"Greenland's fishing and hunting authorities have long discussed the consequences of the absence of quotas for polar bears, and now deem it necessary to regulate the hunt to protect these animals," the head of the agency, Amalie Jessen, told AFP.

Greenland's hunters kill between "200 and 250 polar bears a year," Jessen said.

"We think we should kill fewer," she said, adding that the exact quota would be decided later this year.

The agency also said it would introduce polar bear safaris for tourists in 2006 or 2007, where they would be allowed to kill a limited number of bears.

"We think it is wise to start with a quota of 10 polar bear trophies per year," Jessen said.

Some 25,000 of the hulking white animals roam the Arctic, mostly in Canada and Greenland.

Jessen's agency has put together a series of recommendations to be presented to Greenland's government next week. The quota will be among the proposed measures, though the exact number has not yet been disclosed.

The measures are expected to be formally adopted in September, entering into force on January 1, 2006.

The decision was announced as 25 environment ministers from around the world meet this week in the Greenland town of Ilulissat to discuss the effects of global warming on the Arctic's sensitive ecology.

According to an Arctic Climate Impact Assessment report presented in Iceland last year, the Arctic ice has shrunk by about eight percent in the past 30 years.

The report showed that the region has heated up twice as fast as the rest of the world in the past decade, and warned that within 100 years the Arctic ice could melt completely during the summer, threatening many species and the lifestyle of the indigenous Inuit population.

"The bears are under pressure, they have to travel farther to find food on ice that is shrinking, and this quest is stressful and negatively affects their reproduction," Jessen said.

The bears roam large expanses of ice to hunt their prey, breaking through the ice with their massive paws to catch seals and fish.

Due to rising temperatures, the ice recedes earlier in the season every year. Polar bears can either remain on land where they risk dying of starvation, or swim increasing distances to reach the ice to hunt for food.

The greater distances mean the polar bears risk losing a lot of weight, which could affect their reproductive systems, and also implies that females would have to leave their young behind to face a certain death.

For the new safari tours, tourists will not be allowed to shoot the polar bears themselves, as only permanent Greenland residents who are professional hunters are permitted to kill polar bears.

Hunters will be specially trained to lead the safaris, Jessen said.

Some tourists are willing "to pay a fortune to be able to bring home a polar bear trophy", Janus, a hunter in the southeastern village of Kulusuk, told AFP.

At a Kulusuk souvenir shop, a polar bear pelt sells for 35,000 kroner (5,734 dollars, 4,700 euros), while a bear trophy is expected to go for more than three times that amount.

Wary of animal rights activists' opposition to killing polar bears for fun, Jessen said Greenland authorities also plan to offer safaris where the polar bears will not be killed, allowing tourists to get a close-up view and take pictures of the animals in their natural habitat.

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