Polar bear ban defeated
Source: Agencies |
March 19, 2010, Friday
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Print Edition
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A PROPOSAL to ban the international trade in polar bear skins, teeth and claws was defeated at a United Nations wildlife meeting in Doha, Qatar, yesterday over concern it would hurt indigenous economies and arguments that the practice didn't pose a significant threat to the animals.
United States officials had argued at the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, that the sale of polar bear skins was compounding the loss of the animals' sea ice habitat due to climate change. There are projections that the bear population, estimated at 20,000 to 25,000, could decline by two-thirds by 2050 due to habitat loss in the Arctic.
"We're disappointed," said Jane Lyder, the Department of Interior's deputy assistant secretary for fish and wildlife and parks. "But we understand that CITES is still trying to understand how to incorporate climate change into its decision making."
Canada, along with Norway and Greenland, said the threat from trade was minimal and that hunting was critical to local economies. Only 2 percent of Canadian polar bears were internationally traded and the country strictly managed the commerce, Canada said.
"There is no doubt that action must continue to ensure the conservation of polar bears. Canada's goal is long-term survival of polar bears," Canada's Basile Van Havre said. "But Canada does not think the proposal is supported by facts."
Frank Pokiak, an indigenous leader from Canada, said Arctic communities had hunted bears for generations, to provide food, clothing and shelter. He said they hunted them in a sustainable way and would continue doing so.
United States officials had argued at the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, that the sale of polar bear skins was compounding the loss of the animals' sea ice habitat due to climate change. There are projections that the bear population, estimated at 20,000 to 25,000, could decline by two-thirds by 2050 due to habitat loss in the Arctic.
"We're disappointed," said Jane Lyder, the Department of Interior's deputy assistant secretary for fish and wildlife and parks. "But we understand that CITES is still trying to understand how to incorporate climate change into its decision making."
Canada, along with Norway and Greenland, said the threat from trade was minimal and that hunting was critical to local economies. Only 2 percent of Canadian polar bears were internationally traded and the country strictly managed the commerce, Canada said.
"There is no doubt that action must continue to ensure the conservation of polar bears. Canada's goal is long-term survival of polar bears," Canada's Basile Van Havre said. "But Canada does not think the proposal is supported by facts."
Frank Pokiak, an indigenous leader from Canada, said Arctic communities had hunted bears for generations, to provide food, clothing and shelter. He said they hunted them in a sustainable way and would continue doing so.
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