Ottawa To Sign Polar Bear Treaty With Greenland, Nunavut

October 30, 2009 4:05 p.m. EST

Ottawa, Ontario (AHN) - Canada is taking its protection of polar bear project one step higher by signing on Friday a new agreement with Greenland and Nunavut. Canadian Minister Jim Prentice will ink the document in Greenland.

The agreement is similar to bilateral deals reached in 2008 between Canada and the United States and another one between Alaska and Russia. The document is expected to help stabilize polar bear populations between Canada and Greenland.

About 15,000 of the world's polar bear population of 20,000 to 25,000 live in Canada. However, management of the Canadian polar bear population is run separately by provinces and territories.

The signing of the polar bear agreement follows the designation by the U.S. Department of Interior of key areas across Alaska as polar bear critical habitat. The U.S. Endangered Species Act of 208 listed polar bears as threatened species.

The proposed habitats are classified as barrier island habitat, sea ice habitat and terrestrial denning habitat. It would cover about 200,541 square miles within lands and waters of the U.S.

World Wildlife Fund senior program officer for Polar Bear Conservation Geoff York said in a statement, "Designation of critical habitat affords important protection to the polar bear, a species imperiled by dramatic changes in its sea ice environment. As sea ice habitat shrinks, it becomes increasingly important to protect areas that are crucial for the bears' survival."