Ecological aspects of the traditional environmental management organization in a resource-extracting region

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to develop a set of recommendations on preventive measures to organize balanced traditional environmental management in the resource-extracting region. The authors develop recommendations basing on the procedure for identifying environmental aspects. They present environmental aspects as one of the concepts of the international environmental management system and reflect the impact consequences of the activities of indigenous peoples on the environment. The research object as a resource-extracting region is the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area. The authors investigate the trends in the development of traditional environmental management associated with the active inclusion of this economy sector in the region economic activity and the use of modern technologies and the transformation of the centuries-old way of life of indigenous peoples. In this context, traditional activity is no longer considered simply as a way of providing the basic living needs of the indigenous population, but as a production activity, the management of which requires a procedure for identifying environmental aspects in accordance with the methodology of the national standard of the environmental management system GOST R ISO 14001-2016. The identified environmental aspects are ranked depending on the degree of impact and seasonality on a four-point scale. According to the analysis results, reindeer husbandry is currently a type of traditional activity that requires control and implementation of measures in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area. Other activity types, such as fishing and hunting, require control, while the collection of wild plants and the use of modern technical means of communication are in the zone of influence that does not affect the environment. Based on the analysis, the authors have developed recommendations for the organization of traditional environmental management in the resource-extracting region.