Earlier this month , scientists reported that the level of warming in the Arctic was “ completely unprecedented ” and that Arctic ice is melting much faster than previously thought . That has serious consequences for people and ecosystems in the region , and it makes the responsibility to protect the Arctic ’ s increasingly open waters even more urgent .
The region is already open to the risk of offshore drilling for oil and gas as well as commercial fishing fleets trawling the ocean , and melting sea ice only creates more opportunities for this type of destruction .
Due to the highly specialised flora and fauna in the region , the ecosystems present are much less resilient than those in other areas in the world . This means that with even minor changes , one small environmental pressure could wipe out the entire food web . This has been seen , for example , with the polar bears found on the arctic ice .
Case Study : Polar bear
National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen captured a photo of an emaciated , deceased polar bear last summer . This photograph , along with another photo of an exceptionally skinny polar bear that went viral in late August , would seem to speak to the dangers that global warming poses to the iconic species .
Rapid sea ice loss is depriving polar bears of their habitat , since they depend on the ice to hunt prey . Ice loss has been particularly noteworthy in recent years in northwestern Svalbard , says