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IUCN SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group
IUCN COMMISSION GROUP

IUCN SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group

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Overview and description

Description:
The greatest challenge to conservation of polar bears is ecological change in the Arctic resulting from climatic warming.The PBSG evaluates available scientific information and assesses the status and ...
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The greatest challenge to conservation of polar bears is ecological change in the Arctic resulting from climatic warming.The PBSG evaluates available scientific information and assesses the status and trend of all 19 subpopulations. It provides this information and other independent scientific advice to the IUCN, decision makers, management authorities, and the public.

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Group leadership

Dr Nick LUNN
Co-Chair
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Dr. Nick Lunn is a Research Scientist with the Wildlife Research Division, Science & Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada. He has been a member of the PBSG since 1997. He received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Zoology from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada and undertook his Ph.D. with the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge, United Kingdom. He began working on polar bears in 1981 and has been involved in studies of polar bears in Baffin Bay, Foxe Basin, Kane Basin, Northern Beaufort Sea, Southern Hudson Bay, and Western Hudson Bay. His primary research interests lie in polar marine ecology, with particular emphasis on marine mammals. His current research focuses on the ecology, population dynamics, and status of polar bears in relation to environmental change. He is the Project Leader of Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Polar Bear Research Program in western Hudson Bay. In addition to his involvement on the PBSG, Dr. Lunn is a member of the Canadian Polar Bear Technical Committee, the Scientific Working Group to the Canada-Greenland Joint Commission on Polar Bear, the Southern Hudson Bay Polar Bear Subpopulation Scientific Information and Indigenous Knowledge Management Options Working Group, and the Western Hudson Bay Polar Bear Subpopulation Management Options Working Group.

Dr. Nick Lunn is a Research Scientist with the Wildlife Research Division, Science & Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada. He has been a member of the PBSG since 1997. He received ...

Dr Kristin LAIDRE
Co-Chair
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Dr Eric REGEHR
Red List Authority Coordinator
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Eric Regehr is a quantitative biologist that has spent 20 years studying the demography of terrestrial and marine wildlife populations. He develops and applies methods to estimate animal abundance and vital rates (e.g., survival and reproduction) and to understand the ecological impacts of climate change. Eric’s recent work has focused on sustainable harvest for wildlife populations experiencing habitat loss. He is interested in primary research, and— recognizing humans as a key part of many ecosystems—in applied methods to improve conservation and find management solutions that work for both animals and people.
Eric Regehr is a quantitative biologist that has spent 20 years studying the demography of terrestrial and marine wildlife populations. He develops and applies methods to estimate animal abundance and ...

More about the Specialist Group

As a result of international concern in the mid-1960s that existing scientific knowledge of polar bears was inadequate for the effective management of the species, the IUCN SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group (PBSG) was established in 1968 to be the primary source of science-based information with which to address conservation issues. For over 50 years, the PBSG has coordinated, synthesized, and distributed scientific information necessary to guide the long-term ...

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More about the Specialist Group

As a result of international concern in the mid-1960s that existing scientific knowledge of polar bears was inadequate for the effective management of the species, the IUCN SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group (PBSG) was established in 1968 to be the primary source of science-based information with which to address conservation issues. For over 50 years, the PBSG has coordinated, synthesized, and distributed scientific information necessary to guide the long-term viability of polar bears and their habitats. From providing technical expertise during the drafting of the 1973 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears, evaluating the global risk of extinction of polar bears for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and completing action items identified in the Polar Bear Range States’ 2015 Circumpolar Action Plan - Conservation Strategy for the Polar Bear, the PBSG continues to cooperate and coordinate research, and advise the IUCN, policy makers, stakeholders, and the public about current and emerging threats to the species and for the management and conservation needs of polar bears and the Arctic ecosystem of which they are apart. The success of the PBSG is due to its independence, the dedication of its focused, active, and widely skilled membership, and from the continued recognition of the Polar Bear Range States that the technical support and independent scientific advice provided by the PBSG continues to support the objectives of the 1973 Agreement and represents a vital part of the science-based, decision making process that has been essential for identifying and helping to address the challenges of polar bear management and conservation.

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The IUCN SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group has a mission to coordinate, synthesize, and distribute scientific information necessary to guide the long-term viability of polar bears and their habitats.

Specialist Group work

PBSG synthesizes/distributes scientific information and identifies research/conservation priorities for the long-term viability of polar bears. It is the scientific advisor to the Polar Bear Range States in support of the 1973 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears and provides scientific advice with regard to the IUCN Red List, CITES, and other conventions.

Science-based advice to conserve polar bears

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Using updated criteria and recent scientific information, assess status/trend of all subpopulations.

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

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PBSG evaluates global risk of extinction of polar bears for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Annual Report

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Twin three-month-old polar bears, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Credit: David McGeachy

Polar bear on ice. Credit: Brigitta Bostrom

Family group on sea ice. Credit: David McGeachy

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