Impact of climate change on Nenet tribespeople of Siberia

It is one of the world’s last great wildernesses, a 435-mile long peninsula of lakes and squelching tundra stretching deep into the Arctic Ocean Photograph: Steve Morgan/Greenpeace

Russia releases vast amounts of greenhouse gases, yet large regions, including the Yamal, will suffer heavily from global warming Photograph: Steve Morgan/Greenpeace

This thermokarst Lake has drained out due to the melting of the permafrost and erosion Photograph: Steve Morgan/Greenpeace

Buckled railroads caused by melting permafrost Photograph: Kajsa Sj lander/Greenpeace

Cracked street caused by melting permafrost in Yakutsk, Russia Photograph: Kajsa Sj lander/Greenpeace

Reindeer migration across the Yamal peninsula. The nomadic Nenet tribes of the Yamal peninsula have retained their traditional culture and simple way of life for over a thousand years. They now see themselves living with this tradition for no more than 40 years Photograph: Kajsa Sj lander/Greenpeace

Herders say that the peninsula’s weather is increasingly unpredictable – with unseasonal snowstorms when the reindeer give birth in May, and milder, longer autumns Photograph: Steve Morgan/Greenpeace

Russia – the world’s biggest country by geographical area – is already warming at one and a half times the rate of other parts of the world Photograph: Steve Morgan/Greenpeace

If global temperatures rise by the 4C many scientists fear, the impact on Russia would be disastrous Photograph: Steve Morgan/Greenpeace

Much of Russia’s northern region would be turned into impenetrable swamp Photograph: Steve Morgan/Greenpeace

While the tundra begins to thaw, potentially releasing huge volumes of methane, pipelines are being laid to exploit the biggest gas fields on the planet Photograph: Steve Morgan/Greenpeace

Herders in the Yamal Peninsula killing a reindeer for its meat Photograph: Steve Morgan/Greenpeace

The herders eat raw reindeer meat and drink the animal's blood Photograph: Steve Morgan/Greenpeace

They also catch fish – slicing off filets of sushi-like whitefish, taken from the thousands of virgin-lakes across the peninsula Photograph: Steve Morgan/Greenpeace

In winter temperatures used to go down to -50C. Now they are typically -30C, making conditions difficult for the reindeer Photograph: Steve Morgan/Greenpeace

The reindeer are going hungry and in spring it is difficult for them to pull the sledges Photograph: Steve Morgan/Greenpeace

The Nenets report other changes - fewer mosquitoes and a puzzling increase in gadflies - that indicate climate change Photograph: Steve Morgan/Greenpeace

Campaigners fear that large-scale gas exploration could ruin the peninsula's delicate Arctic ecology. They also fear that it will squeeze the Nenets' traditional herding routes Photograph: Steve Morgan/Greenpeace

Reindeer have already broken legs crossing a new railway line that Gazprom, Russia's state energy giant, is building across the tundra to its new Bovanenkovo plant Photograph: Steve Morgan/Greenpeace

Already 160 reindeer herders have already been evicted from their pastures Photograph: Steve Morgan/Greenpeace