“We found that other environmental stressors such as trans-Arctic shipping, oil and gas exploration, disease and contaminants, sustainable harvest and defence of life takes, had only negligible effects on polar bear populations – compared to the much larger effects of sea ice loss and associated declines in their ability to access prey”. They reached the conclusion after looking at the condition of polar bears in detail.
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“Polar bears are in big trouble”, said Rebecca Noblin, Alaska director for the Center for Biological Diversity. And due to high temperature, sea ice will begin to diminish and polar bears will have no more habitat to live in thus reducing polar bears’ population. “The science shows clearly that deep greenhouse gas reductions are needed to save polar bears from extinction, but the Obama administration doesn’t lay out a clear plan for what those targets should be and how to get there”. It is difficult to estimate a global population of polar bears – however, biologists use an estimate of about 20,000 to 40,000 polar bears worldwide. Outcomes for polar bear populations are projected to worsen over time through the end of the century under both scenarios, but the long-term persistence of polar bears may be possible if global greenhouse gas emissions are stabilized at or below the modeled level.
Because polar bears rely on ice as a platform for hunting, the bears must retreat to land, where their prey is limited. In the first, emissions remained on their current course, resulting in unabated global warming.
The actions identified in the draft plan are aimed at managing US populations of polar bears in Alaska, which occur in one of four polar bear ecoregions.
So what can be done to help our furry white friends?
But the report says decreased carbon emissions constitute “the single most important action for the recovery of polar bears”.
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Now, stopping the warming of the waters of the Arctic will certainly require a commitment from all countries in the world; as indicated by Jennifer Kohout, who is the regional program manager and co-chair of the polar bear recovery team at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The plan will also include a better management of the bears’ food stocks, and better ways of preventing conflicts with humans and keeping bears safe from unsafe oil spills. “These pollutants are a threat to everybody”, Kerry said. Mike Runge, a US Geological Survey research ecologist, notes that “addressing sea ice loss will require global policy solutions” and will “likely be years in the making”. However, Polyakov remarks that the major players like the United States and China can not agree to do as they has their own industrial interests.
