VSNK supports scientists in developing an ethnological nature reserve
Scientists from the Sukachyov Institute of Forest of the Siberian Branch of the RAS developed a scientific justification for the establishment of an ethnological nature reserve for the Ket people under a grant programme of the East Siberian Oil and Gas Company (part of Rosneft). The Kets are the smallest ethnic group living in the Evenki district of Krasnoyarsk Territory.
The goal of the project is to preserve the ancestral habitat of small-numbered ethnic groups. An ethno-ecological nature reserve of over 760,000 hectares is to be created in the village of Sulomai, on the border of the Central Siberia Nature Reserve. The designation of a special protected area will preserve the natural development of taiga ecosystems and protect the Ket people’s lands from external influence. As part of the study, the scientists analysed high-resolution satellite images to determine the contours of the future reserve, assessed the biological resources available, and calculated their potential use by the ancestral community over several generations.
The draft reserve has been submitted to the Evenki Municipal District for public debate, following which its implementation will commence.
Note for Editors:
The Kets (self-name Ostygan) is the people residing in the lower reaches of the Podkamennaya Tunguska River. Their traditional trades are hunting and fishing. Most of the people live in the national settlement of Sulomai, on the banks of the Podkamennaya Tunguska River, 74 kilometres from where it flows into the Yenisei River.
The East Siberian Oil and Gas Company, a subsidiary of Rosneft Oil Company, develops the Yurubcheno-Tokhomskoye oil and condensate field in the Evenki district of Krasnoyarsk Territory.
The Vostsibneftegaz grant scheme has been in operation since 2014, and the oil producers have supported over 20 scientific projects, such as the Siberian Federal University’s project to study the population of wild reindeer and lesser white-fronted goose listed in Red Book; Central Siberian reserve on research of a population of the Siberian sable, research institute of ecology of fishery reservoirs on working out of biotechnics of artificial reproduction of the Siberian taimen. The Sukachyov Institute of Forest of the Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences conducted studies of microbiological characteristics of soils of post-fire successions in forest cryogenic ecosystems in Middle Siberia, the Trade and Economics Institute of the Siberian Federal University developed scientific and practical justification for the production of bread for the northerners from Jerusalem artichoke, a perennial herbaceous tuber plant.
The implementation of the grant schemes helps save the unique natural environment, national culture, traditional way of life and cultural authenticity of the indigenous population of Evenkiya.
Rosneft
Information Division
November 25, 2021