MoU for the conservation and management of shared polar bear populations.
17 The
MoU coincided with the US listing of the polar bear as threatened under its
Endangered Species Act and very broadly aims for coordinated efforts for the
conservation and management of joint polar bear populations. The MoU highlights
the inclusion and exchange of traditional knowledge and science regarding polar
bear use and management. The MoU aims for the establishment of a Bilateral
Oversight Group, but up to this point it remains unclear whether or how this has
been put into practice. It makes unmistakably clear that it is not legally binding and
thus does not put any legal obligations on neither Canada or the United States. It is
therefore merely an expression of intent rather than a bilateral legal instrument.
7.5
Managing Polar Bears in Kane Basin and Baffin Bay
Just one year after the MoU between Canada and the United States, the former
entered into another MoU on polar bear management. This time the MoU was
concluded between the governments of Canada, of Nunavut and of Greenland,
18
concerning shared polar bear populations in Baffin Bay and Kane Basin, the waters
between Ellesmere Island in Canada and Greenland. The issue of over-harvesting
had been known for several years. As the basis for the agreement which was the
response to unsustainable harvest levels serves the ACPB. While the MoU is not
legally binding itself, the existing legal regimes for indigenous peoples and
associated harvesting rights as well as the land claims under the legal frameworks
in Nunavut and Greenland create legal obligations, as the MoU recognises in its
Preamble.
The overall purpose of the MoU is the conservation and sustainable management
of polar bears. But in the spirit of the ecosystem approach, the MoU approaches
polar bear conservation through the protection of ecosystems and natural habitats
while also including the restoration and revitalisation of depleted populations as well
as sustainable utilisation.
19 To advance the overall purposes of the MoU, a Joint
Commission was established, whose primary task it is to make recommendations on
sustainable harvest limits. A particular feature in this regard is that this recommendation is not communicated to the management bodies directly, but to a User-to-User
Working Group, which is formed under the commission, which itself makes
recommendations back to the commission in how far the harvest levels are allocated
between Greenland and Canada. Once the commission finds the recommendations
17 Memorandum of Understanding between Environment and Climate Change Canada and the
United States Department of the Interior for the Conservation and Management of Shared Polar
Bear Populations, 2008.
18 Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Canada, the Government of
Nunavut, and the Government of Greenland for the Conservation and Management of Polar Bear
Populations, 31 October 2009.
19 Ibid, Art 2.
7.5 Managing Polar Bears in Kane Basin and Baffin Bay
167
17 The
MoU coincided with the US listing of the polar bear as threatened under its
Endangered Species Act and very broadly aims for coordinated efforts for the
conservation and management of joint polar bear populations. The MoU highlights
the inclusion and exchange of traditional knowledge and science regarding polar
bear use and management. The MoU aims for the establishment of a Bilateral
Oversight Group, but up to this point it remains unclear whether or how this has
been put into practice. It makes unmistakably clear that it is not legally binding and
thus does not put any legal obligations on neither Canada or the United States. It is
therefore merely an expression of intent rather than a bilateral legal instrument.
7.5
Managing Polar Bears in Kane Basin and Baffin Bay
Just one year after the MoU between Canada and the United States, the former
entered into another MoU on polar bear management. This time the MoU was
concluded between the governments of Canada, of Nunavut and of Greenland,
18
concerning shared polar bear populations in Baffin Bay and Kane Basin, the waters
between Ellesmere Island in Canada and Greenland. The issue of over-harvesting
had been known for several years. As the basis for the agreement which was the
response to unsustainable harvest levels serves the ACPB. While the MoU is not
legally binding itself, the existing legal regimes for indigenous peoples and
associated harvesting rights as well as the land claims under the legal frameworks
in Nunavut and Greenland create legal obligations, as the MoU recognises in its
Preamble.
The overall purpose of the MoU is the conservation and sustainable management
of polar bears. But in the spirit of the ecosystem approach, the MoU approaches
polar bear conservation through the protection of ecosystems and natural habitats
while also including the restoration and revitalisation of depleted populations as well
as sustainable utilisation.
19 To advance the overall purposes of the MoU, a Joint
Commission was established, whose primary task it is to make recommendations on
sustainable harvest limits. A particular feature in this regard is that this recommendation is not communicated to the management bodies directly, but to a User-to-User
Working Group, which is formed under the commission, which itself makes
recommendations back to the commission in how far the harvest levels are allocated
between Greenland and Canada. Once the commission finds the recommendations
17 Memorandum of Understanding between Environment and Climate Change Canada and the
United States Department of the Interior for the Conservation and Management of Shared Polar
Bear Populations, 2008.
18 Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Canada, the Government of
Nunavut, and the Government of Greenland for the Conservation and Management of Polar Bear
Populations, 31 October 2009.
19 Ibid, Art 2.
7.5 Managing Polar Bears in Kane Basin and Baffin Bay
167