Project Summary

This interview-based study was conducted in 2005 by RAIPON in partnership with the Division of Environmental Policy Implementation of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and UNEP/GRID-Arendal.

As the first project in Russia aiming at studying and learning from indigenous people’s traditional knowledge about disaster management, the study focused on the indigenous peoples of Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO) and Kamchatka. The aim was to document how individuals perceive and manage natural disasters and extreme weather events, including documentation of strategies for early detection of coming events, coping strategies, and perceptions of short and long term impacts of these events on biodiversity. 

In NAO, blizzards and strong winds were described as common disaster types. Blizzards, strong winds, floods and icing were identified as the most serious disasters. In Kamchatka, blizzards, fires and floods are listed as common disasters, while fires were flagged as the most serious disaster.

Strategies described for early warning of natural disasters were mainly those based on observations of conditions and events that are considered to be warning signs. The most common warning signs were related to animal behaviour and to appearance of the sky (clouds, moon, sun, etc).

Strategies described for minimising negative impacts of a natural disaster include: maintaining a state of constant preparedness for the disaster; finding a safe place to wait out the disaster; relying on domesticated animals to lead the way to safety; and avoiding and mitigating disasters by regulating the size of reindeer herds and managing the use of pastures.

Information on attitudes to traditional knowledge, knowledge transfer, and disasters was also documented.

The study shows that indigenous peoples of the Russian North have preserved and continue to apply traditional knowledge on early warning and strategies for mitigation of the negative consequences of natural disasters. However, there is a challenge in transferring traditional knowledge between generations. Hence, it would be of great value to put further effort into disseminating information related to traditional knowledge on disaster management among the Northern indigenous peoples in additional to other groups in Russia and globally.