Monitoring Polar Bears 8 March 2011Monitoring On 19-22 February 2011, twenty-two scientists, managers and community experts from Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia and the United States, met in Edmonton, Canada, to develop a Pan-Arctic Monitoring Plan for Polar Bears. The workshop, managed by the Arctic Council Working Group CAFF, focused on developing a coordinated and efficient pan-Arctic monitoring approach that would: Detect changes in polar bear populations across the Arctic Implement standard assessment measures using community-based and scientific monitoring Identify which subpopulations to monitor and the necessary frequency of monitoring Use a suite of indicators to assess subpopulation status and trends Identify the factors driving population changes Report the results to decision-makers from local communities to national government and regional bodies. Over the coming months, the results of the workshop will be used to develop a Pan-Arctic Polar Bear Monitoring Plan, with an expected release in October 2011. Links: Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Programme (CBMP)Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF)