Ask the Experts: Position of Canadian Scientists
Are Canadian scientists opposed to listing the polar bear as threatened, as some news organizations have reported? To set the record straight, we asked for comments from Canadian polar bear scientist Andrew Derocher, who also chairs the IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group.
Question: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed listing the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Detractors of the listing have stated that Canadian scientists strongly oppose the listing (e.g., State of Alaska comments to USFWS, Alaska Fish and Game Dept., comments to USFWS). Please clearly state whether you support the proposed listing or not.
Answer: The proposed listing of polar bears as a threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is in clear agreement with the findings of the IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group which recommended a finding of "vulnerable" under the IUCN Red List process. The vulnerable status is very similar to the threatened status under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. It is, however, important to note that the Polar Bear Specialist Group has taken a 3 polar-bear-generation time perspective for our assessment. A 30% or more decline can be expected within about 45 years. Five of 16 Polar Bear Specialist Group members are Canadian-based scientists and they voted unanimously in support of this resolution at the time. There are very few other polar bear scientists in Canada so it is unclear who these scientists may be that might be opposing the listing. It is clear that at least one government agency in Canada has opposed the listing and thus, their employees would be expected to support their employer's position.
Personally, I support a finding of "threatened". The scientific evidence is very strong and getting stronger with each new study. To be specific, the threat to polar bears stems directly from sea ice changes and thus habitat loss and alteration. I believe that the changes to sea ice are largely the result of human induced climate warming. Harvest is not the issue.
Andrew E. Derocher, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
Edmonton, AB
T6G 2E9
http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/faculty/andrew_derocher/
Question: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed listing the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Detractors of the listing have stated that Canadian scientists strongly oppose the listing (e.g., State of Alaska comments to USFWS, Alaska Fish and Game Dept., comments to USFWS). Please clearly state whether you support the proposed listing or not.
Answer: The proposed listing of polar bears as a threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is in clear agreement with the findings of the IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group which recommended a finding of "vulnerable" under the IUCN Red List process. The vulnerable status is very similar to the threatened status under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. It is, however, important to note that the Polar Bear Specialist Group has taken a 3 polar-bear-generation time perspective for our assessment. A 30% or more decline can be expected within about 45 years. Five of 16 Polar Bear Specialist Group members are Canadian-based scientists and they voted unanimously in support of this resolution at the time. There are very few other polar bear scientists in Canada so it is unclear who these scientists may be that might be opposing the listing. It is clear that at least one government agency in Canada has opposed the listing and thus, their employees would be expected to support their employer's position.
Personally, I support a finding of "threatened". The scientific evidence is very strong and getting stronger with each new study. To be specific, the threat to polar bears stems directly from sea ice changes and thus habitat loss and alteration. I believe that the changes to sea ice are largely the result of human induced climate warming. Harvest is not the issue.
Andrew E. Derocher, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
Edmonton, AB
T6G 2E9
http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/faculty/andrew_derocher/
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