After the 1973 Agreement on the conservation of polar bears was signed in Oslo in 1973, it was said to be valid for five years after its ratification in 1976. Consequently, in 1981, the Parties again met in Oslo to discuss the further fate of the Agreement. The Parties then expressed their satisfaction with how the Agreement had worked and they decided to approve its implementation for eternity. After this meeting, the Parties didn't meet until they informally met in Shepherdstown, USA, in summer 2007. The Parties were invited to US infmrally to discuss the problems related to the listing of polar bears under the Endangered Species Act as a direct consequence of the global Red List status change in 2006. In Shepherdstown, Norway was asked to invite the Parties to a new and regular Meeting of the Parties in 2009. In Tromsø in 2009 the Parties then agreed to meet on a biennial basis.
Meetings since 2009
2009 - Tromsø, Norway
2011 - Iqaluit, Canada
2013 - Moscow, Russia
2015 - Ilullisat, Greenland
2018 - Fairbanks, USA
2020 - Longyearbyen, Norway