Defenders' Experts
Polar Bear Management and Policy
The world’s only marine bear in big trouble, but there’s still time to save this Arctic icon. The only way to stop the climate change that is destroying key polar bear habitat is to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and related pollutants. But even if greenhouse gas concentrations were drastically reduced today, climate change will continue for decades to come.
Meanwhile, there are things we can—and should—do immediately to help polar bears survive the Arctic meltdown, such as:
- Fully protect bears under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by rescinding the blanket exemption in the current listing that excludes activities outside of Alaska that cause greenhouse gas pollution from being considered harmful to polar bears.
- Protect the polar bear’s prey base, which includes ringed, bearded, ribbon and spotted seals, Pacific walruses—all currently proposed for ESA listing—as well as Arctic cod and other sea-ice fish seals eat.
- Suspend all new Arctic oil and gas development until appropriate measures to protect polar bear populations and their sea-ice habitat are in place. In addition, institute a permanent moratorium on energy exploration and development in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, where Alaska’s polar bears live, and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where many of them den in winter.
- Eliminate trophy hunting throughout the Arctic and reduce other hunting pressure on declining polar bear populations while still accommodating native subsistence needs. Also take steps to address poaching, such as implementing voluntary monitoring and establishing reward programs for information leading to convictions.
To read more of Defenders’ recommendations of things we can do now to help polar bears, read our new report, Sea Bear Under Siege: Polar Bears and Climate Change in Alaska.
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