Arctic
© Greenpeace / Daniel Beltrá
What at the first glance looks like a cold and barren north is really a treasure of life and beauty, home to people and amazing wildlife.
The Arctic and subarctic regions are home to approximately 30 different peoples with unique cultures and traditions. The Indigenous Peoples in the Arctic, many of them called Inuit, inhabit the most northern regions of North America, Asia and Greenland. Although modern times have changed the everyday life in the Arctic, people in the region still live in very close connection with and depend on their natural environment and the Arctic wildlife.
Walruses, narwhals and polar bears are possibly the most iconic animals to be found in the Arctic, and they provide examples of how beautiful, unique and diverse the Arctic wildlife is. Life in the Arctic forms a complex and sensitive ecosystem. Canada’s Arctic sector covers 1,425,000 square kilometers and is home to a population of more than 14,000 Inuit. After Greenland, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago is the world’s largest high-Arctic land area.
But the Arctic is not only home to people and wildlife. It affects the lives of many even far away. By regulating our climate and reflecting much of the sunlight back into space. The Arctic acts like a refrigerator for the northern hemisphere and strongly influences weather patterns all around the world.
Rising temperatures caused by climate change rapidly alter the face of the Arctic, bringing new risks and big challenges for the environment and wildlife, as well as for people in the Arctic and all around the world.
Greenpeace aims to mobilize millions of people to take a stand and help ensure the protection this frozen treasure so desperately needs.
For more information: SavetheArctic.org