MOSCOW, May 13 (RIA Novosti) - The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is urging the U.S. to follow Russia's conservation efforts to save the polar bear, the regional program director for WWF Russia said on Tuesday.

This Thursday is a deadline set by a federal judge in Alaska for George Bush's administration to decide whether polar bears should be given the status of a species endangered by global warming.

"Over 50 years ago a full ban on polar bear hunting was introduced in Russia, which has approximately 30% of the global polar bear population," Viktor Nikifirov, said.

Since the 1990s around 2.5 million square meters of Arctic ice has melted due to climate change. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, two thirds of the world's 25,000 polar bears could die by 2050, when the ice they use to hunt seals is expected to disappear due to global warming.

If polar bears are placed on the endangered list, U.S. companies, drilling oil and gas in the Arctic region, will face legal obstacles restricting their operations. The decision will also lead to tougher controls over greenhouse gas emissions in the area.

Last year, a court order banned the activities of Shell Offshore Inc in the Beaufort Sea following a petition from environmental groups. The ruling said that the environmental impact of drilling on populations of sea ducks, whales and polar bears had not been evaluated properly.