When Ice Turns to Water: Forest Fires and Indigenous Settlements in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

Lilia Vinokurova, Vera Solovyeva and Viktoria Filippova
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Lilia Vinokurova: History and Arctic Researches Department, The Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North, Yakutsk 677027, Russia
Vera Solovyeva: Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
Viktoria Filippova: History and Arctic Researches Department, The Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North, Yakutsk 677027, Russia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 8, 1-20

Abstract: In recent years, forest fires have covered many parts of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The fires often threaten populated areas and Indigenous communities as well. In 2020–2021, the fires caused enormous economic and environmental damage and the exact amount is yet to be fully calculated. Concerns about the sheer scale of carbon emissions into the atmosphere were widely discussed by world media. Social scientists of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) raised the following questions: how do Indigenous communities live in a condition of constant threat from annual forest fires? What environmental, social, and economic challenges do they face, what do they fear, and what are their expectations? We reviewed Indigenous traditional knowledge related to fire management and firefighting techniques and analyzed Indigenous peoples’ perceptions of changes in the ecological balance of water resources and permafrost. The authors also discuss the causes of forest fires, connections with industrial and transport development, and social consequences. The article is based on 2010–2021 field studies.

Keywords: forest fires; wildfires; Republic of Sakha (Yakutia); arctic; Indigenous; Siberia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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