Conference Keeps Protections for Polar Bears at Same Level

Conservationists deployed an army of toy polar bears, but delegates to an international conservation conference in Bangkok did not boost protections for the Arctic animal.

Washington — A proposal to increase the protection of Arctic polar bears failed to win necessary support March 7 among the parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The parties are holding their 16th conference in Bangkok March 3-14.

The United States, backed by Russia, had submitted a proposal that would have classified the polar bears as a species threatened with extinction and banned all commercial trade. Polar bears are currently ranked as a nonthreatened species, but with the potential to become so.

“We are obviously disappointed that the CITES membership failed to give greater protection to polar bears by limiting permissible trade in polar bear pelts and other body parts,” said U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Hayes. “We will continue to work with our partners to reduce the pressure that trade in polar bear parts puts on this iconic Arctic species.”

The polar range extends through the United States, Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia. The global population is estimated to be 20,000 to 25,000 animals. Hunters killed 400 to 500 animals in the last decade for commercial trade in their skins, furs, claws and teeth, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) estimates.

Subsistence hunting by the indigenous people of the region harvests about 800 bears per year, FWS reports.

Loss of habitat and decline of sea ice attributed to warmer temperatures are the primary threats to polar bear survival throughout the animal’s range. Stronger trade restrictions, in the U.S. view, would have improved the species' chances of survival.

“As polar bear hide prices have skyrocketed, more bears are being offered at auction and hunting levels have increased,” said Daniel Ashe, FWS director and head of the U.S. delegation to the CITES meeting. “A CITES Appendix 1 listing would have ensured that commercial trade would not compound the threats of habitat loss that are facing this species.”

The U.S. proposal for stronger protections failed by four votes, with opposition from the other range states of Canada, Greenland and Norway. A total of 80 members voted on the measure.

The respected International Union for Conservation of Nature has ranked polar bears as “vulnerable” on its Red List of Threatened Species. The animals are protected by two U.S. conservation laws, the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act. But these laws protect only the animals in U.S. territory, thought to be about 1,500.

In September 2012, Arctic sea ice reached its lowest point since 1979. Some scientists predict that current warming trends could lead to the complete disappearance of summer ice within 30 years.

Sea ice gives the polar bears a platform for hunting, a route for travel and a path back to mating areas.

A treaty that marks its 40th anniversary this year, CITES extends protections to about 5,000 animal species and 29,000 plants.

At the Bangkok meeting, the United States is also supporting proposals to increase protections for turtles and tortoises, considered among the most threatened vertebrates on Earth, and is allied with China in this area. A proposal to control trade of several species of sharks also will be debated. The U.S. delegation supports that proposal, though it is expected to face strong opposition.

On the sidelines of these votes, wildlife enforcement officers from around the world met as a group for the first time. Their goal is to scale up law enforcement cooperation to better coordinate countermeasures against transnational criminal organizations trafficking in illegal animals and animal products.

“The first global meeting of wildlife enforcement networks is an important step in our collective response to combating serious wildlife and forest crime,” said CITES Secretary-General John Scanlon. “Coordinated responses that connect and align efforts across borders and organizations provide the best opportunities to combat this serious crime, and protect the species and people at risk because of it.”