«In just 35 years we risk losing 30% of the specimens»- Corriere.it

Arctic glaciers are shrinking by 13% every ten years and increasing human activity in Russia’s polar regions is destroying the habitats of polar bears (Ursus maritimus)animals that have become symbols of the climate emergency. To sound the alarm wwf, on the occasion of World Polar Bear Day, which is celebrated every year on February 27, underlining how in just 35 years we risk losing up to 30% of the population of this species. The most recent estimates count between 22 and 31 thousand individuals in the wild, but some situations are already dramatic: the polar bear population of Hudson Bay (Canada) has undergone a 30% reduction between 1987 and 2017. In the last 40 years – then, adds the WWF – «we have Frers about 2 million square kilometers of sea ice: an area larger than the areas of Alaska and California combined. According to many scientists it is very likely that by 2050 there will be completely sea ice-free Arctic summers.

The threats that put the polar bear at risk are all linked to human action. With the expansion of the oil and gas industry potential risks of habitat destruction increase resulting from the extractions. Furthermore, accidents and oil spills can directly poison the bear’s habitat and food chain. Ice loss also has an impact on mating opportunity of polar bears and on their ability to move and disperse in other areas, a phenomenon which has caused an increase in matings between consanguineous and related individuals with serious consequences on genetic diversity and therefore on the probability of survival of the species.

The fact that polar bears can’t find the food – finally – it makes individuals much more enterprising: many specimens approach villages and search among the waste produced by people, entering into conflict with local communities, frightened by their presence near homes. Since 2015 the WWF has created patrols to monitor and protect the safety of the inhabitants of Ittoqqortoormiit, the northernmost country of eastern Greenland, from the intrusion of the polar bear, which led to the removal of more than 75 bears in 7 years, and works on research and development of prevention and deterrence techniques. To the experimentation of these techniques, then, is added the necessary communication to the local populations about correct behavior to adopt in areas frequented by bears, especially in the field of proper waste management.

It is necessary – underlines the organization – to act daily by reducing gas consumption and to put pressure on governments and companies to focus more and more on energy from renewable sourcesand zero CO2 emissions caused by the use of fossil fuels.