NUNAVUT PREMIER EXPRESSES CONCERNS OVER POLAR BEAR

UNCLAS OTTAWA 000250 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR OES AND WHA INTERIOR FOR FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV CA SUBJECT: NUNAVUT PREMIER EXPRESSES CONCERNS OVER POLAR BEAR LISTING TO AMBASSADOR REF: 2007 QUEBEC 002 Sensitive but Unclassified. Please protect accordingly. Not for Internet distribution. ¶1. (SBU) Nunavut premier Paul Okalik called on Ambassador on February 7 to express his concerns over the Fish and Wildlife Service's December 27 announcement proposing to list the polar bear as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. Economic Minister-Counselor and ESTH Counselor also sat in on the meeting. Okalik stressed that Nunavut monitored its polar bear populations carefully, and that only one of twelve distinct populations in Nunavut (the Western Hudson Bay population) was in less than peak condition. That situation was of concern, Okalik noted, but he continued that Nunavut was not afraid to completely ban hunting ) even for the Inuit ) if the situation warranted such a move. ¶2. (SBU) The Ambassador noted that the Fish and Wildlife Service would make its determination (on whether to list the polar bear as threatened) based on scientific evidence, and urged Okalik to provide formal comment to the Service in response to the Federal Register Notice. He added that Nunavut's own monitoring data and information on its healthy populations, in addition to information on the role of the polar bear in Nunavut economics and culture, would be particularly helpful to the Service in making its final determination. The Ambassador suggested that Okalik also enlist the assistance of the Canadian government and its embassy in Washington in making its case to Fish and Wildlife. Okalik responded that officials of his government would see federal Environment Minister John Baird the week of February 12-16 to do precisely that. ¶3. (SBU) In describing for the Ambassador the important economic and cultural role played by the polar bear, Okalik related that the income gained from provision of services to hunters was virtually the only cash income for many Nunavut communities, and those funds stayed and circulated in the communities. With the restrictions the "threatened" designation would carry, at least some portion of the estimated 80-100 U.S. hunters that now visit Nunavut annually would no longer come to hunt. There would be a negative impact on the economies of those communities. Okalik impressed on the Ambassador that Nunavut took its responsibility to manage carefully its polar bear populations seriously. Maintaining healthy populations was in Nunavut's own interest for these economic reasons as well as for dietary and cultural reasons. To this end, Nunavut was also working closely with neighbors Quebec and Greenland, with which Nunavut shares polar bear populations, urging them to institute sustainable management practices as well. ¶4. (SBU) In response to the Ambassador's question, Okalik said it was too early to tell whether climate change was negatively impacting Nunavut's polar bears, especially in the Territory's northern reaches, since only one of its populations was not completely healthy. Okalik said he was not aware of involvement by environmental NGOs in proposing the listing; NGOs had not been active in Nunavut. (Note: The Federal Register Notice announcing the proposed listing records the Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace, and Natural Resources Defense Council as the petitioners to Fish and Wildlife Service in the matter.) ¶5. (U) Okalik estimates polar bears in Nunavut number Q5. (U) Okalik estimates polar bears in Nunavut number 20,000-25,000, roughly half of the world's total. Other reporting indicates that Nunavut communities take in C$2.5-3 million annually from the provision of hunting services. Reftel provides extensive review of Nunavut arguments in opposition to the "threatened" listing for polar bears. Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa WILKINS