The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection supports the idea of listing polar bears in Category 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This would initiate the introduction of the strictest possible regulations with regard to exporting polar bear products, said Deputy Minister Rinat Gizatulin.

The current polar bear population is estimated at 21,000-25,000, total world-wide. Scientists believe that the population’s decline is caused by climate change, poaching and the environmental pollution of the Arctic. Scientists predict that the world’s polar bear population will decline by two-thirds over the next 40 years and that some populations might disappear completely or merge with other populations. Russia’s permanent polar bear population inhabits a region from Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya to Chukotka.