20/05/2005 - Our economies,
our societies, and in some cases even our
cultures are threatened by the effects of
climate change. This is one of the main messages
from the group of indigenous leaders, who
are touring Europe to raise awareness on the
impacts that warmer temperatures have on the
people from the Arctic regions. Rising temperatures
affect plants, animals and therefore food
and hunting conditions. Also the melting of
the permafrost is a threat to houses and infrastructure
built upon it, said Chief Gary Harrison from
Alaska, who represents the Arctic Athabaskan
Council at a meeting in Denmark this week.
He thanked Denmark and the other EU countries
for taking a strong lead on climate change.
"We know there is some tough sledding
ahead to make the rest of the cuts in greenhouse
gases that will be needed. We came to let
people know that climate change is already
having an effect in the Arctic, and it will
soon be affecting Europe too. It's really
important that Europeans commit to more reductions
once the Kyoto commitments are complemented."
A recent report from the Copenhagen-based
European Environment Agency confirms that
changes in climate and impacts on nature and
ecosystems are already underway in various
parts of Europe, including the Arctic. Prof.
Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of
the European Environment Agency:
'These findings provide even more evidence
that climate change is really happening. Our
report supports policy makers in their efforts
to not only reduce emissions of greenhouse
gases but also prepare ways to adapt to the
changes that will inevitably come. Europe
has a particular responsibility because of
its leadership in the Kyoto process but also
because its geography - from the Arctic to
the arid regions of the Mediterranean - means
that all Europeans will be affected.'
For more information on the impacts of climate
change on the Arctic and on its indigenous
people see the "Arctic Climate Impact
Assessment" report, published end of
2004 : http://www.acia.uaf.edu/
For more information on The Arctic Indigenous
People: http://www.arcticpeoples.org
Relevant EEA Reports:
http://reports.eea.eu.int/climate_report_2_2004/en
http://reports.eea.eu.int/environmental_issue_report_2004_38/en
Background: The Arctic
• The Arctic is an enormous area of more
than 30 million km², covering over one
sixth of the earths´ landmass.
• It is the home of about four million people,
including more than thirty different indigenous
peoples.
• Arctic peoples have much in common, but
also maintain many different lifestyles, languages,
and cultures.
• The Arctic is a region of vast natural resources
and a clean environment, compared with most
areas of the world. However, that environment
is under threat from development within the
Arctic, but more particularly from the effects
of development in the rest of the world.
The Arctic Council and the Permanent Participants
• The Arctic Council is an intergovernmental
forum including Canada, Denmark (including
Greenland and the Faeroe Islands), Finland,
Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden
and the United States.
• It was officially created by the Foreign
Ministers of the eight Arctic states in 1996.
The Arctic Council is primarily a regional
partnership for sustainable development. The
work covers three areas; the environmental,
social and economic.
• The Council is a unique forum for co-operation
between national governments and indigenous
peoples. Six international organizations representing
Arctic indigenous peoples have the status
of Permanent Participants of the Arctic Council.
• The title of Permanent Participant gives
indigenous peoples' representatives the status
necessary to take a full part in the debates
and work of the Arctic Council. The indigenous
populations in the Arctic are represented
by six bodies:
o Aleut International Association
o Arctic Athabaskan Council
o Gwich'in Council International
o Inuit Circumpolar Conference
o Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples
of the North
o Saami Council
• The Permanent Participants are assisted
in their Arctic Council work by the Indigenous
Peoples' Secretariat.
• From the beginning, Arctic governments and
indigenous communities joined together to
make environmental monitoring and assessment
a key element of the Arctic Council's agenda.
Scientifically based decision-making that
is informed by the traditional knowledge of
indigenous peoples is a deeply rooted principle
of the Council.
• Groundbreaking reports have been prepared
and have attracted global attention to the
state of the Arctic environment. The latest
of these is the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment.
The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA)
• The assessment, released last winter, was
the result of four years of closely examining
scientific evidence and traditional knowledge
of climate change in the Arctic.In much of
the Arctic the impacts of global climate change
are already being felt, as many peoples are
experiencing warmer temperatures.
• Warming in the Arctic is expected to be
faster and more severe than in the rest of
the world
• What the authors of the ACIA expect to happen
generally in the Arctic is an increase in
temperatures of:
o 1ºC by about 2020
o 2ºC by about 2050
o 3ºC by about 2080
• Ice cover, a critical component of the Arctic
ecosystem, has been steadily diminishing over
the past 30 years. Some scientific models
say the Arctic will have no sea ice in the
summer as soon as 2030.
• All of the effects in the Arctic will also
affect the rest of the world, because the
Arctic in a major driver of the world's weather.
The warmer currents that modify winter weather
in northern Europe may slow or even stop as
a result of climate change. This would result
in much lower winter temperatures in the north-western
part of Europe.
• Amongst the people of the Arctic, indigenous
peoples are particularly affected by the warming
climate. Whether they still pursue traditional
economies of hunting, fishing and gathering,
or whether they participate in newer ways
of life, indigenous peoples stand to be affected
in ways that in some cases threaten the basis
of their culture.
• Some species of Arctic wildlife are deemed
by the assessment to be threatened with extinction.
These include polar bears and some species
of seal. This is particularly alarming for
Inuit, many of whom still rely on seals as
a basic food.
• Reindeer herders, such as Saami and some
Russian indigenous peoples are at risk as
climate change alters the pasture available
for the herds. Increased winter freezing and
thawing can lock forage for reindeer, caribou,
and other large herbivores beneath a sheet
of ice, resulting in increased herd mortality.
• Climate change is one more threat on top
of many other challenges facing indigenous
peoples in the Arctic, including accumulations
of toxic chemicals, increasing development
pressures, and the struggle to regain rights
to land and self-government.
