Arctic peoples and their cultural inheritance are vulnerable to rising global temperatures, the Russian president's adviser on climate change said at the Fifth Arctic Leaders' Summit in Moscow on Wednesday.
"Climate change has a global character but the Arctic is one of the most vulnerable regions," said Alexander Bedritsky, who also chairs the World Meteorological Organization.
"The Arctic habitat, people and their cultural inheritance are vulnerable to the changing climate," he said, adding that around 40 groups of indigenous peoples live in the Arctic.
The Moscow meeting focuses on the industrial development of the Arctic under new climatic conditions and the prospects for the indigenous peoples. Leaders of organizations that unite indigenous Arctic peoples from different countries took part in the event.
Bedritsky said there are hundreds of Russian enterprises working in the Arctic region.
"In the Russian Arctic area there is a strong industrial infrastructure that includes oil and gas complexes, electric power plants, airfields, railroads and mines."
He said the decisions taken by countries on the industrial development of the region "should undoubtedly take into consideration the needs and concerns of the indigenous peoples."
Russia meteorologists are currently developing a unique satellite system, Arctica, to monitor the weather and ecology of the Earth's poles.
MOSCOW, April 14 (RIA Novosti)
