Imagine a watery world, three decades from now, where the last, wild polar bears survive on stubborn patches of sea ice in a high Arctic haven that allows regulated offshore oil drilling, tourism and shipping.

That's roughly the future envisioned by the World Wildlife Fund under a project that could receive several million dollars from Coca-Cola aimed at helping to protect the white bruins and other ice-dependent animals.  

Some scientists believe that as early as 2040, the last stretches of polar summer sea ice will cling to coastlines along the northernmost reaches of Canada and Greenland -- if climate change continues at its current pace, said Geoff York. Once a federal polar bear biologist in Alaska, York is now program leader for the World Wildlife Fund's Arctic Species Conservation Program.

York, 43, came up with the idea for this "Last Ice Area" three years ago after reading studies from scientific colleagues suggesting that the Arctic archipelago off northeast Canada may one day become the last redoubt for the world's ice animals.

The region encompasses about 500,000 square miles, roughly twice the size of Texas. It houses the world's thickest and oldest sea ice; ice floes generated on the Russian side of the Arctic collect there after riding polar currents across the top of the globe.

As ice vanishes elsewhere in the Arctic, the area will become critical for polar bears and seals, the theory goes.

The end of the Arctic as we know it?

Coca-Cola has already committed $2 million over the next five years to jumpstart the campaign to save the company's iconic marketing beast, said York, speaking by phone from a camp in Deadhorse, the oil industry's jumping-off point to the massive Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska. York is working with other scientists there, using infrared technology to scout polar bear dens so industry ice roads can avoid them.

He said Coca-Cola will match up to $1 million in campaign donations raised before March 15, 2012. The recently launched effort has already amassed nearly $100,000, according to its website. Coca-Cola introduced special, limited-edition white cans for the campaign but has lately announced it would change the color back to red because consumers thought they weren't buying Coca-Cola Classic.  

And Coca-Cola is taking its own steps to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change.

"We aim to reduce our absolute emissions from manufacturing operations in developed countries by 5 percent," the Coca-Cola website says. "We are working to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from our vending machines and coolers through the installation of HFC-free systems and intelligent energy management devices. We are also deploying hybrid-electric and alternative fuel vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our fleet."   

York said company officials are sincere about protecting the polar bear.  "I've seen a lot of sincerity and passion at the personal level, all the way up to CEOs who are involved," he said.

How would the last "Last Ice Area" be managed?

The conservation group plans to use at least some Coca-Cola money to begin working with Inuit leaders, government bodies and others stakeholders in the region.

"We want this to be led by the folks who will be most impacted," York said.

World Wildlife Fund hopes to "arrive at a consensus conclusion about how the area should be managed," said Clive Tesar, head of communications for the World Wildlife Fund's Arctic program.  

Part of the money from Coca-Cola will help pay for baseline studies in the region to assess its ecological value. Researchers will investigate where subsistence hunting occurs and what areas are most used by polar bears, seals and whales.

A relatively small number of polar bears occupy that high Arctic region, said York, who couldn’t provide a specific figure. But that population may grow as waters continue to warm and more ocean organisms, fish and seals move into the region, as some scientists expect.