06-Country management & harvest reports

Session 6: COUNTRY MANAGEMENT AND HARVEST REPORTS  
SUMMARY

6.1 Polar Bear Conservation and Management in Canada: Overview of key activities (2023– 2025)  

Caroline Ladanowski and Ernest Cooper

This presentation provides an overview of Canada’s polar bear conservation and management framework for 2023–2025. Internationally, polar bears are listed on CITES Appendix II and were assessed by the IUCN as Vulnerable, while nationally, they are assessed as a species of Special Concern under Canada’s Species at Risk Act. Climate change–driven sea-ice loss is identified as the primary threat, with other pressures such as hunting, pollution, and tourism considered secondary or negligible.

Central to Canada’s management system is co-management, in which Indigenous rights holders and governments jointly make decisions. Wildlife Management Boards and Advisory Councils created under land claim agreements ensure that Indigenous knowledge, harvesting rights, and conservation science are equally represented. Key forums such as the Polar Bear Administrative Committee and Polar Bear Technical Committee provide coordination across regions and subpopulations. Recent national milestones include an updated standing non-detriment finding report (in 2024) and public consultation of a draft National Polar Bear Management Plan in 2025.

Subpopulation status is tracked through both scientific assessments and Indigenous knowledge, revealing variation across subpopulations, with some increasing, some stable, and others declining or uncertain. Harvest management remains primarily the responsibility of the provinces and territories, with Indigenous-led subsistence and guided hunts providing cultural and economic benefits. International trade is strictly regulated through CITES, with permits issued only when a non-detriment finding confirms sustainability. Enforcement measures such as microchip tagging and genetic tracking provide additional safeguards. Incidents of illegal hunting or trade are rare.

The presentation concludes by emphasizing Canada’s collaborative and inclusive approach, which integrates Indigenous knowledge, science, and government oversight to ensure sustainable polar bear conservation. Strong co-management system, innovative enforcement tools, and the development of a national management plan reflect Canada’s commitment to adaptive, long-term stewardship in the face of climate-driven challenges.

Update from Norway on polar bear conservation and management

Virtual Meeting of the Parties 4 - 7 November 2025.

Bjørn Rangbru, Senior Adviser, Nature Management Department, Norway.

In 2004, there were estimated 2,650 polar bears in the Barents Sea subpopulation (including 700 in the Norwegian territory). A new survey, in 2015 showed 950 bears in the Norwegian part. No decline was detected during this period. No counts have been carried out after 2015. But we expect a future reduction caused by climate change. The polar bear has vulnerable (VU) status on the Norwegian (Svalbard) red list. Until 1973, on average several hundred polar bears were killed per year on Svalbard. Conservation efforts, since 1973, include strict regime on killing polars bears, preserve habitats through protection, international co-operation, and research and monitoring. This had major impact on the number of polar bears killed, as now only a small number of bears are killed each year, mainly under self-defence. Norway has established large nature conservation areas in Svalbard. Currently 69 % of land area and 88 % of territorial waters in Svalbard are protected. There has been a massive increase in tourism activity which is negatively impacting Svalbard nature. To reduce disturbance to polar bears, distance rules have been introduced on the Svalbard archipelago, and one must keep at least 300 meters away from bears. In the period from March 1 to June 30, one must keep at least 500 meters away. If one discovers a bear at close range, one is obliged to retreat. The obligation to retreat does not apply in inhabited areas, when staying at research stations, cabins, tents or similar facilities. The national action plan for polar bears, from 2013, was evaluated in 2024. Norway is not creating a new polar bear action plan. Norway is instead creating a short polar bear strategy.

U.S. Management and Harvest Report Summary

Speakers: Dan Bjornlie, Polar Bear Program Lead, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Maija Lukin, Executive Director, Alaska Nannut Co-Management Council

The U.S. management and harvest presentation summarizes recent management, monitoring, subsistence harvest, and co-management activities for the U.S. polar bear subpopulations of the Chukchi and Southern Beaufort Seas. This presentation briefly presents an update on the status of polar bears in the U.S., as well as high profile management topics, which include completion of Stock Assessment Reports for both subpopulations of polar bears in the U.S. and the 2025 signing of a formal co-management agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Alaska Nannut Co-Management Council (ANCC), the Service’s Alaska Native co-management partner. We will also discuss the recent history and future of co-management efforts with ANCC. In addition, we will provide an update on U.S. polar bear subsistence harvest.  

Abstract on Country Management and Harvest Report - Greenland

The report is an outline for the framework, legislation, and management practices for polar bear (Ursus Maritimus) Conservation and sustainable use in Greenland for the period of 2023-2025.
The polar bear has a deeply rooted socioeconomic, cultural and ecological importance in Greenland, particularly for communities in the Northwestern and East Greenland. The document details the co-management system between local users, municipalities, and the Government of Greenland, emphasizing the integration of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) with scientific advice in quota setting and policy decisions.

The legal foundation is based on the 2023 Hunting and Game Act. No 34 and the updated Executive order on the Protection and hunting of polar bears og March 2023. Updates include the recognition of a new Southeast Greenland polar bear subpopulation, provisions for limited tourism, revised rules on problem bears and self-defense, and continually strengthened reporting and monitoring systems.

Greenland manages six polar bear subpopulations, wherein three are shared with Canada/Nunavut. Quota-based harvest regulation and comprehensive catch reporting, though both licensing and annual systems through the booklet “Piniarneq”, are the cornerstone of the Greenlandic sustainability management. Additionally, cooperating with the Greenlandic Institute of Natural Resources (GINR) ensures providing biological monitoring, as well as genetic sampling of harvested bears.

Internationally, Greenland engages in co-management through the Canada -Greenland Joint Commission (JCPB), participates in the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group, and upholds obligations under the 1973 Oslo Agreements on conservation of polar bears and CITES. While climate change remains, the major challenge affecting their habitat and the sea-ice conditions, Greenland continues to focus on adaptive management, community engagement and balanced use of scientific as well as local knowledge to ensure long-team conservation of polar bear populations.