This year marks the 40th anniversary of an Agreement on the Conservation of the Polar Bear. The international forum on polar bear protection issues and an anniversary meeting of countries which are part of the Agreement will take place in Moscow from December 4–6, 2013, Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergei Donskoi said, speaking at the 3rd International Arctic Forum, The Arctic, Territory of Dialogue.

According to Mr Donskoi, this will be one of the key national and international events of Environmental Protection Year in Russia. Its aim is to step up efforts to prevent the extinction of this species which is the symbol and the indicator of the state of biodiversity in the Arctic.