The ecosystem which sustains the livelihood of Arctic residents is literally melting away as temperatures rise and birds and animals not indigenous to the region arrive, Canadian scientists said on Wednesday. The International Institute for Sustainable Development, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, said a dramatic new video to be released on Thursday documents the impact of the changing climate in the far North. It shows that birds, fish, animals and insects not normally seen in the Arctic are moving in.
Thin ice makes hunting and fishing almost impossible.
The video centers on the small fishing community of Sachs Harbor, on the coast of Banks Island in Canada's Western Arctic. Some 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle, it has a population of just 130 people. The institute, a nonprofit organization which helps local societies live in a sustainable way, said the documentary should help the world see the problems of climate change through the eyes of the local Inuit population. Ashford said the video was helping scientists to understand the rate of change in the ice by talking to the residents. Recipients should seek permission to reprint the article from the source listed above.