Abstract
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is one of the largest bear species in the world and indeed an iconic species. It stands synonymous for the drastic effects of climate change on the Arctic environment and its almost hopeless battle against the impacts of humankind. In recent years, increasing horror stories about the polar bear have emerged in media discourse: the polar bears is on the brink of extinction; the polar bear is starving due to the effects of climate change; or the polar bear invades human settlements in search for food.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
Buying options
Notes
- 1.
Meltofte (2013), p. 115.
- 2.
Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears, 15 Nov 1973 (13 ILM 13).
- 3.
PBSG (2009).
- 4.
PBSG (1972a), Res#1-1972.
- 5.
PBSG (1972b), p. 14.
- 6.
PBSG (1972c) Res#4-1972.
- 7.
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 10 December 1982 (1833 UNTS 3).
- 8.
Polar Bear Agreement, article I.
- 9.
Polar Bear Agreement, article III (e).
- 10.
Constitution of the State of Alaska , 24 April 1956.
- 11.
See for example Polar Bear Agreement, article VI, VII, VIII.
- 12.
Convention on Biological Diversity , 5 June 1992 (1760 UNTS 79).
- 13.
Keskitalo (2004).
- 14.
Inuvialuit Final Agreement, 5 June 1984.
- 15.
Polar Bear Management Agreement for the Southern Beaufort Sea , 29 January 1988.
- 16.
Brower et al. (2002).
- 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.
- 20.
Agreement on the Conservation and Management of the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear Population , 16 October 2000.
- 21.
Ibid., Preamble.
- 22.
Ibid., Art VII.1.
- 23.
PBSB (undated).
- 24.
Scanlon (2013).
- 25.
Greenemaier (2008).
References
Brower CD, Carpenter A, Branigan ML, Calvert W, Evans T, Fischbach AS, Nagy JA, Schliebe S, Stirling I (2002) The polar bear management agreement for the Southern Beaufort Sea: an evaluation of the first ten years of a unique conservation agreement. Arctic 55(4):362–372
Greenemaier L (2008, May 14) U.S. Protects Polar Bears Under Endangered Species Act. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/polar-bears-threatened/. Accessed 16 May 2019
Keskitalo ECH (2004) Negotiating the Arctic. The construction of an international region. Routledge, New York
Meltofte H (ed) (2013) Arctic biodiversity assessment. Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Akureyri
PBSG (1972a) Res#1-1972: Protection of polar bears on the high seas. http://pbsg.npolar.no/en/meetings/resolutions/03.html#1-1972. Accessed 8 May 2019
PBSG (1972b) Proceedings of the Third Working Meeting of the Polar Bear Specialist Group, Supplementary Paper No 35. http://pbsg.npolar.no/export/sites/pbsg/en/docs/PBSG03proc.pdf. Accessed 8 May 2019
PBSG (1972c) Res#4-1972: Seal protection and research. http://pbsg.npolar.no/en/meetings/resolutions/03.html#1-1972. Accessed 8 May 2019
PBSG (2009) 1st Scientific Meeting on the Polar Bear, Fairbanks, Alaska 1965, Statement of Accord Approved by the Delegates. http://pbsg.npolar.no/en/meetings/press-releases/00-Fairbanks.html. Accessed 8 May 2019
PBSB (Undated) Chukchi Sea (CS). http://pbsg.npolar.no/en/status/populations/chukchi-sea.html. Accessed 16 May 2019
Scanlon JE (2013) Keynote Address, International Forum on Conservation of Polar Bears and Jubilee Meeting of the Parties to the 1973 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears, Moscow, Russian Federation, 4–6 December 2013, https://www.cites.org/eng/news/sg/2013/20131204_polar-bear.php. Accessed 16 May 2019
Further Reading
Larsen TS, Stirling I (2009) The agreement on the conservation of polar bears – its history and future. Norsk Polarinstitutt, Tromsø
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sellheim, N. (2020). The International Legal Framework for Polar Bears. In: International Marine Mammal Law. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35268-4_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35268-4_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-35267-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-35268-4
eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)