The International Legal Framework
for Polar Bears
7
7.1
Introduction
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is one of the largest bear species in the world and
indeed an iconic species. It stands synonymous for the drastic effects of climate
change on the Arctic environment and its almost hopeless battle against the impacts
of humankind. In recent years, increasing horror stories about the polar bear have
emerged in media discourse: the polar bears is on the brink of extinction; the polar
bear is starving due to the effects of climate change; or the polar bear invades human
settlements in search for food.
As we have seen in Chap. 2, the realities are far more complex. The Arctic
Biodiversity Assessment (ABA), for instance, has found that of the 19 distinct polar
bear populations all over the Arctic, seven are declining, four are stable, one is
increasing, and the status of the remaining seven is unknown.
1 The claim of a
declining polar bear is therefore imprecise. Similarly, the rather recently circulating
image of a starving polar bear allegedly due to climate change caused high waves in
social media. However, an extremely skinny polar bear in search for food can have
numerous reasons and the causes for such physical state can also be related to disease
or other factors. However, such emotional charging of the polar bear does certainly
not miss its mark and attempts have been made to further protect this species from
any human exploitation.
What is often missed in the discourse on polar bear protection is the fact that a
regime has been in place since 1973 that puts the polar bear under protection by its
range states: the Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears (ACPB),
2 which was
concluded between Canada, the United States, Norway, Denmark/Greenland and the
Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. It entered into force in 1976 and has been
in force since then.
1 Meltofte (2013), p. 115.
2 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears, 15 Nov 1973 (13 ILM 13).
# Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
N. Sellheim, International Marine Mammal Law,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35268-4_7
157
for Polar Bears
7
7.1
Introduction
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is one of the largest bear species in the world and
indeed an iconic species. It stands synonymous for the drastic effects of climate
change on the Arctic environment and its almost hopeless battle against the impacts
of humankind. In recent years, increasing horror stories about the polar bear have
emerged in media discourse: the polar bears is on the brink of extinction; the polar
bear is starving due to the effects of climate change; or the polar bear invades human
settlements in search for food.
As we have seen in Chap. 2, the realities are far more complex. The Arctic
Biodiversity Assessment (ABA), for instance, has found that of the 19 distinct polar
bear populations all over the Arctic, seven are declining, four are stable, one is
increasing, and the status of the remaining seven is unknown.
1 The claim of a
declining polar bear is therefore imprecise. Similarly, the rather recently circulating
image of a starving polar bear allegedly due to climate change caused high waves in
social media. However, an extremely skinny polar bear in search for food can have
numerous reasons and the causes for such physical state can also be related to disease
or other factors. However, such emotional charging of the polar bear does certainly
not miss its mark and attempts have been made to further protect this species from
any human exploitation.
What is often missed in the discourse on polar bear protection is the fact that a
regime has been in place since 1973 that puts the polar bear under protection by its
range states: the Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears (ACPB),
2 which was
concluded between Canada, the United States, Norway, Denmark/Greenland and the
Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. It entered into force in 1976 and has been
in force since then.
1 Meltofte (2013), p. 115.
2 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears, 15 Nov 1973 (13 ILM 13).
# Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
N. Sellheim, International Marine Mammal Law,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35268-4_7
157