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Muffled against the bitter artic cold by thick white fur and layers of fat, the polar bear lives and hunts in the snowbound lands and ice flows surrounding the North Pole. A strong swimmer and a lone predator, it is at home ice flows, which may carry it far from its original locality.The polar bear is found on the arctic coasts and islands of the five countries around the North Pole, the United States (Alaska), Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Norway and Russia. It is the only species that still lives throughout its original range, with an estimated 20,000 still in the wild. However, even in the seemingly pristine Arctic environment, polar bears are threatened by the spread of hormone-disrupting chemicals and global warming. This affects the polar ice edge ecosystem, the habitat of walrus, seals and penguins, as well as bears. Global warming could already be having a negative impact on polar bears. In Canada's Hudson Bay (see map), numbers have been declining according to a study by Canadian Wildlife Services. Ice on the bay is melting an average of three weeks earlier than in the mid-1970s. This forces polar bears to retreat further inland before they have been able to replenish their reserves of fat by feeding on seal pups, which live on the ice. The polar bears in the Hudson Bay are unique in the Arctic because they fast for six to eight months of hibernation and rely on winter hunting for survival. Longer ice-free periods during the artic summer leave polar bears stranded onshore for longer periods. The delay in freeze-up causes polar bears to lose critical fat reserves affecting reproduction and the ability of pregnant females to produce enough milk for their cubs. Scientists can already document a 15 percent drop in birth rates. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) works with governments to designate specially protected areas for wildlife around the world. In 1973, Canada, the U.S., Denmark, Norway and the former U.S.S.R. signed the International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears and their Habitat. The goal is to protect ecosystems of the bears, particularly their denning and feeding areas and migration routes. The agreement bans hunting from aircraft and powerboats. However, polar bears are still at risk from hunting and from disturbance to their habitat from oil exploration. In the far north of Russia, another United Nations agency, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), works with local communities to protect areas where polar bears live. People are involved in better management of the eco-systems that polar bears and other species depend on for their survival. Indigenous peoples hunt the polar bear all year around, but since they use traditional methods, the numbers killed are not a threat to its survival. UNEP and another UN agency, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) set up the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to assess the impact of climate change. The Artic was found to be extremely vulnerable, more so than any other area on earth. As part of the global effort to protect the planetās biodiversity, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) administers one of the worldās largest conservation agreements÷the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known as CITES. Adopted in 1973, it became international law two years later. More than 150 governments have ratified the treaty, which offers varying protection to more than 35,000 species of animals and plants, depending on their condition in the wild and the effect that international trade may have on them. CITES bans international commercial trade in species threatened with extinction, such as cheetahs, tigers, the great apes, many tortoises and birds of prey. It also protects other species, which are not threatened, but may be at serious risk unless international trade is strictly regulated.
LEARN MORE how the UN works with its partners around the world to save endangered species. Go to the links at the side of the page. Photo credit: Discovery Communications Inc. |
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