:00:00. > :00:09.is where a battle is under way between environmentalists and the
:00:09. > :00:27.Russian government. Russia's far untouched. It is the domain of the
:00:27. > :00:36.polar bear all the walrus. But the companies here hunting for new
:00:36. > :00:37.reserves. The drilling has already started that what if something goes
:00:37. > :00:45.wrong? Every single oil company started that what if something goes
:00:45. > :00:58.a technology that can actually drill underneath the ice. An ideological
:00:58. > :01:01.The big melt has attracted huge conservationists and the Kremlin.
:01:01. > :01:07.The big melt has attracted huge ships to, seeking shortcuts through
:01:07. > :01:13.tried to turn it off? As Russians the Arctic. What a going to do when
:01:13. > :01:21.tried to turn it off? As Russians frozen assets start to defrost,
:01:21. > :01:26.tried to turn it off? As Russians in. We would like to know what we
:01:26. > :01:29.have in the Arctic. Conservationists are now scrambling to protect this
:01:29. > :01:59.pristine wilderness and its isolated inhabitants. And river port in
:01:59. > :02:04.Russia's high Arctic, one of the most northerly towns in the world. A
:02:04. > :02:16.small boat is heading even further north. Deep into the Arctic Ocean.
:02:16. > :02:23.On—board is a team of scientists from W, the world wide fund or
:02:23. > :02:32.nature. —— for nature. Experts in walruses and polar bears. We are
:02:32. > :02:37.going with them. For the entire expedition, this guide will never
:02:37. > :02:46.get dark, the temperature will never rise above it degrees Celsius. ——
:02:46. > :02:52.eight degrees Celsius. We travelled down river and drop off our last
:02:52. > :02:57.passengers in a tiny village. This local hunters and fishermen from an
:02:57. > :03:07.act that group are to be the last people we will see for a fortnight.
:03:07. > :03:11.Then we head out into the Laptev Sea Then we head out into the Laptev Sea
:03:11. > :03:22.as this part of the Arctic Ocean is melting. Within hours, we see our
:03:22. > :03:36.first polar bears. In the distance, a mother and two club driven ashore
:03:36. > :03:40.expedition leader started working in by the melting ice. —— cubs. Our
:03:40. > :03:46.expedition leader started working in the Arctic 30 years ago. Back then,
:03:46. > :03:48.was rare but now it is much more seeing bears onshore in the summer
:03:48. > :03:48.was rare but now it is much more common and the animals are getting
:03:48. > :04:05.animals that used to live on the common and the animals are getting
:04:05. > :04:11.animals that used to live on the walruses. They used to sleep on
:04:11. > :04:13.animals that used to live on the ice and now in some cases their
:04:13. > :04:21.feeding areas might be too far from the beach so their lives become
:04:21. > :04:27.worried. The summer ice has been shrinking rapidly in recent years.
:04:27. > :04:31.In the decade up to 2002, C ice filled much of the Arctic ice and,
:04:31. > :04:38.even at the low point in September, but in the ten years since then
:04:38. > :04:40.even at the low point in September, decreased opening up huge gaps
:04:40. > :04:50.between the polar ice cap and the northern coast of Russia. It is
:04:50. > :04:52.between the polar ice cap and the problem for the animals. But it
:04:52. > :05:00.between the polar ice cap and the an opportunity for the oil men.
:05:00. > :05:01.between the polar ice cap and the had previously stayed away from
:05:01. > :05:10.these cities which were frozen for half the year. We flew out to sea
:05:10. > :05:18.Russia's first Arctic offshore drilling platform. It is operated by
:05:18. > :05:22.a state owned company. It is the beginning of a whole new era for oil
:05:23. > :05:32.and gas. Something resident Hooton claims could help secure the country
:05:32. > :05:33.'s economic future. The rig stands in metre 20 —— in water 20 metres
:05:33. > :05:45.deep. It is weighed down by a vast in metre 20 —— in water 20 metres
:05:45. > :05:50.deep. It is weighed down by a vast drill inside the huge station is
:05:50. > :05:55.already borrowing under the seabed. The first well ahead is in place and
:05:55. > :06:31.the company has promised he will start producing oil before the end
:06:31. > :06:40.Greenpeace have already targeted platform. When they tried to scale
:06:40. > :06:45.it in September they were met by officers from the Russian internal
:06:45. > :07:03.security service in balaclavas and carrying guns. They even opened
:07:03. > :07:05.security service in balaclavas and to warn off the protesters. The
:07:05. > :07:11.coastguard also fired warning from their ship. We were basically forced
:07:11. > :07:16.to come here. The 30 members of their ship. We were basically forced
:07:16. > :07:21.Greenpeace crew were charged with piracy and are now sitting in jail
:07:21. > :07:23.in the Arctic port. The strong reaction is a sign of how important
:07:23. > :07:31.Russia feels the reserves under reaction is a sign of how important
:07:31. > :07:33.northern waters are. We want to reaction is a sign of how important
:07:33. > :07:42.what we have in the Arctic, other countries do the same. There is
:07:42. > :07:42.what we have in the Arctic, other advantage for acting now. And not
:07:42. > :07:50.man says more conservation work waiting for 20 or 30 years. But
:07:50. > :08:08.potential measures to protect and we should be done. Already the oil
:08:08. > :08:14.potential measures to protect and we need to know what the most important
:08:14. > :08:22.After two days of sailing to north, places are to protect the wildlife.
:08:22. > :08:25.After two days of sailing to north, long shingle spit where a herd of
:08:25. > :08:28.walruses have hauled themselves long shingle spit where a herd of
:08:29. > :08:34.of the water. More accustomed to life on the ice, these strange
:08:34. > :08:41.Arctic mammals are nervous on dry land. I am going to have to talk
:08:41. > :08:43.quietly because if the walruses panic and run into the sea, they may
:08:43. > :08:49.crush each other to death. They panic and run into the sea, they may
:08:49. > :08:54.scientists are trying to establish the walruses here in the Laptev
:08:54. > :08:59.scientists are trying to establish are in fact, a completely unique
:08:59. > :09:08.subspecies. The experts on the expedition want to get DNA sample
:09:08. > :09:12.from the walruses. This involves slowly accustoming the animals to
:09:12. > :09:20.their presence. And using a crossbow as darts on pieces of string to
:09:20. > :09:26.collect bits of string —— DNA. The darts draw blood that they do not
:09:26. > :09:41.Recovering the sample is when things go wrong is not always easy. Very
:09:41. > :09:44.little is known about the wildlife here. But basic research is only
:09:44. > :10:00.need to be protected before more here. But basic research is only
:10:00. > :10:06.man literally wrote the book on drilling takes. —— takes place.
:10:06. > :10:10.man literally wrote the book on walruses in Russia. He has been
:10:10. > :10:17.living among them for years and before the expedition, he knew
:10:17. > :10:18.population. Soon he is experiencing close encounters than he might have
:10:18. > :10:36.expected. But he tries to recover another lost data. All in the name
:10:36. > :10:38.of conserving the animals he loves. Collecting DNA from live polar bears
:10:38. > :10:44.will be much more dangerous. We Collecting DNA from live polar bears
:10:44. > :10:58.fortunate to have this man on a expedition. He is the worldwide
:10:58. > :11:04.cancellation. But with notice of —— but with no DNA —— tranquillisers,
:11:04. > :11:13.we go ashore to collect DNA sample is from faeces and head. It is to
:11:13. > :11:18.establish how unique the wildlife starts. It does not take Jeff long
:11:18. > :11:26.to find fresh polar bear faeces starts. It does not take Jeff long
:11:26. > :11:34.an abandoned Soviet weather station. laboratories in Russia and America
:11:34. > :11:41.afford DNA testing. It will tell us where the air is in the lap have fit
:11:41. > :11:47.into the global world of populations and subpopulations. We have two
:11:47. > :11:56.large one here, one in Norway, the other is in Alaska. He will be
:11:56. > :12:04.interesting to see if these bears belong to those subpopulations. We
:12:04. > :12:22.food. Usually they eat seals but the see polar bears on almost every
:12:22. > :12:30.retreating ice. So the bears look seals have all warned north with
:12:30. > :12:34.retreating ice. So the bears look longingly at the much more dangerous
:12:34. > :12:44.walruses. They try to seek out young longingly at the much more dangerous
:12:44. > :12:45.walruses. They try to seek out young or sick animals. Some of the polar
:12:45. > :12:55.bears with sea appeared to have or sick animals. Some of the polar
:12:55. > :13:01.weight over the summer months. The scientists think that in all, we
:13:01. > :13:11.observe ten different there. They say that very little is known about
:13:11. > :13:13.Russia's polar bear population. The baseline data for polar bears and
:13:13. > :13:22.other species simply do not add baseline data for polar bears and
:13:22. > :13:28.need to know where they spend their time. So that you could come up
:13:28. > :13:34.need to know where they spend their mitigation plans. We even know there
:13:34. > :13:40.are —— how many there are left? No idea. There is also no plan for
:13:41. > :13:44.are —— how many there are left? No things go wrong. One thing that
:13:44. > :13:48.are —— how many there are left? No missing in Russia is a response
:13:48. > :13:50.plan. Specific to wildlife. What are you going to do when you have an
:13:50. > :13:54.accident and 40 bearers turn up you going to do when you have an
:13:54. > :13:58.shore covered in oil? Do you have the equipment? The answer in general
:13:58. > :14:06.oil spill and the Arctic is that the equipment? The answer in general
:14:06. > :14:10.oil spill and the Arctic is that because the water is so cold and the
:14:10. > :14:19.is not much exchange of water with oil breaks up wash slowly. The ocean
:14:19. > :14:20.other oceans. A spell that would disappear in a couple of years in
:14:20. > :14:33.more open seas could take 100 years disappear in a couple of years in
:14:33. > :14:40.more open seas could take 100 years cold as a factor. Each region around
:14:40. > :14:47.Each particular case. Different options should be used in different
:14:47. > :14:54.circumstances. It is just different with other factors. The Arctic has
:14:54. > :15:05.not have things that other regions have. But as we sit on the deck
:15:05. > :15:06.not have things that other regions our ship, the chief executive of WWF
:15:07. > :15:13.Russia tells me that the government is being naive about the risks of
:15:13. > :15:20.drilling in Arctic conditions. Not a single oil company currently has the
:15:20. > :15:26.technology which can actually drill without an oil spill happening under
:15:26. > :15:30.the ice. Some of the know—how to collect oil from the surface of
:15:30. > :15:34.the ice. Some of the know—how to water. Or from the ice, which is
:15:34. > :15:39.even easier, because it is like land. But under the ice there is no
:15:39. > :15:44.technology that can deal with that. That means that the oil can spread
:15:44. > :15:47.all over the place. He complains that the Russian government is
:15:47. > :15:55.actively encouraging drilling in the Arctic Sea. These projects cannot be
:15:55. > :16:05.realised without this. I was talking international oil companies. The
:16:05. > :16:11.estimate is that the cost of one barrel of oil and bringing it into
:16:11. > :16:15.the market would be $700 per barrel. That is five times more than you
:16:15. > :16:20.could get for it. These projects government subsidies. He claims
:16:20. > :16:22.could get for it. These projects you are distorting the market and
:16:22. > :16:31.encouraging companies to go into these precious places. Our goal
:16:31. > :16:34.encouraging companies to go into to find out the best ways to work in
:16:34. > :16:44.region in the world. It is possible the region. It is an important
:16:44. > :16:48.region in the world. It is possible to stop. But in this case all other
:16:48. > :16:52.President Vladimir Putin has gone countries should stop as well. While
:16:52. > :16:52.President Vladimir Putin has gone out of his way to show that he cares
:16:52. > :17:05.also made it clear how strategically about the Arctic environment, he
:17:05. > :17:09.also made it clear how strategically country's economic future. Six years
:17:09. > :17:13.ago in a dramatic publicity stunt, a government submarine planted a
:17:13. > :17:22.Russian flag under the eyes at the North Pole. And this summer, Moscow
:17:22. > :17:25.established a permanent military presence of the most remote regions
:17:25. > :17:35.of the Arctic for the first time since the Soviet era. Reopening
:17:35. > :17:41.of the Arctic for the first time air base. It is a sign that Russia
:17:41. > :17:47.attending. In the Soviet era, there was a much greater human presence in
:17:47. > :17:49.the Arctic than there is now. The abandoned weather station near where
:17:49. > :17:59.we dropped anchor is a reminder abandoned weather station near where
:17:59. > :18:03.winters. —— enjoyed. This stoat abandoned weather station near where
:18:03. > :18:08.has the weather station to himself. But as the climate changes, the
:18:08. > :18:14.Laptev Sea is once more being talked about in the Kremlin. And not just
:18:14. > :18:20.for the oil and gas that lie under the surface. It is midnight, and as
:18:20. > :18:29.pretty much still daylight. A couple you can see we are so far north
:18:29. > :18:30.pretty much still daylight. A couple of years ago, this Arctic Ocean
:18:30. > :18:33.section would have been full of of years ago, this Arctic Ocean
:18:34. > :18:59.so—called northern sea route through flows. But this year it is open
:18:59. > :19:02.so—called northern sea route through this section of the Arctic. This
:19:02. > :19:09.summer, some 600 chips requested permission to make the journey.
:19:09. > :19:16.Three years ago, it was just six. The route is only open for a couple
:19:16. > :19:17.Three years ago, it was just six. autumn. And ships need to have
:19:17. > :19:24.specially reinforced holes and travel in convoy with an icebreaker.
:19:24. > :19:27.But the northern sea route allows ships from the economic powerhouses
:19:27. > :19:31.of Asia to travel around the eastern end of Russia all along the Arctic
:19:31. > :19:35.coast and down into the markets end of Russia all along the Arctic
:19:35. > :19:39.western Europe. Cutting around end of Russia all along the Arctic
:19:39. > :20:26.we might think that the prospect of thousands of ships crashing through
:20:26. > :20:28.environmentalists with horror. But the conservation argument around the
:20:29. > :20:33.northern sea route is more nuanced than the one round oil exploration.
:20:33. > :20:41.After all, the shorter journeys than the one round oil exploration.
:20:41. > :20:42.less fuel being used and all is darkened outside —— less carbon
:20:42. > :20:47.dioxide contributing to climate darkened outside —— less carbon
:20:47. > :20:50.dioxide contributing to climate change. There will be 40% less fuel
:20:50. > :21:00.spent on transferring from Europe to that also requires all the safety
:21:00. > :21:12.already developing now. Last year prerequisites to be put in place
:21:12. > :21:14.already developing now. Last year there were ten times more cargo
:21:14. > :21:20.taken through the rich than ten there were ten times more cargo
:21:20. > :21:25.taken through the rich than ten years ago. As far as the ships
:21:25. > :21:28.themselves, they will be passing through something that is not a
:21:28. > :21:34.threat. The issue of the shipping would be if there is an accident.
:21:34. > :21:53.Water would be dangerous for a long decision, we will complete research
:21:53. > :22:00.of the potential consequences of increasing traffic along the Arctic
:22:01. > :22:08.consequences are possible. We do not want to have negative consequences.
:22:08. > :22:19.It seems fairly obvious now that no campaigning. Russia developing the
:22:19. > :22:22.transport. Most conservationists feel that all they can do is try and
:22:22. > :22:33.make sure that the negative impact years ago, did you imagine what
:22:33. > :22:39.make sure that the negative impact people in the Russian government
:22:39. > :22:44.imagine that the Arctic would be as important as it suddenly feels now?
:22:44. > :22:50.People in Russia and the Soviet Union understood the importance
:22:51. > :22:52.People in Russia and the Soviet the Arctic long time ago. Even the
:22:52. > :22:56.Russian empire. When the Soviet Union was collapsing, we withdrew
:22:56. > :23:09.everywhere. Now when we are stronger Union was collapsing, we withdrew
:23:10. > :23:38.everywhere. Now when we are stronger and we can bring resources and
:23:38. > :23:42.Russia's Arctic is a desolate but beautiful place. The conditions
:23:42. > :24:00.Russia's Arctic is a desolate but tough for animals, and getting
:24:00. > :24:07.Unlike parts of the world were other great predators live, man has made
:24:07. > :24:12.little impact here so far. But now the summer ice is disappearing.
:24:12. > :24:18.little impact here so far. But now permafrost is starting to fall.
:24:18. > :24:27.Climate change means these animals must adapt or die. Soon, man will be
:24:27. > :24:38.greater numbers than he has ever been before. Jazz prom plans to
:24:38. > :24:44.start pumping oil from its first offshore Arctic platform before
:24:44. > :24:50.start pumping oil from its first end of this year. It is a time of
:24:50. > :24:58.great change for the vulnerable wildlife of these latitudes. If
:24:58. > :25:00.great change for the vulnerable want them to survive, it has become
:25:00. > :25:04.more urgent than ever to find a