ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF RURAL COMMUNITIES IN THE NENETS AUTONOMOUS OKRUG

Abstract

The concept of resilience is applied to complex social systems to describe the ability of a territory (or settlement) or local community to recover from external shocks. In this context, resilience complements the concept of sustainable development by revealing the mechanisms that enable systems to regenerate during crises. In recent decades, various approaches for assessing urban resilience, including that of Arctic cities in high-risk zones, have been developed in scientific literature. However, a comprehensive methodology for assessing the resilience of Arctic rural communities has not yet been fully developed or tested. The goal of this article is to assess the resilience of several rural communities in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO), followed by their comparison and classification. Drawing on Russian researchers’ experience in measuring the resilience of Arctic cities, the authors propose their own methodology for assessing the resilience of Arctic rural communities. This methodology involves measuring 11 resilience indicators, which are aggregated into a comprehensive resilience index (R-index). The R-index enables the ranking of Arctic rural communities by their resilience levels. In the course of the study, all surveyed rural communities were classified into four groups based on R-index values: 1) isolated communities with low resilience; 2) vulnerable communities prone to external shocks; 3) administrative centers of rural municipalities with moderate resilience; 4) large and stable rural communities. The primary differentiating factors among these communities include geographical location, transport links and logistics, the structure of local economies, and demographic resources. Overall, Arctic rural communities exhibit a high level of social capital. The novelty of this study lies in its application of the community resilience concept to Arctic rural areas, contributing to a deeper understanding of the factors that shape their development potential. Future research should expand the geographical scope of the study and conduct larger surveys to improve the accuracy and reliability of rural community resilience assessments.

Keywords

• rural areas
• rural community
• russian arctic
• community resilience
• index