The Ministry for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic has prepared a draft program of the state support for the traditional economic activities of 19 indigenous minorities living in the Arctic – this is, according to the 2010 census, 102 thousand people.
Now the law defines 13 types of traditional economic activity of northerners: animal husbandry, dog breeding, bee keeping, fishing and others. This list limits the development, for example, of ecological and ethnocultural tourism. At the same time, due to the extreme climate, the Arctic ecosystem fragility, low education quality, and the lack of a year-round land transport system, the indigenous northerners have limited opportunities.
The state support program is designed to create conditions for increasing the competitiveness of goods, works and services and to form a sustainable basis for the development of the indigenous minorities of the Arctic. For this, it is necessary to create and develop industrial and technological infrastructures of traditional economic activity, promote goods to foreign markets, develop the tourism industry, train personnel, expand the use of renewable energy sources, and popularize entrepreneurship among the indigenous peoples.
For the tourism industry development in places of traditional economic activity of indigenous peoples, it is planned to conduct an annual selection of specialized projects to promote tourism services in the global and domestic markets.
To improve the qualifications of personnel, the authors of the program propose to attract the leading Arctic universities of the country. In addition, it is proposed to bring the education system in the Arctic zone in line with the forecast needs. And also to provide state support to employers who have concluded contracts for personnel training.
It is also planned to create a center for the development of traditional entrepreneurship, which will advise representatives of indigenous peoples, accompany investment projects, and help interact with development institutions and banks. A system to support the export of goods, works and services will be formed.
In order to implement the provisions of the program, its authors consider it necessary to adopt new regulations and amend some existing documents.
“State support for traditional economic activities will improve the quality of life of indigenous peoples in the Arctic zone of Russia, will become an incentive for their economic activities, crafts development, identity and culture preservation. And in order for the program to become a really effective tool and satisfy the needs of those to whom it is made, the document will be discussed with representatives of the indigenous peoples themselves and regional authorities”, said Alexander Kozlov, head of the Russian Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East.
The project will be approved by the order of the Russian Federation Government.
Earlier, This Is Taimyr talked about the creation of a farm-camp for domesticated deer and musk oxen in Volochanka. The project received a regional grant.
Text: Angelica Stepanova, Photo: open sources
