Bocharnikova A. V. Udege and the Bikin National Park: Co-management or Conflict?

Aleksandra V. Bocharnikova
Center for Ecological Safety Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences
Saint Petersburg, Russia
E-mail: aleksandra.bocharnikowa@yandex.ru

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ABSTRACT. The article discusses the traditional resource management of the Udege, who inhabit the Bikin River Valley, and the problems they face. The traditional economy of the Udege used to rely on hunting which changed dramatically under the infl uence of other nations, state policies and market relations. In 1990s local communities developed institutions which focused on the environmental protection. Along with local population, non-governmental ecological organizations, indigenous peoples’ rights organizations and local scientists participated in this process. The local ecological institutions passed two major stages in their development: the period when they were illegal and the one when they became legal and were managed by the state. Timber companies, which planned to fell trees in the area used by the locals for hunting, contributed to the consolidation of the society. Before the Bikin National Park was created, the indigenous peoples had made demands which resulted in the establishment of the system of co-management. As a result of the creation of the national park, traditional indigenous institutions are preserved and connected to the innovative bodies. The protected territory includes a vast area where indigenous people hunt and work as the park staff, and the Council of the Indigenous Peoples has been established within the park’s administration.

KEYWORDS: traditional resource management, Udege, national park, institutions, co-management

УДК 504.062(=512.222)
DOI 10.31250/2618-8619-2020-1(7)-102-109