Use of the tundra landscape
Inuit hunters
Indigenous people have lived in the world's tundra for thousands of years without irreparably damaging it. They practise a primitiveSomething that is in its earliest and simplest stage of development. form of survival by huntingWhen people stalk and catch animals. and fishingWhen people catch fish. for all of their food including birds, seals, walrusA large marine mammal that lives in the Tundra. and whalesA large marine mammal that lives in the Arctic Ocean..
It is a traditional and sustainable lifestyle, which involves catching just enough food for survival. Along with other features of their culture and traditional way of lifeThe behaviour, habits, ideas and customs that are typical of a particular society., Inuit HuntersNative people who stalk and catch animals for food to survive. methods of getting food are under threat from large-scale developments.
Misuse of the tundra landscape
The tundra environment is among the least disturbed ecosystemThe living organisms in a particular area, together with the non-living components of the environment. in the world. However, that is changing with the discovery of large reserves of raw materials:
- miningWhen natural resources are extracted from the ground. - mines have opened up resources, such as gold and diamonds, under the land in tundra regions, eg Arctic Canada.
- oil rigsA large structure built above an oil field to extract oil from underneath the ground or sea. have enabled oil to be drilled in the sea. In Alaska, the oil is exportedTransported and sold to other countries. from the Prudhoe Bay oil fieldsAn area either on land or under the sea that contains the resources oil. in raised pipes above the ground to the ice-free port of Valdez.
- natural gasA naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas mixture. (methane hydrate) is extracted from the Messoyakha Gas Field in western Siberia. Natural gas is pumped from beneath the permafrost and piped east across the tundra to the Norilsk metal smelter - the biggest industrial enterprise in the Arctic.
- New industriesDifferent types of work that people do. have led to the creation of towns such as Anchorage in Alaska which have been built to accommodate workers. These developments spoil the appearance of the natural landscape.
- New roads have been built to transport people and goods. This increases the number of vehicles in the tundra creating noise and air pollutionContaminating the air, water or ground with harmful substances..
- Illegal hunting and fishing is threatening the numbers of certain speciesA type of organism that is the basic unit of classification. Individuals of different species are not able to interbreed successfully., eg whales.
