Polar bear protection to be focus of national round table

Canada's polar bears and how to protect them will be the subject of a national round table on Friday, bringing together Inuit, scientists, environmentalists and government officials.

Delegates from across Canada will meet in Winnipeg for Friday's one-day session hosted by federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice.

While opinion is split on the iconic northern animal's future, Prentice said science shows the swift disappearance of sea ice and possible over-hunting are threatening a mammal that has become a symbol for climate change.

"It's a critical time, a pivotal time, for the polar bear," Prentice told the Canadian Press on Thursday on the eve of the country's first polar bear summit.

"We are essentially the stewards of the polar bear population. It's a very heavy responsibility that we bear."

Opinion split on bear numbers

Opinion is split between scientists and Inuit about the size of polar bear populations in Nunavut, where most of Canada's polar bears are based.

The northern territory has a polar bear management system based on both Western science and traditional Inuit knowledge.

But in the past year, there have been disagreements about polar bear numbers in Nunavut's Baffin Bay area, where biologists believe polar bear numbers are declining. Inuit living in the area, however, insist the numbers are up.

That debate erupted this past fall, when Nunavut wildlife officials said the polar bear hunting quota in the Baffin Bay area should stay at 105 bears, despite concerns by government biologists about overhunting there.

Prentice said he is determined to find common ground among the diverse group of delegates — a sentiment that is shared by Gabriel Nirlungayuk, wildlife director of the Inuit land-claim organization Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

"We know that we're not going to change people's mind overnight, but I'm hoping that people will come to the table with an open mind, to try and learn from Inuit," Nirlungayuk told CBC News.

Officials from Nunavut Tunngavik and Nunavut Wildlife Management Board will make presentations at the round table.

Polar bears are 'doing fine'

Nunavut Environment Minister Daniel Shewchuk, who will also address the meeting, said many Inuit say they worry that overly harsh restrictions that could threaten their way of life will be imposed to appease southern Canadians who do not depend on polar bears for their livelihoods.

"We feel our polar bears are doing fine," Shewchuk told the Canadian Press.

"We're basing that on living there and living with polar bears all of our lives .… People are encountering more polar bears out on the land."

Shewchuk added that more polar bears can become a safety issue for residents, who can no longer even go camping.

Nunavummiut would like to carry out a proper study of polar bears once they get funding for it, said Shewchuk and Nirlungayuk.

"We're hoping that maybe it's the start of collaboration with a very big organization, such as [the World Wildlife Fund], to help Inuit, or the government of Nunavut, to offset some of the costs of doing research up here," Nirlungayuk said.

Peter Ewins, director of species conservation with World Wildlife Fund Canada, said he will push for more funding to collect Inuit traditional knowledge of polar bears.

At the same time, Ewins said he also wants to see an immediate end to overhunting in Baffin Bay.

"The science is clear, too, that these polar bears are trending towards regional extinctions," Ewins told CBC News.

Canada is home to about two-thirds of the world's polar bears, but scientists warn populations are starting to dwindle because of thawing sea ice, over-hunting, industrial activity in the Arctic and an increase of toxins in the food chain.

Some have said two-thirds of the world's polar bears could disappear within 50 years if nothing is done to slow the loss of sea ice.

The polar bear is a "species of special concern" in Canada, a designation that is less severe than "threatened" and "endangered" under the federal Species At Risk Act. In May 2008, the U.S. government declared the polar bear to be a threatened species.