Impact of Socio-Economic and Environmental Changes on the Use of Hunting Resources by the Autochthonous Population of the Arctic

Abstract

The state and possibilities of use of hunting resources are of great cultural and socio-economic importance for the indigenous population of the North; they also affect the safety of people living in sparsely populated Arctic territories. The paper considers the historical experience of organization and legal regulation of hunting as a type of economic activity in the Arkhangelsk Governorate [Arkhangelskaya guberniya] in the 19th – early 20th century; it also provides the quantitative and cost characteristics of hunting resources. We present the results of sociological surveys of hunters from Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the Arkhangelsk Oblast conducted in 2015–2016, the data on the population status of game animals hunted by people in the Arctic territories. Hunting in the Arkhangelsk Governorate was most developed in Pinezhsky, Pechorsky, and Mezensky counties [uezdy]; there was almost no government intervention in this activity until the end of the 19th century. It was assumed that a small number of hunters (less than 3% of the population of the Governorate) can not cause irreparable damage to the population of game animals. Currently, amateur and sports hunting and hunting tourism are developing in the Arkhangelsk Oblast and in Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The number of registered hunters is about 4% of the total population of these territories. Hunting resources are used more often for own consumption. Geese and ducks for a quarter of respondents become the main food in their families for several days a year. To rural residents, hunting is determined by both basic needs (food production) and socio-cultural goals (continuation of family tradition, lifestyle). To urban residents, hunting is mainly their hobby. The development of hunting tourism, according to one third of respondents, does not benefit the local community. The number of hunters and their specialization are determined by organizational and legal conditions and by the opportunities for the sale of hunting products. The problem of underutilization of some types of hunting resources and the risk of depletion of others is aggravating

Keywords

• arctic territories
• tourism
• rational nature management
• socio-economic conditions
• natural and climatic changes
• autochthonous population
• hunting resources