As climate change intensifies, everyone is paying the price. Especially indigenous societies, as floods, drought and warming oceans are taking their toll.
It is a particular threat to indigenous peoples living in or near the Arctic Circle, for whom climate change (melting icebergs, long summers) makes it impossible to maintain their centuries-old lifestyle of hunting, fishing and herding deer. .
“Recent research shows that food from northern nations must be greasy, due to the extreme weather in the Arctic Circle,” says Andrey Danilov, an activist for the Sámi peoples of northern Scandinavia.
“Today our diet is based more on carbohydrates due to the scarcity of meat and fish. And the winters are getting warmer, so the deer give birth earlier in the year. So deer are becoming less fatty and not beneficial enough for us.”
Danilov says that the lakes are running out of fish and, due to global warming, are becoming clogged with algae.
“So the fish can’t spawn, they go to another lake or they die. In addition, there is an increase in the number of predators, bears for example. And we don’t eat bears,” she says.
“We are all people dependent on nature, which means we still maintain our traditional lifestyle based on hunting, fishing and reindeer herding,” says Rodion Sulyandziga, director of the Northern Indigenous Peoples Support Center.
“People need to migrate, to hunt and to fish. But it’s getting more complicated and risky because it’s getting unpredictable. So if you look at northern areas of the Arctic, climate change is accelerating.”
It’s not just those living in the far north of our planet who are affected by livestock depletion. Your neighbors are too.
“Due to the scarcity of food from predators, wolves are coming to the cities. Even where I live, a wolf came to my house,” says Danilov.
“Wolves can attack dogs and there is a possibility that they could attack people. Where I live there were four recorded attacks on dogs during one week. People are recommended not to go out on the street, to stay at home or go out in a group.
In addition to the preservation of these ancient cultures, there is an environmental price to pay for their disappearance.
Both Danilov and Sulyandziga believe that the Arctic Circle can be saved through legislation and efforts by governments to preserve the indigenous way of life.
“All of us… enjoy nature, not just for a picnic or just for a walk, but for our lives, for our overall health. Indigenous peoples are the best stewards to look at the environment through various materials,” says Sulyandziga.
“I think that is why we must learn to respect and promote the rights of indigenous peoples. This is the only way we can keep our materials clean.”
Source: www.i24news.tv