KARINE BLATTER ARCTIC FUND
A lifelong lover of animals, Karine Blatter had a natural ability to draw them to her. It was this connection that led Karine and her husband, Rudi, to travel to Churchill, Man. for Karine’s fiftieth birthday in 2013. There they would see one of her favourite animals, the polar bear, in the wild. This amazing journey left such a profound and lasting impression that the couple made a promise to return over and over.
Sadly, Karine passed away in 2019 before they could return to the Arctic. Rudi and their children, Sylvie and Eric, were determined to commemorate Karine’s love of animals through their family’s ELPIS Foundation (in Greek mythology, Elpis is the “spirit of hope”). They turned to WWF-Canada to help ensure Karine’s lasting legacy of protecting Arctic species.
We are pleased to announce the establishment of The Karine Blatter Arctic Fund at WWF-Canada. Over the next five to seven years, this fund will generate $1 million for Arctic conservation through donations for ELPIS Foundation and events – benefitting both the people and wildlife that call the North home.
WWF-Canada is the only environmental not-for-profit (ENGO) with a permanent office in the Canadian Arctic.
Here we continue to build strong relationships with Inuit communities and collaborate with them on Inuit- led initiatives and shared conservation priorities so nature, people and wildlife can thrive. Few places are feeling the impacts of climate change as drastically as the Arctic, which is warming at three times the global average. Climate change is greatly impacting the survival of ice-dependant species, like mighty polar bears whose future is inextricably linked to its diminishing sea ice habitat.
FUND INITIATIVES
The Karine Blatter Arctic Fund currently supports long-term, sustainable work to conserve polar bears, initially focusing on the three following projects:
Reducing conflict with polar bears in Whale Cove, Nunavut
Polar bears will face a difficult future without sea ice, which they depend on to hunt for food. As polar bears spend more time on land, they’re roaming closer to Northern communities and coming into conflict with the people who live there. WWF- Canada has initiated the use of polar bear patrols in Whale Cove, Nunavut, a small Inuit community on the north western shore of Hudson Bay. The team of polar bear guardians patrol the outskirts of the community on snowmobiles or ATVs and use several deterrents to safely move the bears away from the hamlet, keeping bears and people safe.
Polar bear denning habitat studies, Coral Harbour, Nunavut
This spring, an Inuit led study of the polar bear denning habitat in the vicinity of Coral Harbour, Nunavut on Southampton Island, was launched. The brainchild of a resident of Coral Harbour, this program involves the collection of Inuit Knowledge about the location of polar bear dens on Southampton Island. Inuit-implemented surveys of abandoned dens were used to monitor the productivity of bears in this region and to promote the inter-generational transfer of polar bear monitoring knowledge and skills from elders to youth.
Polar bear population studies in the Last Ice Area
With the support of the ELPIS Foundation, WWF-Canada is currently scoping a new initiative to study polar bears in the Last Ice Area, a place where summer sea ice is expected to last the longest in the face of climate change. In coming years this area will also be the last refuge of ice-dependent species in the Arctic. This specific habitat and the bears that live there are poorly understood due to their remote location; learning more about them will be extremely important to ensuring the species’ survival. The project will involve fieldwork at the northern extent of the polar bear’s range to collect physical samples and gather information on this unique group of polar bears, which are genetically and physically isolated from other populations. What we learn will inform future conservation efforts, including the creation of polar bear management plans and the boundaries of this area.
For more information about the Karine Blatter Arctic Fund, or to make a donation, please contact:
Rudi Blatter
ELPIS Foundation
rudi.blatter@gmail.com
+41 79 694 6787
