Emily Doyle* explains how climate change is threatening the future of the Inuit population.

The Inuit people cross the political boundaries of Alaska, Greenland, Russia and Canada, sharing language, culture and traditions. On the strength of this, they have not only survived, but thrived in one of the world's harshest climates. And yet with climate change they are witnessing the thinning of sea-ice, the erosion of shorelines and the depletion and extinction of species.

As poet and politician, President of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) Aqqaluk Lynge says: 'Climate change is not just a theory to us in the Arctic; it is a stark and dangerous reality. Human-induced climate change is undermining the ecosystem upon which we depend for our physical and cultural survival. We are on the front line of globalisation.'

To Aqqaluk this is more than an environmental or economic issue. Climate change is also a moral decision that affects the rights of his people. For him, human rights and a healthy environment are linked fundamentally. Speaking at the British Library as part of a season of Polar talks, he describes how for generations Inuit have observed the environment and predicted accurately the weather to ensure safe hunting on the sea-ice.

The Inuit do not hunt for sport or recreation - they do it to eat. Already hunters are saying the sea-ice is unpredictable, ice floes have disappeared, some hunting areas are impossible to get to because of eroding shorelines, animal migration patterns have changed and drinking water is contaminated by advancing sea water. Dealing with climate change has become a question of survival.

Scientific studies suggest that the impact of global climate change will be most marked in the Arctic and the Inuit will bear a disproportionate burden. Aqqaluk compares the Arctic to the canary in the coal mine - what happens there will happen elsewhere. He says: 'Climate change is a human issue. The Arctic is our home and homeland. If climate change continues unabated, we will no longer exist as a people. We are not asking the world to take a backward economic step, just reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This does not need big sacrifices, but it will mean changes in people's attitudes, behaviours and lifestyles. Please think, is that plane trip really necessary? Is it too much to ask for some moderation for the sake of my people today, and your people tomorrow?'

The Inuit have encountered and adapted to threats before. Since the sixteenth-century, commercial whalers, colonisers and missionaries have coerced, deceived and exploited them. But now Aqqaluk wants to establish a relationship of respect and responsibility between his people, the scientists working in the Arctic and the industrialised West. To do this, he believes that we need to call upon our souls. 'The Inuit believe that all living beings have a soul which is compelled to act decisively and knows right from wrong. Acting now on climate change is the right thing to do and a response of the highest order is needed.'

In parallel to these moral arguments, the ICC has more pragmatic responses to the problem. It wishes to keep the military out of the Arctic, create a polar sanctuary or 'circle of peace', and establish a specific UN forum that addresses Arctic issues. It also wants collective talks about who 'owns' the Arctic and to settle the sovereignty arguments that Russia's flag-planting ignited.

Aqqaluk and the ICC believe that these aims can be accomplished through effective partnerships that provide the Inuit people with the opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way. Aqqaluk would also like to see an examination of how the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People might be used to help tackle climate change.

Aqqaluk concludes: 'Scientists conduct research for their own purposes and do not view us as equal partners, worthy of collaboration or dissemination of information. They just drill their ice cores, take measurements and go. This is not science for the people. We want scientists to come to Greenland and study, understand and show some respect for our knowledge, traditions, culture and rights. We need to develop and implement a climate change strategy that brings the threat that climate change poses to Inuit human rights to the attention of decision-makers and the general public to ensure a sustainable future for all.'

*Emily Doyle is CIWEM's Press and Marketing Officer.