RAIPON's Kamchatka Information Center

The RAIPON Kamchatka Information Center, known locally as Lach, has been a model for project work with indigenous peoples in Russia

This page provides a brief introduction to its work. It has also been published as a leaflet. Please contact its publishers for a hard copy. Publishers information.

A model project for the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples

KAMCHATKA TODAY

Kamchatka is home to a number of indigenous peoples, Itelmen, Even, Koryak, Kamchadal and Aleut, who inhabit both the small communities in the north of the peninsula and the capital in the south, Petropavlovsk. As in so many other parts of Russia, the indigenous peoples comprise a minority, varying from less than 5% in the southern part, the Kamchatskaya Oblast, to approximately 30% in the Koryak Autonomous Okrug in the north. The Oblast and the Okrug are two different provinces of the Russian Federation. The indigenous peoples therefore live under two different local governments, but life is also very different in the urbanized area to on the vast tundra. Kamchatka is today far more open to the outside world than ever before. Industry and tourism are changing life in Kamchatka in both positive and negative ways. Poverty and tuberculosis, pollution and poaching are just some of the problems affecting the lives of indigenous peoples today. The indigenous peoples are dependent on their traditional land and on the way its resources are going to be used. They need the environment to be protected in order to survive both physically and culturally.

The Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples (RAIPON) represents 40 numerically small peoples in the Russian north, Siberia and the Far East. The organization has a Project Center in Moscow and, since the year 2000, a Kamchatka Information Center with four small offices. The Kamchatka Center has established itself as a respected grassroots project and an example of how the indigenous movement can address their problems through project work.

This brochure aims to describe how the Center was established and what it has achieved since TGK Consult's Fact Finding Mission in 2000 and the start of the RAIPON Kamchatka Information Center project, funded by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency 2001-2003. The total budget was 1.5 million Danish kroner (200,000 Euros).

Results of the project

Today the Kamchatka Center, known locally as Lach (sun in Itelmen) has four offices with full legal status, a professional staff of project co-coordinators, news editors and a fundraiser. The Center is equipped with computers and e-mail. This framework has been established as a result of substantial capacity building.

From the very start, RAIPON's central office was actively involved, and members of RAIPON's leadership team, together with specialists, project consultants and local indigenous representatives, travelled throughout the communities of Kamchatka, with two goals:

1. To create understanding and support for the work among indigenous people and their authorities;
2. To train future staff members. In the first part of the project, the pros and cons of possible locations for the offices were considered.

A simple LFA method was used, and the first staff members were thus introduced to focusing on four main concepts in all of their work: overall goal, immediate goal, activities and results.

The overall principle of the work of the Center is to provide information on the work of RAIPON, international organisations and organisations in other parts of Russia working on sustainable development to the indigenous communities of Kamchatka, the indigenous production companies and the reindeer brigades, and to collect information on local environmental and legal problems. Seminars on the protection and preservation of traditional knowledge and environmental education, and the creation of a database, are the verifiable indicators of the outputs of the work.

Traditional resource use

The traditional resource use of indigenous peoples - a model for the rational use and protection of these territories, for protection of habitats, for creation of the conditions for the natural development of indigenous peoples' culture - is a crucial part of the work of the Information Center. The second of the Center's areas of work has therefore been the creation of a database of federal and regional legislation on traditional resource use and a database on the indigenous companies and family communities that are registered in the Koryaksky AO and the Kamchatskaya Oblast along with an analysis of their economy and access to fishing and hunting quotas. This has been followed up with consultation sessions and participation in seminars, conferences in Petropavlovsk and in the regions where the indigenous peoples live in the northern part of the peninsula but also with implementation of a project programme and the creation of a small grants fund. The priorities and methods of work of these programmes have been a very concrete way of following up on the data collected. 350 questionnaires with 92 questions on fishing, hunting, reindeer herding and gathering, along with the conditions under which these traditional occupations are carried out, have been filled out by the employees of the Center and analysed by the scientific consultant, Olga Murashko.

Conclusions from the database

The database was created in Microsoft Access and, among other interesting deductions, the analysis shows that the majority of people are fishing 100-200 kilos of fish a year; some admit to fishing up to 400 kilos whereas a third are fishing less than 100 kilos. 350 kilos is considered the minimum annual requirement for one person.

These results have been useful in discussions with the authorities on fishing quotas for indigenous people. One interesting result is the attitude towards uniting in obshinas which turned out to be unprofitable as fishing permits cost 25-30 roubles per person and 800-900 roubles for a legal entity. An obshina would have to include more than 30 people to be profitable. Some indigenous people do unite and transfer their fishing quotas to an obshina, typically in urban areas. In this way, fishing stops being a part of their way of life, as a few members of the obshina (often a professional company) do the actual fishing and distribute the fish afterwards.

Most people prefer family-based fishing. Hunting, catching, gathering and growing vegetable gardens is also carried out individually. The majority of indigenous peoples, with the exception of doctors, teachers and civil servants, buy only vodka and bread in the shops and base their lives on a subsistence economy. One informant concludes that the obshina is necessary for the protection of rights but not for carrying out traditional occupations.

The survey has also had great value in terms of training in information collection and has led to involvement in other projects on aspects of natural resource use.

Conclusions from a joint project

by the RAIPON Information Center and the Kamchatka League of Independent Experts on poaching.

Most people understand poaching as brutal over fishing with the sole aim of obtaining caviar while the rest of the fish is of no use to the poacher and is thrown away. Poachers often come from outside of the area. The following were suggested solutions:

• to improve the socio-economic situation of the indigenous and local population, which is seen as the reason for poaching
• to allocate land rights to a certain owner indigenous obshinas or individual local families
• to reconstruct the the local fishing industry
• to prioritise small-scale fishing, coast fishing, sports fishing, fishing for personal use
• to strengthen control over transport of fishing products
• to improve the fisheries inspection, eliminating corruption

Establishing the Center

The project management team (TGK Consult, RAIPON Vice-president Pavel Sulyandziga, the scientific expert, Olga Murashko and the Director, Nina Zaporotskaya) decided to hire the staff on the open market and postponed their hiring until August 2001, which also gave the Director more time to find and buy the right main office in Petropavlovsk. The jobs were announced in Aborigen Kamchatki in April 2001, and 29 candidates sent in applications in which they were asked to put together a seminar programme and to write a project proposal.

11 candidates were chosen and offered a three-month contract and, as a by-product, the Information Centre gained a number of ideas that could be used in its small grants programme. The contracts have been extended and another assistant was hired in Palana in January 2002. The staff work in all of the four centres. The office in Petropavlovsk was bought in July 2001, and all ownership documents legally registered in RAIPON's name. The office in Kovran was bought in September 2001 and in Ossora in December 2001, whilst a place is being rented in Palana. The staff have been equipped with computers and can work on-line from their homes.

Training while working

Contracts and work plans

The staff members all received contracts and individual work plans that they were to refer to in their report, according to a simple scheme describing how much time was spent on what activity and with what result. A personal detailed report has to be produced every month.

The regional assistants are preparing the necessary documents for registration of "territories of traditional land use". A number of "rodovye oshiny" (indigenous family enterprises) have obtained legal registration through the Information Center and have received advice from its staff.

Information exchange with the RAIPON Project Center in Moscow takes place on a regular basis.

The following results are noteworthy:

1. 20 supplements to the newspaper "Aborigen - Kamchatki" known as "Lach".
2. 90 e-mail information bulletins on Kamchatka have been sent out to recipients all over Russia and abroad
3. 25 newspapers (Kervelhatnom) in the community of Kovran have been produced by the regional centre.
4. The regional centers communicate regularly via email.

Extra activities

The Center has been visited by an overwhelming number of people. This has given it a good standing among NGOs in Kamchatka. The Center is creating a database on the regional legislation of the two federal provinces of Kamchatka, the Kamchatka Oblast and the Koryak AO.

All four centers are offering organisational support in-kind to the regional chapters of RAIPON, and to the local presidents when they organise seminars and other political events.

Contact with RAIPON in Moscow and other projects

The Kamchatka Information Center has been assisted by having a special advisor in Moscow, Olga Murashko, who works closely with RAIPON in other projects on legal rights and capacity building.

Thomas Køhler (TGK Consult) has carried out 4 fact-finding missions to Kamchatka and held 2 courses on LFA and project management.

Staff members have taken part in conferences in Moscow, Habarovsk, Sochi, and carried out networking and fundraising trips to the USA, Switzerland, Norway and the Philippines.

Distributing information

Aborigen Kamchatka is a newspaper with a 5000 copy print run, edited by Valentina Uspenskaya. The Information Center has been supporting the newspaper and has had its own page within it, presenting the highlights of its work.

Mailing list: Lach sends out news via e-mail every week to hundreds of recipients. Several radio and television stations have been using the news produced by the staff, as well as newspapers in Kamchatka. The news has on several occasions been translated and published in the Norwegian ANSIPRA.

Kervelhatnom and other local papers - are produced in the local offices and distributed in the different communities.

Fundraising

It was clear from the very beginning that the Kamchatka Information Center should not rely on just one donor for its existence. A fundraising strategy was therefore included from day one, and a fundraiser was trained with two purposes:

1. To fundraise for the Center
2. To assist others in fundraising for indigenous peoples' projects.

It is often advantageous to know what projects look like from the donor's point of view if you want to be a successful applicant. As part of his training, the fundraiser therefore developed his own application format for a small grants fund of 200,000 roubles. A great deal of practical experience was gained from this; the format was discussed with TGK Consult and RAIPON in Moscow — and changed several times — before the right format was found. The round of applications showed that there is as a wide interest in developing projects among the indigenous peoples of Kamchatka. 42 applications were received from 14 different communities and of these 8 were chosen after discussions between the four offices in Kamchatka, TGK Consult and Olga Murashko. The projects were thus chosen by a selection panel of 14 people, each with one vote. The fundraiser assisted applicants in writing the projects and developed an overview with a summary of each project, project theme and an indication of who had voted for the different projects.

The applications fell into 6 categories:

1. Traditional land use
2. Legislative initiatives in the fields of environment protection and rational resource use, including preparation of documentation for establishment of territories of traditional land use
3. Rational land use management and environmental protection
4. Environmental education and information
5. Conservation of traditional knowledge
6. Development of traditional professions in a community or a region.

Small grants

The small grants applications also showed how much could be achieved with limited funds, as the following overview shows:

1. Collection of information on poaching on the river Belaya, Koryak O
   50,000 roubles.
   • 7 monitoring field trips carried out on the river Belaya to collect information on poaching
   • 7 monitoring reports produced
   • 4 poaching spots revealed
2. Traditional sewing workshop in Karaga for tuberculosis patients
   23,000 roubles.
   • 46 sewing classes
   • 12 children taught to produce souvenirs (150 pieces) that were sold at two exhibitions.
   • Income spent on schoolbooks for the children at the hospital.
3. Collection and sale of wild plants in Central Koryakia
   10,960 roubles.
   • The investment led to an income of 54,000 roubles and winter supplies for 3 families
4. Souvenir workshop in Petropavlovsk
   12,000 roubles.
   • 27 sewing classes,
   • 10 persons taught to produce traditional souvenirs (200 pieces) which were sold for 20,000 roubles,
   • 8 costumes for the indigenous dance ensemble Lach produced
5. Traditional land use, Kovran, protection of the river Moroshechnaya
   50,000 roubles.
   • 3 monitoring trips conducted for information on poaching
   • 5 monitoring reports produced
   • 7 poaching spots revealed
6. Souvenir workshop, Petropavlovsk
   6,000 roubles.
   • 110 souvenirs produced,
   • resulting in an income of 42,000 roubles, which was used for new raw materials and equipment for further production.
7. Itelmen language school, Sosnovka
   10,000 roubles.
   • 42 classes in Itelmen for 12 pupils who took part in establishing an Itelmen village
8. Hunting project, Petropavlovsk
   16,000 roubles.
   • 5 seals and 3 bears prepared for the urban indigenous population
9. Salmon protection, Lesnaya
   20,000 roubles.
   • 2 monitoring trips
   • 2 monitoring reports
   • 1 poaching spot revealed

The results of projects 1, 5 and 9 were used to develop a project on salmon protection for funding by an external donor. Projects 3, 4 and 5 were income-generating, giving an indication of the prospects for investing in traditional crafts. As corollaries to all of the projects, it should be noted that, through small grants, the indigenous communities (obshinas) were strengthened in capacity and provided with equipment for future use.

Moving on to large projects

Lach has had success in fundraising for its own work and for others since the beginning of 2002. The strategy and themes of the small grants were used in the large-scale projects, providing a model for indigenous involvement in international projects within a region. The resources spent on fundraising have been a good investment, raising about the same amount for indigenous peoples and the environment as the project itself cost.

The conference in 2002

The RAIPON Kamchatka Information Center held a conference in August 2001 including a staff meeting and capacity building seminar. In October 2002, the Center gathered 29 indigenous and environmental organizations together at a conference, which led to the establishment of an NGO network. The conference was attended by RAIPON's President Haruchi and ended with a public meeting with the local administration of Kamchatskaya Oblast.

Conference Agreement

The Information Center Lach was appointed coordinator of the Network. This was a recognition of its work and proof that the Center had succeeded in the task of functioning as a secretariat for the indigenous movement in Kamchatka and as a link between the local communities and the federal organization, RAIPON. The conference participants adopted a work plan and a resolution to define the tasks of the Network.

Network mission

Preservation of the natural, cultural and spiritual heritage of the peoples of Kamchatka

The goal of the Network

Consolidation of efforts for the purpose of influencing the solution of ethno-ecological problems

Network tasks

• Monitoring the ethno-ecological situation in the regions;
• Exchanging information and experience among Network members;
• Disseminating information about Network activities;
• Discussing programs and projects according to the priorities of Network activities;
• Providing mutual help in terms of consultation;
• Effective reactions to ethno-ecological events;
• Lobbying on behalf of the programs and projects by Network members, raising funds for their realization;
• Collective decision-making.

The Network members support the Ethno-Ecological Information Center Lach in the process of raising funds to organize the efficient functioning of the Network and the employment of the Network Coordinator on an open market basis. Network members participate in raising funds for Network activities. They also take on a responsibility to collect and disseminate information regarding the environmental problems in the Kamchatskaya Oblast and the Koryak Autonomous Okrug and the possibility of the indigenous numerically small peoples taking part in solving those problems, and participate jointly in organized Network actions and campaigns.

In order to ensure the efficient participation of all Network members, each participant undertakes to present a monthly report on the ethno-ecological situation in their region to the Network Coordinator, who then forwards the report to other Network participants.

Mutual communication among Network participants takes place by means of email, fax, telephone and mail.

By establishing the Network, the Information Center Lach has expanded its possibilities to match its tasks but it has also taken on responsibilities that will require more financial and human resources.

Resolution

The Conference on Traditional Exploitation of Natural Resources by the Indigenous Numerically Small Peoples of Kamchatka and the Environment: Problems and Solutions also adopted a resolution calling on the Russian authorities:

To verify implementation of the laws of the Russian Federation concerning the rights of the indigenous numerically small peoples of the North to be primary exploiters of natural resources, to protect their traditional living environment, to preserve and develop their nations.

The Center was to follow up on the decision by writing appeals and petitions to the authorities and assisting in law suits and court cases concerning indigenous peoples' rights. The average citizen in Russia, not to mention indigenous people, does not know the legislation in detail. One example that was discussed at the conference was whether the Network should aim to have all of Kamchatskaya Oblast recognized as an indigenous region — or whether it would be wiser tactically to use the Government's own recent recognition of the Kamchadal as an indigenous people to claim their corresponding rights. This was an example of legal advice provided by the Center in practice, as the Network decided to use the possibilities of the existing framework, appealing to the Government of the Russian Federation:

• In reference to the inclusion of the Kamchadal in the Register of Indigenous Numerically Small Peoples of the Russian Federation, to include an addendum to the Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation of January 11th, 1993, No. 22, Register of the Regions Inhabited by the Indigenous Numerically small peoples of the North to include Sobolevsky, Elizovsky, Milkovsky, Ust-Kamchatsky and Ust-Bolsheretsky Sectors of the Kamchatskaya Oblast;
• To expedite the passing of the resolution determining the way in which nationality is defined in Russian Federation citizens' personal identification documents for citizens belonging to the indigenous numerically small peoples of the North of the Russian Federation;
• To expedite the passing of the normative legislation necessary for application of the Federal Law concerning the Territories of Traditional Exploitation of Nature of the Indigenous Numerically Small Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation.