The collision of extractive industries with indigenous infrastructure: land cover/land use change in the Siberian taiga and implications for sustainability

Keywords: LCLUC, Sustainability, Informal Roads, Indigenous communities, Remoteness
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Friday
Session Start / End Time: 2/25/2022 08:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/25/2022 09:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 58

Abstract

Over the last couple of decades, Siberian taiga has been logged and natural resources extracted causing significant and widespread landscape change, including the proliferation of informal road networks. Informal roads are unofficial transportation networks including temporary routes and tracks, trails, and roadways not maintained by any official entities. While road network development supports connectivity of indigenous communities with urban centers and other settlements, it interferes with subsistence activities, reindeer pastures, and hunting grounds. This work analyzes the impact of infrastructure development on land cover and land use change (LCLUC) in the Ust-Kut and Katangsky districts of Irkutsk oblast in subarctic Russia. This area is characterized by extreme continental climate, sensitive taiga environments, indigenous (Evenki) and old-settler communities. This paper examines 1) LCLUC from the 1980s until now using unsupervised classification of Landsat image archive; 2) correlations between LCLUC and road network development over time; 3) socio-economic development of the Ust-Kut and Katangsky districts using regional and municipal statistical data as well as municipal records; and 4) local narratives of infrastructure development impact on landscapes and land use change using analysis of interviews with residents and experts. Results of this work can be used to inform sustainable and equitable policies that consider the impacts of climate change on socio-economic development and the preservation of indigenous cultures.