SAFS hosts 20th working meeting of the Polar Bear Specialist Group, co-chaired by Kristin Laidre
A meeting of the IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group (PBSG) was held at SAFS on 10-14 June 2024, co-chaired by Professor Kristin Laidre, together with Nick Lunn from Canada. Some of the key outcomes of the 20th working meeting of this group were:
- Recognition of a new subpopulation of polar bears – the Southeast Greenland subpopulation – which has been recently identified as the most isolated and genetically distinct in the world.
- Updating of the status of four other subpopulations based on new information. The listing of polar bears as Vulnerable under the IUCN Red List will be reviewed in 2025.
- Discussion about the new harvest management system in Nunavut, Canada, which affects two-thirds of the global population of polar bears, and is a potentially unsustainable management practice.
- Discussion of the impact of loss of sea ice on polar bears, which is their primary threat, and the scientific need for polar bear location data, only attainable by capture and deployment of tracking devices, to support conservation efforts.
You can read the full press release from the working meeting of the IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group, published on June 18, 2024, on their website.
Kristin Laidre