IQALUIT - A proposal to ban international trade of polar bear parts was voted down during the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting in Doha, Qatar, on March 18.

"We're tremendously happy about it," said Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Paul Kaludjak. "This is a great day for the Inuit of Nunavut."

The United States proposed reclassifying polar bears to Appendix I under CITES, which includes "all species threatened with extinction which are or may be affected by trade," according to CITES. This would have made exporting polar bear products illegal.

Deputy Environment Minister Simon Awa attended the meeting, but returned to Nunavut before the decision was announced.

He said he and other Canadian delegates met with representatives from other nations individually to deliver information about polar bears.

"Our strategy was to meet as many countries as possible that were in support of the U.S proposal or were uncertain about what their decision would be," Awa said. "Our efforts meeting with some CITES nations individually, in some ways I guess it paid off, the effort of the government of Canada, the government of Nunavut and the Inuit organizations that were over there."

During an event on March 15, Awa spoke about polar bear management.

"I talked about polar bear management system in Canada and how we work with the communities, the regional wildlife organizations and the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board and the Inuit organizations and of course the government of Canada," he said.

"In Canada I could say we have the best polar bear management system anywhere in the world."

Four banners and approximately 500 flyers containing information gathered through NTI's Polar Bear Hotline were also presented during the conference, wildlife advisor Paul Irngaut said.

"There was information on the polar bear management system, the observations of climate change and also Inuit knowledge on polar bear populations and the effects on people," Irngaut said.

One of the quotes from a 78-year-old Iqaluit elder read, "Ice is not the only place where bears hunt. They hunt in open water, islands and on land. They will not starve."

Awa said he wasn't sure if the recent quota reduction on Baffin Bay polar bears had any impact on decisions made in Qatar. The Total Allowable Harvest was cut from 105 bears to 65 bears over the next four years.

"I don't know if that decision carried weight with the CITES nations," Awa said.

Pond Inlet's chair of the Mittimatalik Hunters and Trappers Organization Jayko Alooloo said he hoped the CITES decision could help change the current quota.

"Even maybe the Baffin Bay (quota) will be affected with that agreement," he said.

Kaludjak said NTI will continue to pressure the GN to increase the quota.

"Any quota restrictions are not fair to the Inuit of Nunavut," Kaludjak said. "We will continue to lobby to make sure there are no restrictions to Inuit whatsoever because it is their right."

Alooloo said while he was happy about the CITES decision, he didn't want to get his hopes up too early.

"I'm so excited about that, but I still have my fingers crossed," he said.

Alooloo said he will be able to put his fears to rest after the meeting in Qatar is officially over on March 25.

"Right now, we just have to wait for what they say at the end of the meeting," he said.

Awa said the decision is final, but the issue of banning polar bear trade could be brought up again in coming years.

Kaludjak said if that happens, Inuit will be ready.

"You always have to be prepared for battle and I'm sure this is not it, there will be other challenges we have to face," he said. "We will continue to stand up to make sure we're heard and our rights are respected."