Polar bears are feeling the heat

FOUR decades on from a watershed international agreement, 2013 was designated the Year of the Polar Bear.

Protecting bears was one of the few issues on which East and West could agree during the Cold War era.

The 1973 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears has served the animals well but now there are new threats. Climate change is altering the Arctic environment. Increases in the areas free of ice for much of the year are leading to demands for oil extraction and industrialisation. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is worried about the survival of Arctic eco-systems. Some experts believe that there will be two thirds fewer polar bears alive in 2050 than there are today. During 2013 the WWF collected signatures to a petition seeking greater protection for bears. Scientists embarked on a study in Russia’s Laptev Sea, and an international forum was held in Moscow.