On the sidelines of crucial UN climate change meeting in the Kenyan capital, they said their time-honored, cattle-based society is unjustly threatened by greenhouse gas emissions from developed countries far from their homes.

"The Maasai are feeling the first and worst of climate change," said Sharon Looremetta, a Maasai tribeswoman.

"This is a massive injustice and we are calling for urgent action by governments, by individuals and by the international community," she told reporters at the Nairobi conference.

"My people do not drive four-by-fours, we don't go on weekends, on holidays by flight but we are feeling the effects of climate change," she said, noting that the Maasai, who mainly inhabit Kenya and Tanzania, rarely use vehicles.

Greenhouse gases, caused by the burning of fossil fuels like oil and coal, are deemed largely responsible by scientists for the earth's rising temperatures that have affected weather patterns.

"We had hardly little rains for the last three years, animals are dying, children are not going to school and women are spending most of their time in search of water, not doing economic activities to support their livelihood."

"We are calling for justice and want urgent action," said Looremetta, who is also a member of the British-based aid agency Practical Action.

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