WWF Climate Witness: Vladilen
Ivanovich Kavry, Russia
23 Mar 2007 - My name is Vladilen Ivanovich
Kavry. I live in a village called Vankarem,
in the Chukotka region, located at the far
eastern edge of Russia on the coast of the
Chukchi Sea. Chukotka is an autonomous region,
or Orkug. My people are Chukchi, and we
speak our native language, Chukot, as well
as Russian.
I was born in 1966 and I have lived here
all my life. For generations my people have
hunted marine mammals and herded reindeer
for our livelihood. There are about 200
people in my village and several thousand
more people living in villages spread out
along the coast. We live surrounded by Artic
wildlife and are use to the frozen conditions,
strong winds and ice storms.
In the winter the sea freezes and the rivers
close over. We have been able to walk on
the sea ice for generations. Our village
is on Cape Vankarem, a unique natural area
where there is one of the largest walrus
haulout site in north-eastern Russia.
Walrus "haul out" of the water
to rest and bear their young during the
summer. They are adapted to living on sea
ice for most of the year. When there is
no ice they haul out on the coastal sites.
The walrus resting area is very close to
our village but we have lived together without
disturbing each other.
Shorter periods of sea ice
In my lifetime I have noticed significant
changes in the cycle of freezing and thawing.
The ice-forming period now lasts for about
a month, which is longer that before. The
ice now breaks up a month earlier than before.
Many of the people in my village have experienced
the ice fields melting that used to last
all summer, and there is no more old ice
left here.
The changes to the seasons mean that the
walrus stay longer at their haulouts. My
friend Tilmyet, who is 82, says that the
walrus are tired and have nowhere to rest
because there is no more ice in summer.
We also see birds like ducks, gulls and
snow buntings and leaving the area later,
because of the change in the length of the
seasons.
Polar bears, walruses and humans
During the last few winters we have noticed
that the walrus haulout is more crowded.
Also, more polar bears come closer to the
walrus settlement and our village. We are
pretty sure the more bears are here because
of climate change. The bears depend on sea
ice to get to their prey, mostly seals and
without sea ice their hunting ground is
shrinking.
The polar bears cause problems because
they come looking for food in the village
and often attack the sled dogs. It was not
unusual for ten to visit the village in
one day when foraging. We need to scare
them away.
Polar bears are protected in Russia and
hunting has been banned since 1956. We are
now working to keep the bears away from
people without hurting them."
Out on bear patrol
"In 2006 I worked with WWF to set up
a “bear patrol”. The patrol goes out around
the village and puts out an alarm if the
bears get too close. This way we can save
both bear and human lives. In this way,
the famous WWF panda bear is helping to
protect the Artic polar bear.
We also keep humans away from the Walrus
haulout. When people get to close to the
walruses they panic — many can die in the
squeeze. The smell of dead walrus attracts
bears to the area, very close to our village,
creating danger for people. Late last year,
the bear patrol took some dead walruses
on a tractor to a feeding area 10km away
from Vankarem. This seemed to keep the bears
satisfied.
The patrol is also collecting information
to help WWF monitor the population changes
caused by climate change. We are trained
in monitoring and take radios and other
equipment other on patrol. The feeding point
is one of our observation posts."
Working for the future
"In 2006 we asked the government by
petition that Cape Vankarem become a nature
reserve because of its unique wildlife and
environment.
I am very proud of my landsmen. People
have lived here for centuries, and nowadays
we have to work so that our children can
admire the beauty of the land."
WWF Climate Witness: Adrian Brunner, Switzerland
25 Mar 2007 - My name is Adrian Brunner.
I am 30 years old and live in Switzerland.
I was born and raised in Birchwil near Zurich.
I went to school in Winterthur and love
spending my spare time in nature since I
was a child. Snowboarding and bicycling
are my passions.
When I was ten years old, I became an avid
mountain biker. At the age of 21, after
12 years of intense training in the Elite
Amateur category, I left the mountain bike
circuit. I spent half a year on the American
West Coast, where I learned to surf.
After returning to Switzerland, I finished
a three-year commercial training programme
and first worked in a metal company. But
spending 11 or 12 hours a day in an office
was not my idea of fun.
Move to the mountains
I decided to move to the mountains, more
precisely to ski-resort town of Andermatt,
where I work three or four days a week and
spend the rest of my time doing outdoor
activities. Andermatt is located in the
heart of the Swiss Alps and lives mainly
on tourism, one of Switzerland’s most important
economic sectors.
I currently work in a snowboard and mountain
bike shop, which I am in the process of
taking over. My company sells snowboard
and biking products along with the corresponding
clothing and offers classes in both sports
for visitors.
Like many other mountain resorts in Switzerland,
Andermatt has been affected by climate change.
I have experienced it first hand — winters
begin later, and are milder and dryer, while
early snow in the fall is often missing
and rockslides are more frequent.
The European Alps are among the regions
that warm faster than world average — about
1.5°C compared to pre-industrial temperatures.
This warming leads to less snow that stays
for shorter periods of time in lower altitudes.
The winter and spring seasons are expected
to become wetter. Whether this additional
precipitation leads to snow coverage or
not will heavily depend on actual weather
patterns and change from year to year. Winters
with good snow coverage will still occur
but become less frequent.
Christmas without snow
My shop generates about 75 per cent of revenue
during the winter season, one-third alone
over Christmas and New Year’s in December
and January. This period is crucial for
my business. However, today winter is full
of surprises, everything is messed up.
In the past, winter used to start in October
or November. Today the low-pressure systems
over the Atlantic Ocean are missing, so
there is no snowfall. My experience is that
heavy snowfall doesn’t arrive until March,
April or even May. For example, in November
2006 I was able to bike in shorts at an
altitude of 2,000 metres.
When the hills remain green around Christmas
time visitors don’t come to Andermatt for
their holidays. Because of that I lose most
of my annual turnover. Besides, a green
Christmas also means that the season is
essentially over. After that, visitors don’t
arrive anymore because in their minds there
won’t be any snow later in the season if
there isn’t any for the holidays. Oddly
enough, this regular pattern is locked in
people’s minds. In a winter such as this
year’s this mindset has led to a 50 per
cent revenue loss for my hardware business
(bindings, snowboards). On the clothing
side it looks a little better. There I expect
a drop of between 20 and 30 per cent.
Fighting climate change with concrete and
synthetic foil
For tourism destinations such as Andermatt
the consequences of global warming involve
additional expenses:
Crevasses are no longer covered with snow,
making the preparation of glacier runs increasingly
more difficult.
Infrastructures to protect transportation
routes, settlement areas and tourism facilities
must be expanded, which requires additional
funds.
Ski-lift companies fortify their foundations
with concrete because melting permafrost
renders their summit stations unstable.
Due to a rockslide, the road to Andermatt
was closed for four weeks in the summer
of 2006, which lead to a massive decline
in visitor numbers.
Since summer 2005, Andermatt has covered
the top part of its glacier with synthetic
foil to prevent the access ramp to the summit
station from melting too quickly. An expensive
form of protection indeed. The foil does
help in places, but it cannot save the glacier
from dying.
Betting on summer
I am convinced that I won’t be able to
continue operating my winter business until
I retire – my shop won’t be able to cope
economically with the predicted climate
change. And over the medium term I probably
won’t be able to keep my ten employees during
the winter season. To survive, I will have
to expand my operation’s summer offerings.
But to do that, I will have to come up with
new ideas first.
I would also like to have a family some
day. But the climate change makes me feel
unsure and concerns me. What kind of planet
will my children and their children have
to live on?
