Thanks to an announcement yesterday by Russia, polar bears and their supporters have something to be happy about.  Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to establish a nature reserve on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, an island in the Arctic Ocean situated between the Barents and Kara Seas.  The reserve, which will be 1.5 million hectare in size, covers a large area that the Arctic polar bears call home.

The reserve area is also home to wild reindeer, walrus and various species of birds.  The WWF has been lobbying for a while for the reserve park, which will exclude all industrial activities.

Neil Hamilton, Director of WWF International’s Arctic Program, is happy about the decision and the fact that it could help the polar bear population, which is struggling due to climate change and global warming.
“This is exactly the sort of thing we need to see from Arctic governments. The only way these Arctic populations are going to survive the ecological havoc caused by global warming is by providing them with enough breathing room.” Hamilton said. “If industrial activity is kept far enough from key habitat, the animals have a chance. We also need urgent global action on climate change to ensure that the parks stay cold enough for animals such as polar bears and wild reindeer.”

While the WWF is happy and grateful that the reserve is being established, they are disappointed that it is much smaller than the 5 million hectares that was originally promised for the park, said Oleg Sutkaitis, who is the head of the Barents Sea Eco-regional Office for WWF in Russia.
“Despite the fact that the Russian Arctic Park is our big achievement, we’re sorry that not all planned territories were included in the park area.”