Polar Bear Conservation in Canada: Defining the Policy Problems

• Published in: ARCTIC
• Main Authors: Clark, Douglas A., Lee, David S., Freeman, Milton M.R., Clark, Susan G.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Arctic Institute of North America 2009
• Subjects: Canada; conservation; decision process; Endangered Species Act; Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit; Nunavut; polar bear; policy; policy sciences; traditional ecological knowledge; Ursus maritimus; processus de décision; ours polaire; politique; science des politiques; connaissances écologiques traditionnelles; Arctic; inuit
• Online Access: https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/63111

Conservation of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in Canada is based on the goals and principles of the 1973 International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears and Their Habitat, and has long been considered an exemplar of science-based wildlife management. However, accelerating social and ecological changes in the Arctic raise questions about the polar bear management regime’s ability to adapt successfully to new challenges. We apply the analytic framework of the policy sciences to develop a comprehensive orientation to this evolving situation, and we suggest possible ways to define and advance shared goals of stakeholders and other participants. We conclude that the decision process in polar bear management does not sufficiently foster identification and securing of common interests among participants who express multiple, competing perspectives in an arena that has been increasingly fragmented and symbolically charged by issues such as the recent listing of polar bears under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The fundamental challenge for polar bear conservation in Canada is to design a better decision process so that it can constructively reconcile the various perspectives, demands, and expectations of stakeholders. Au Canada, la conservation des ours polaires (Ursus maritimus) respecte les objectifs et les principes de l’Accord international sur la conservation des ours blancs et leur habitat de 1973, qui est considéré depuis longtemps comme un modèle de gestion de la faune fondée sur la science. Cependant, l’évolution de plus en plus rapide des changements d’ordre social et écologique dans l’Arctique a pour effet de soulever des questions sur l’aptitude du régime de gestion de l’ours polaire à bien s’adapter aux nouveaux défis. Nous utilisons le cadre de référence analytique de la science des politiques pour aboutir à une orientation exhaustive de cette situation en pleine évolution, et nous suggérons des manières possibles de définir et de formuler des objectifs partagés par les parties prenantes et ...