices that can build capacity to mitigate human-wildlife conflict in communities and provide employment in the tourism and mining sectors. Experimental conflict mitigation measures discussed in the presentation include electric fencing, live traps and luring stations. The Wildlife Damage Compensation Program issues direct compensation to property owners whose property has been damaged by wildlife. The Wildlife Damage Prevention Program provides funding to individuals and non-profit organizations to take steps to prevent property damage by wildlife. Community-based bear-human conflict mitigation plans encourage key stakeholders within communities to collaborate and develop community specific mitigation efforts.

Presentation Title: The SMART way of protecting, monitoring, and managing human – bear conflict
Summary: A primary goal of the Polar Bear Range States (PBRS) is to ensure the safe coexistence of polar bears and humans in the face of accelerating climate change. The PBRS recognize that human-polar bear interactions will increase in the future due to expanding human activities in the Arctic, and a continued increase in the number of bears on land due to retreating sea ice. In 2009, the PBRS agreed on the need to develop the Polar Bear-Human Information Management System (PBHIMS) to catalogue interactions in a more systematic and consistent manner. This system enables a data-based assessment of bear-human interactions and provides a scientific framework for preventing negative bear-human interactions in the future.

A current limitation of PBHIMS is that it is an ACCESS – based database with no mobile or web applications that allow for easy access restriction, data sharing and high maintenance costs. WWF and seven other conservation agencies have developed a Spatial Monitoring And Reporting Tool (SMART), which was developed to aide conservation managers in understanding wildlife population trends and threats to their survival including poaching and human -wildlife conflict (http://smartconservationtools.org/). Currently, SMART is being used in ~400 sites across the globe for effective conservation management, including entire national park systems and CITES monitoring tools. The advantage to SMART is that it is open-source software, can be web-based, allows for mobile data uploads via Smartphones and can be access controlled and a minimal annual cost. We will demonstrate the SMART software application for human- polar bear conflict monitoring using PBHIMS data from Alaska and illustrate how this tool could be useful to meet the established requirements that the PBRS conflict – working group has established for a joint database to be adopted by the HoD and range-wide human – bear conflict monitoring to be facilitated.

Presentation Title: Polar Bear Attacks on Humans 1870-2014: Implications of a Changing Climate
Summary: Summary not available.

Presentation Title: More People and Less Ice – Challenges and Measures in the Local Management of Polar Bears on Svalbard, Norway
Summary: The number of people visiting Svalbard increases. At the same time, the ice coverage of the fjords in Svalbard, are decreasing. This means that people and bears could meet more often, and this gives the local management of polar bears on Svalbard some challenges. One of the main goals for the environmental protection of Svalbard is that the archipelago should be one of the world’s best managed wilderness areas. Thus, the Svalbard Environmental Protection Act from 2002 represents a tangible regulation of activities in the wilderness, and there are several sections that are specifically targeted to prevent human – polar bear conflicts and disturbance of the bears. Through careful processing of applications for activities in important polar bear habitats, through information, guidance and presence in the field, and through cooperation and communication with the tourist industry and scientific communities, the Governor aims to prevent such conflicts. When incidents between people and polar bears nevertheless occur, the Governor try to solve these in a way that protects people and influence and disturb the polar bears as little as possible. The Governor has dedicated plans on how to respond to reports about polar bear observations near settlements. When polar bears approach, the Governor implements surveillance, interception (snowmobiles, cars, helicopter, boats), scaring (flash bangers, rubber bullets) and escorting the bears in the wanted direction. In recurring incidents, bears are tranquillized if possible and relocated by helicopter. The very last option is killing of a bear, but the Svalbard Environmental Protection Act has an opening for this if there are now other options.

Presentation Title: Cooperation and Industry Best Practices for Successful Polar Bear Management on
Alaska’s North Slope
Summary: The Alaska oil and gas industry’s polar bear interaction and protection programs provide an extraordinary set of best management practices based on decades of real-world experience, as well as cutting edge efforts to utilize new technologies to protect bears and people and minimize human-bear conflict. To help inform the Range State Delegates, BP Alaska will provide a summary of the management practices implemented by industry under their polar bear interaction plans and the regulatory measures implemented under the Marine Mammal Protection Act incidental take programs. The summary will include the evolution and improvements from documented human-bear conflict in the 1990s through present, where the Alaska North Slope oil and gas fields now represent the gold standard in human-bear conflict minimization. This successful co-habitation of Alaska’s North Slope is largely accomplished through a cooperative process including industry petitions for polar bear incidental take regulations (and subsequent required mitigation measures), continuous improvement in industry polar bear interaction and management programs, cooperation and transparent communications with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, advances in direct take (deterrence) programs, and industry response to increasing numbers of polar bears and maternal dens in on-shore industry areas. BP Alaska will review the success of polar bear interaction plans, industry workforce training and engagement programs, pooling of industry resources for den detection surveys, and oil spill response. We’ll highlight our program for cooperation with local communities and subsistence users, and coordination with various third-party groups (Universities, non-profits, and veterinarian and zoo resources) for continuous improvement on various aspects of oil spill preparedness, den response in industrial areas, and human-bear conflict minimization.

Presentation Title: Assessment of Oil Spill Impacts on Polar Bears
Summary: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently completed a study to understand the potential impacts of oil spills on polar bears. We present the general framework we employed for this study to provide potential guidance for others interested in understanding potential impacts of offshore oil spills on polar bears in their regions. This includes identifying likely areas for development, developing realistic spill scenarios, simulating spills in a stochastic manner, and then overlapping spill results with various types of polar bear data. We then present results from our analysis in the Chukchi Sea, showing how much polar bear habitat and how many polar bears might be exposed to oil. We also present results on how long it could take oil to reach polar bears and the areas having the highest probability of oil exposure. Finally, we review the results in light of how they can be used to help inform spill response planning efforts.