A/HRC/27/66 effective enjoyment of a range of human rights, including the right to life, the right to health, the right to food, and indigenous peoples’ rights to their lands, territories and natural resources. 32. Indigenous peoples are among the first to face the direct consequences of climate change, owing to their dependence upon and close relationship with the environment and its resources. Climate change exacerbates the difficulties already faced by vulnerable indigenous communities, which include political and economic marginalization, loss of land and resources, human rights violations, discrimination and unemployment. The following are some examples:16 (a) In the high-altitude regions of the Himalayas, glacial melts affecting hundreds of millions of rural dwellers who depend on the seasonal flow of water are resulting in more water in the short term but less in the long run, as glaciers and snow cover shrink. (b) In the Amazon, the effects of climate change include deforestation and forest fragmentation, and consequently, more carbon released into the atmosphere, exacerbating the situation and creating further changes. Droughts in 2005 resulted in fires in the western Amazon region. This is likely to occur again as rainforest is replaced by savannahs, having a huge effect on the livelihoods of the indigenous peoples in the region. (c) Indigenous peoples in the Arctic region depend on hunting polar bears, walruses, seals and caribou, herding reindeer, and fishing and gathering, not only for food to support the local economy, but also as the basis for their cultural and social identity — consistent with article 20 of the Declaration, which states that indigenous peoples have a right to subsistence and to engage freely in all their traditional and other economic activities. Some of the concerns facing indigenous peoples there include changes in species, and in the availability of traditional food sources, and a perceived reduction in the accuracy of weather forecasts and in the safety of travelling in changing ice and weather conditions, posing serious challenges to the right to health and the right to food. (d) In Finland, Norway and Sweden, rain and mild weather during the winter season often prevents reindeer from accessing lichen, which is a vital food source. This has caused a massive loss of reindeer, which are vital to the culture, subsistence and economy of Sami communities. Reindeer herders must, as a result, feed their herds with fodder, which is expensive and not economically viable in the long term. (e) Rising temperatures, dune expansion, increased wind speeds, and loss of vegetation are impacting negatively on the traditional cattle- and goat-farming practices of indigenous peoples in Africa’s Kalahari Basin, who must now live around governmentdrilled bores in order to access water and depend on government support for their survival. (f) In the Pacific, sea level rise, ocean acidification and an increase in extreme weather events such as droughts and typhoons are placing indigenous peoples at added risk.17 (g) In many indigenous communities in Asia, climate change has caused changes to the agricultural calendar, affecting cultural practices that are linked to key activities in the agricultural calendar. 16 17 Climate change and indigenous peoples (2008). United Nations backgrounder. Available from www.un.org/en/events/indigenousday/pdf/Backgrounder_ClimateChange_FINAL.pdf (accessed 4 August 2014). Submission: Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific International. 9