Environmental Justice and the Environmental Rights of Russian Indigenous People in the Arctic Region

Environmental Justice and the Environmental Rights of Russian Indigenous People in the Arctic Region

The research proposed in this study is that concerning the legal protection of indigenous peoples and particularly in regards to environmental rights under international and domestic law. The research proposed has a special emphasis on the Russian indigenous peoples of the Arctic region.

The primary goal of the research proposed in this study is to determine and analyze international legal mechanisms, which will assist indigenous people of Russian Arctic region in protection of their environment rights.

The methodology chosen in the proposed research is of a qualitative nature, which is descriptive and interpretive in nature, and such that will involve an analysis of environmental justice on international and domestic levels. Included will be an investigation of whether international environmental law has been incorporated into Russian laws and development policies regarding indigenous peoples, environmental rights of these people including an exploration of infringement of indigenous peoples, environmental rights due to Russian laws and development policies regarding indigenous people's environmental rights. In addition, the proposed research will conduct an exploration of infringement of indigenous peoples' environmental rights due to Russian unsustainable development of energetic sectors and militarization of the Arctic region. Finally, the proposed research will examine the development of legal tools for protection of the rights of indigenous peoples of the arctic Russian north. Included in the research will be field research in which data will be collected from Russian Courts and indigenous people of Russia's arctic north will be interviewed and in the form of case study. Therefore, the methodology in the proposed research will be one of a qualitative nature and that involves an exhaustive review of literature in this particular area of study.

Literature Review

When the Soviet Union breakup in the early 1990s the Russian Federation and Moscow are reported to have been able to escape "direct responsibility for some of the world's worst environmental devastation because many of the Soviet disaster sites were now in other countries." (U.S. Library of Congress, Country Studies -- Russia, nd) However, since that time, the seriousness and complex nature of environmental threats in Russia have been comprehended and it is now known that during the initial transitional years and years of reform that the response of Russia to those environmental conditions was both "sporadic and often ineffectual." (U.S. Library of Congress, Country Studies -- Russia, nd) The environmental incidents reported in the Soviet system include such as "the burst of an oil pipeline that received little or no public notice and remedial actions were slow or nonexistent." (U.S. Library of Congress, Country Studies -- Russia, nd) It is reported that government officials in Russia held beliefs that "natural resources were abundant enough to afford waste that the land could easily absorb any level of pollution, and that stringent control measures were an unjustifiable hindrance to economic advancement." (U.S. Library of Congress, Country Studies -- Russia, nd) During the 1990s the Russian government is reported to have labeled approximately 40% of the territory in Russian or an area approximately ae as large as the U.S. As "under high or moderately high ecological stress. Excluding areas of radiation contamination, fifty-six areas have been identified as environmentally degraded regions, ranging from full-fledged ecological disaster areas to moderately polluted areas." (U.S. Library of Congress, Country Studies -- Russia, nd) Reports state that the attention of the public was drawn to the dangerous environmental conditions "under the glasnost policy of the regime of Mikhail S. Gorbachev…, which berated the exchange of information in the late 1980s. The three situations that gripped public attention were the April 1986 nuclear explosion at the Chernobyl' Nuclear Power Station in Ukraine, the long-term and ongoing desiccation of the Aral Sea between Uzbekistan and Kazakstan, and the irradiation of northern Kazakstan by the Semipalatinsk (present-day Semey) nuclear testing site." (U.S. Library of Congress, Country Studies -- Russia, nd) It is reported that of major concern is the shortage in drinking water in Russia since 75% of the surface water in Russia is polluted with 50% of all water in Russia reported as "not potable according to quality standards" in addition to 30% of available groundwater being highly polluted. (U.S. Library of Congress, Country Studies -- Russia, nd, paraphrased) In addition, it is reported that approximately 7.4 million hectares of agricultural land are contaminated due to industrial toxic agents, pesticides, and agricultural chemicals. (U.S. Library of Congress, Country Studies -- Russia, nd, paraphrased) The indigenous minorities of Arctic Russia are the Dolgan, Nganasan, Nenets, Saami, Khanty, Chukchi, Evenk, Even, Enets, Eskimo, and Yakagir. There are other groups as well living close to the arctic region. The Russian north is reported to contain natural resources in large amounts and to include such as "timber, oil, gas, coal, and minerals." (Points North Baptist Mission, nd) These resources have been exploited for many centuries and comprise 1/5 of the gross national product for Russia. The resource exploitation is reported to have taken place in the traditional homelands of northern Russia, home to the indigenous people and to have taken place with severe consequences. The land is reported to be damaged by industrialization. Additionally reported is "reorganization of collectives and state farms along with depletion of fish stocks, closure of forest plots and reduced investments have led to increased unemployment among indigenous people, reversing a previous upward trend in employment." (Points North Baptist Mission, nd) It is reported that there are widespread respiratory diseases among these indigenous people of arctic Russia as well as chronic ear infections, a heightened incidence of tuberculosis as well as high incidence of gastrointestinal disorders. Of serious concern is the problem of environmental contaminants.