Bruce Parry visits the Arctic
I have to say I have a lot of time for Bruce Parry. His enthusiasm for the people he meets around the world is infectious and his friendliness is well rewarded by those he meets.
Now, I was especially interested to see his latest program on the BBC where he is visiting Arctic peoples. I must admit I approached it with some trepidation, as I was not particularly looking forward to any glowing endorsement for the hunting of marine mammals.
However, Bruce has taken a very objective view. Whilst recognising the needs of true indigenous hunters he contrasts this with what he finds in some parts of the Arctic, including Greenland.
In an interview on the BBC website, Parry discusses filming in Greenland where he spends time with indigenous hunters.
"I don't normally question stuff too much," says Parry. "If I'm in the middle of the jungle with a group of people and they shoot a monkey, that might be a controversial thing to eat, but they're living an incredibly traditional life." But the Inuit are more integrated.
"They're living a traditional life, but they're accepting fuel and boats and vehicles and heating from the outside world. That comes with opinions about the larger picture of the animals they subsist on."
This comes at the same time that climate change is causes dramatic changes in Greenland. New Scientist reports this week that new data and models show that Greenland's ice cap, the world's second largest, is on track to hit a point of no return in 2040.
What all this means for the people and wildlife of the high Arctic is to be seen, but maybe people should be thinking carefully about not commercializing the hunting that takes place there and, in doing so, adding further pressure on the Arctic’s disappearing wildlife and habitats.
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