As iconic species go, the polar bear is quite literally up there. They are emblematic of the top-most chunk of the planet, as well as the emotive symbol of the effects of catastrophic climate change.
Polar bears are quite impressive. They are the world’s largest land predator, and undoubted 'rulers' of their ice kingdom. In popular culture they exist as cuddly toys, heroic fighters, and fashion accessories for Lady GaGa (don’t worry, I checked, it’s fake).
Those of you watching the proceedings at Doha this week may have noticed that yesterday a proposal to list the Polar Bear on Appendix I, and thereby banning international trade in it, was unsuccessful. The proposal had been championed by the US, but failed to get the support it needed from other governments.
There is, of course, an irony there. The biggest threat to polar bears is undoubtedly the disappearance of the ecosystem they depend upon. Their habitat is effectively melting from under their feet, as a result of human-induced climate change.
I saw a polar bear last month, in Scotland. There is only one, she’s called Mercedes and lives at the Highland Wildlife Park, near Aviemore. She was enjoying the unusually heavy snowfall in the Cairngorms. In front of us a group of schoolchildren eager to see the bear were given a talk not only about the bears themselves, but also the impact that climate change is having on them and their ecosystem. There is little doubt that polar bears are now intrinsically linked with the damage we are doing to the planet.
Sure, other species are affected, and other habitats like coral reefs are also at the forefront of the problem, albeit on the entirely different end of the spectrum. But Arctic species from krill, to cod, to seals, to narwhals are being literally pushed to the very ends of the earth by rising temperatures.
These areas are also affected by pollution emanating from far, far away. Polar bears and orcas, being at the top of their food chains, accumulate huge quantities of toxins, despite living in apparently pristine part of the planet.
And it adds insult to injury that the melting Arctic ice is not viewed by governments as a problem, but as an opportunity. They are falling over themselves to lay claim to mineral and fishing rights to areas that will become accessible when the ice sheet retreats, like vultures waiting on the spring thaw to uncover a carcass.
But the stark truth is that a trade ban alone can’t save the polar bear, what we need is urgent, concerted action by world leaders to tackle and minimise climate change. And the country who championed the CITES listing for polar bears, the US, is of course one of the biggest blocks to that effective action.
I’m glad that the US seems to be getting serious about saving the polar bear, and I hope we can now look forward to them getting serious about protecting the Arctic and minimising climate change too.
