Co-Managing the Indigenous Autonomous Regions of the Russian North: Indigenous rights to Environmental Stewardship of the Russian North

Rio Declaration on the Environment and Development (1992)
Principle 22

Indigenous people and their communities and other local communities have a vital role in environmental management and development because of their knowledge and traditional practices.  States should recognize and duly support their identity, culture and interests and enable their effective participation in the achievement of sustainable development.
There is emerging congruence today between traditional knowledge and modern scientific understanding about the challenges and ways forward to achieve sustainable development. 

There has been considerable discussion meriting integrated ecosystem management territories, or in Russian terminology, traditional nature management territories (TTPs)  by indigenous peoples of the North. A major focus of this paper will be to highlight the advantages of establishing these special areas, making them workable and responsive.

This paper envisions that TTPs will provide a framework for co-management in three Russian indigenous regions -- Yamal Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Nenets Autonomous Okrug and Sakha Republic/Yakutia. Much of the work will focus on how to make TTPs work and ensure a balance of interests. The outcome of this work will be the creation of conditions for co-management of environmental protection by executive agencies, local self-government bodies, extracting companies and indigenous peoples of the North in the areas of their traditional habitat and economic activities.

Recognition of interactions between economic, ecological and social systems is a prerequisite for sustainable development. Healthy ecosystems must be maintained, but management and use must also be socially desirable and economically viable. Options must be technologically feasible and supported by sufficient institutional capacity. Decisions must be politically legitimate. Proper governance is therefore crucial.
Integrated ecosystem management (IEM) acknowledges the interactions between these three systems and the inter-relationships that exist among resource users and the environments they potentially affect. It is designed to overcome the fragmentation inherent in a sectoral management approach. IEM analyses the implications of development, conflicting uses, and the interrelationships between physical processes and human activities. It promotes linkages and harmonization among sectoral activities.

Using this approach, this report will demonstrate that it is possible to resolve environmental and economic problems and at the same time ensuring that Indigenous Peoples’ rights are respected, that they continue to have access to their land, and that they are able to make informed choices about their lives. Understanding will develop through participation in the co-management process. It is anticipated that issues mentioned will help forge new relationships between industry, government and indigenous peoples.

There is a strong link between the ability of Indigenous Peoples to participate in decisions about resource management and the likelihood that those decisions will contribute to sustainable development. Co-management systems are in wide use in many parts of the world under different names.

The paper begins with definitions of co-management and short history of how it developed. This is followed by a section on co-management in an international context and its relationship to Indigenous Peoples rights. With this framework in mind, it will examine co-management in Russia. These overviews will each outline the legal basis or reason for the institution’s creation, its structure, and lessons learned. This section will conclude with some observations about the role of the State and co-management in the Arctic in general and a short discussion on adaptive co-management. The paper then makes a number of recommendations on the way forward.

Co-Management
Co-management is also an expression of Indigenous Peoples’ right to self determination.  In the context of co-management, this means the right to be recognized as a resource owner, and the right to make decisions about how renewable and non-renewable resources on their lands may be used and what kind of development may or may not take place. These decisions affect Indigenous Peoples’ social, economic, and cultural lives and well-being.  Indigenous rights are clearly articulated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted in September 2007.

Articles of interest regarding the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples include:

1. Article 3 – Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.

As part of their right to self-determination, Indigenous Peoples have certain land rights:

     2.  Article 26 – Indigenous peoples have the right to the lands, territories and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired.

•    Indigenous peoples have the right to own, use, develop and control the lands, territories and resources that they possess by reason of traditional ownership or other traditional occupation or use, as well as those which they have otherwise acquired.
•    States shall give legal recognition and protection to these lands, territories and resources. Such recognition shall be conducted with due respect to the customs, traditions and land tenure systems of the indigenous peoples concerned.

Along with these rights to lands and resources, and the legal protection they must be given, Indigenous Peoples have the right to make decisions about what happens on their land:

        3.   Article 32 –

•    Indigenous Peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for the development or use of their lands or territories and other resources.
•    States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources.
•    States shall provide effective mechanisms for just and fair redress for any such activities, and appropriate measures shall be taken to mitigate adverse environmental, economic, social, cultural or spiritual impact.

In countries such as Canada, land claims settlements have clearly established the rights of Indigenous Peoples to participate in co-management bodies and decision making. There is a considerable body of international literature which discusses the concept of indigenous rights, how they have been abrogated, and the steps that are currently being taken by Indigenous Peoples and governments to recognize and affirm those rights.



Looking Back

It is important to understand the complex inter-relationship between Indigenous Peoples and the lands in which they live. All Indigenous Peoples emphasize that “’the spiritual and material foundations of their cultural identities are sustained by their unique relationships to their traditional territories.’” This distinct relationship has been described as follows:

For such peoples, the land is not merely a possession and a means of production. The entire relationship between the spiritual life of Indigenous Peoples and Mother Earth, and their land, has a great many deep-seated implications. Their land is not a commodity which can be acquired, but a material element to be enjoyed freely.

Indigenous Peoples in Russia share this world view and, despite many changes, still retain strong links to their traditional lands and cultures. Despite these historical changes, and increasing development pressures across the Russian north, the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories remains strong.
Nevertheless, indigenous lands have been expropriated around the world to advance state development interests. In every part of the globe, Indigenous Peoples are being impeded from proceeding with their own forms of development consistent with their own values, perspectives and interests. The concentration of extensive legal, political and economic power in the State has contributed to problems related to development and Indigenous Peoples’ rights to lands, territories and resources.


Moving Forward

There is no single model of co-management in the Arctic; rather, the approaches vary depending on history, national circumstances, legislation, and the status of indigenous rights. It is accurate to say that there are no perfect models of co-management either but a number of evolving processes.

Nevertheless, the consistent theme is collaboration and partnership.  As stated earlier, co-management requires compromise on the part of all parties but surrender by none. It means learning by doing, and learning from mistakes. Finally, it is a convergence between two world views, the Indigenous and Non-indigenous. Part of this convergence of world views is a decision-making process based on traditional western science and Indigenous knowledge. Co-management also reduces resource-based conflicts and builds capacity.

There are some useful lessons in this review of co-management for the situation in the three regions in Russia on which this project is focused. During regional meetings in late 2006, representatives of Indigenous Peoples, governments, and industry expressed a clear desire was expressed to improve federal and regional legislation and regulation of natural resources and to improve the relationship between companies and local peoples.

 References (In no order)

REPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
 (Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992). Annex I: RIO DECLARATION ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT, Principle 22. (Accessed 03 March 2010 at http://www.un.org/documents/ga/conf151/aconf15126-1annex1.htm)

Commission on Sustainable Development, Fifteenth session, 30 April-11 May 2007
Major groups priorities for action in energy for sustainable development, industrial development, air pollution/ atmosphere and climate change E/CN.17/2007/7

In Russian territorii traditsionnogo prirodopol'zovaniya (TTP) which is Territories of Traditional Nature Management (TTNM) in English. The Russian acronym will be used for the sake of consistency.

For an overview, see http://www.iucn.org/themes/ceesp/Publications/newsletter/Policy%20Matters%2010.pdf

For a more detailed discussion of Indigenous rights as they apply in several Arctic states, see Krasovskaya T.M., Lyubimtsev M.Y., Mikhailov A.A., Proskurkina O.M., Sumina E.N., Todyshev M.A., Vlasova T.K., Yamskov A.N. and N.V. Zubarevich. 2000. Indigenous Peoples of the Russian Arctic: Present Situation and the Transition to Sustainable Development. Moscow-London, Report of the Advisory Committee on the Protection of the Sea (ACOPS).  pp 74-92.

A useful summary is United Nations Economic and Social Council, Commission on Human Rights, Sub-commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Indigenous Peoples and Minorities: Indigenous Peoples and their relationship to land. Final working paper prepared by the Special Rapporteur, Mrs. Erica-Irene A. Daes. E/CN.4/Sub.2/2001/21, 11 June 2001. For a thorough analysis of the concept of indigenous rights and the historical relationship between Indigenous Peoples and colonization see the Canada. Final Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. 1996 (Accessed 3 March 2010 at http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ap/rrc-eng.asp)

UN doc. E/CN.4/Sub.2/2001/21, 11 June 2001. Excerpt taken from Robert A. Williams discussion on territorial rights of indigenous peoples in the Working Group on Indigenous Populations [Accessed 3 March 2010 online at http://books.google.ca/books?id=-u30v63Ii4AC&lpg=PA331&ots=jmH37xZFIh&dq=robert%20williams%2C%20the%20spiritual%20and%20material%20foundations%20of%20their%20cultural%20identities%20are%20sustained%20by%20their%20unique%20relationships%20to%20their%20traditional%20territories&pg=PA331#v=onepage&q=&f=false] pg. 331

UN doc. E/CN.4/Sub.2/1985/22, para 196-198. See also final working paper prepared by the Special Rapporteur, Jose Martinez Cobo E/CN.4/Sub.2/476, 30 July 1981 (Accessed 3 March 2010 at http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/spdaip.html) See also Minde, H., Jentoft, S., Gaski, H. Indigenous peoples: self-determination, knowledge, indigeneity Eburon Uitgeverij B.V. 2008. [Accessed 03 March 2010 at http://books.google.ca/books?id=aVJyN5ZAHeUC&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=&f=false] pg. 75

For testimony that the relationship between indigenous reindeer herders and the land which has nurtured them continues, see Piers Vitebsky 2005. Reindeer People. London: Harper Perennial.

United Nations Economic and Social Council, Commission on Human Rights, Sub-commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. Commission on Human Rights, Fifty-third session, 22 June 2001. Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Indigenous Peoples and Minorities E/CN.4/Sub.2/2001/22, 22 June 2001