Prentice to hold round table on polar bear conservation in January
Federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice will hold a national round table on the protection of polar bears early in the new year.
The federal round table, slated for Jan. 16 in Winnipeg, will bring together territorial and provincial officials, Inuit leaders, wildlife management boards, scientists and other experts.
Speaking to reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday, Prentice said the meeting will be "joining together conservationists ... Inuit, scientists [and others] to deal with the peril that the species faces and what steps should be taken from a conservation perspective."
It's estimated that there are more than 15,000 polar bears in Canada, with the majority based in Nunavut.
In April, a federal committee said it would maintain the polar bear's status as a species of special concern in Canada, a designation that is one step below that of threatened species.
Shortly after that decision was announced, then environment minister John Baird said he would meet with environmental activists, Inuit leaders, and provincial government representatives to discuss ways to protect polar bears.
Baffin Bay dispute shows growing divide
The round table comes at a time when a difference of opinion is growing between scientists and Inuit about the size of polar bear populations in Nunavut. The territory has a bear management system based on both Western science and traditional Inuit knowledge.
For example, Prentice said there will be discussions about a dispute in the Baffin Bay area of Nunavut, where biologists believe polar bear numbers are declining but Inuit living in the area insist the numbers are up.
That debate surfaced this fall, when Nunavut wildlife officials recommended that the polar bear hunting quota in the Baffin Bay area stay at 105 bears despite concerns by government biologists about overhunting there.
"There is some scientific evidence that suggests that the bears in that location are under a lot of pressure," Prentice said of the Baffin Bay situation. "We need to take conservation-minded steps."
Delegates at the January round table will also discuss talks by some European nations to potentially ban the import of polar bear parts and sport hunting trophies from Canada and other countries.
"Certainly, it's being discussed in the European Union, and we need to stay in front of the issue and deal with it responsibly," Prentice said.
Polar bear management 'very politicized': expert
The idea of a national polar bear round table was applauded by Doug Clark, a researcher with the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Yukon College in Whitehorse and Yale University in the U.S.
Having studied the polar bear management process, Clark said it has become a complicated process today, in part because of climate change and because more people and organizations are getting involved.
"There are a lot of causes that have lead to what by now has become a very, very complex situation that's become very polarized and very politicized," Clark said Wednesday.
In his research, Clark found the decision-making process for managing polar bears is actually pushing people apart, so it's not getting the results it should.
"Organizations need to be very clear and very careful on some fundamental principles and take great care to ensure that respect and trust are built, rather than eroded, by decision-making processes," he said.
People who are "involved in making decisions about polar bears, and the organizations they work for, [should] be very reflective and be open-minded with one another," Clark said.
Prentice's decision to hold a round table has the potential to be very helpful in working out conflicts and longstanding issues on polar bear management, the researcher said.
At the same time, Clark said improving debates between Inuit hunters, scientists and other groups will take a lot of time and effort by everyone involved.