The Arctic. For millennia, Inuit peoples have thrived in this beautiful but unforgiving land. Skilled in fishing, hunting and trapping, their very survival depends their intimate knowledge of nature, and their ability to read the weather. Now as climate change threatens their environment and way of life, Earth Report visits these 'People of the Tundra', for their perspective on the changes unfolding before their eyes.

It's a harsh environment - blizzards, cold, 24 hours a day of sun or total darkness, depending on the season. Although the weather has always been extreme, the people have adapted. The real problem is that it has become much less predictable. For the people living in the far northern reaches of the planet, climate change is more than the occasional headline in a newspaper - it is directly a force that is affecting their very way of life.

The Inuvialuit in northern Canada are a people with a close connection to their environment - everything that affects it impacts them as well. The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is documenting one community's observations in an effort to provide a clearer picture of the kinds of changes taking place and the effect that they have on people who live close to the land and sea.

The traditional Inuvialuit way of life meant hunting, trapping, and fishing animals such as caribou, muskox, seal, and arctic char. Transport was sleds pulled by teams of dogs and houses were tents or sod huts. Animals followed seasonal changes and humans followed the animals. Changes over the past generation have stressed the northern way of life but the people have adapted. Most now use snowmobiles or all-terrain vehicles and live in modern houses. However, there are greater changes occuring that are affecting the entire eco-system of the north.

Seasons no longer follow familiar patterns and temperatures are generally higher in every season. Different birds, animals, and fish are encroaching from the south and thunderstorms have been reported, an occurrence normally restricted to the warmer areas. The water has become so warm that in the summer children have taken to swimming in the ocean. The thinner ice and different water currents have caught a few people off guard and swept them out to sea.

Freeze-ups are later and there is fewer ice every year. Seals must be hunted from ice, not a boat, so any risk to the ice is a risk to the hunt. There are already fewer seals available than ever before. As the ones who butcher the meat, women see the changes in the amount of fat in animals, an indication of hard times.

Rosemarie Kuptana of Sachs Harbour explains the interconnectedness of the Inuit and their land. "Who we are as Inuit are defined by a number of characteristics. Your culture, your language, your oral tradition, your geography, your laws, and when one of those traditional characteristics such as the ice going away and not coming back in the summertime, it affects what you eat. It affects your soul as a people."

Permafrost is ground that is permanently frozen and the biggest cause for concern is that it is melting. Land is eroding, shorelines are disappearing, and mud slides are drastically changing the landscape. Parts of have turned into large swamps. There are also risks to lemmings, small rodents who live in holes. Mudslides could destroy a substantial number of them, also risking foxes and owls who use lemmings as a main food supply.

But climate Change means more than just an increase in temperature. Just when the people of Sachs Harbour were expecting another year of record breaking warm temperatures, they were hit by a very cold and late spring. The hunting and trapping season could be a failure. PPredictabilityis the first ccausalityof climate change.

Almost everyone in Sachs Harbour makes their living directly from the land. Rosemarie Kuptana worries about the future and hopes her community can be a warning to others. "How can we prepare ourselves for such unpredictability? What will happen to us if we can no longer rely on our instincts and traditional wisdom?"