8. Issues in Cold Environments - Tundra Case Study - Yamal Peninsula - The Nenets Flashcards
Give an introduction to the case study.
The Nenets are nomadic indigenous herding people who live on the Yamal Peninsula in Siberia. The area is one of deep permafrost and has a reindeer population of 200,000, although most are now part of state farms. A few clans within the Nenets still herd in the traditional way in that they do not use snowmobiles. Their whole economy is based on the reindeer as they are integral to their substance way of life; providing skin/fur for tents/clothes, meat for food/selling to markets and mode of transport i.e. pull sledges.
The Nenets have a ideological belief system which stresses respect for the environment and its resources, so it’s obvious that they do not share a mutual belief of sustainability with development in their tundra homeland with TNCs (transnational corporations) and the Russian government.
Explain Oil and Gas Extraction in relation to areas of conflict.
Gazprom are the largest extractors of natural gas in the world. They have a long term plan to exploit and bring to market the vast natural gas reserves of the Yamal Peninsula, as they are the largest natural gas reserves in the world (300 billion cubic feet).
In the 1980s the Bovanenkovo gas field was discovered and production began in 2012. Areas to the south of the Yamal have already been devastated by the construction of roads, railways and barrack-type housing post-discovery of this field, as a third of the summer pasture has been taken over. This has lead to overgrazing of the limited remaning reindeer pasture because the expansive gas and oil industry of Gazprom has led to smaller areas of land. As a result, there is less food for the reindeer which can result in many deaths of the animals before they are slaughtered in the nearest town, meaning there will be less Venison to sell on the markets - this affects the indigenous Nenets as the reindeer are economically vital for their way of life.
Explain the decling demand of Venison in relation to areas of conflict.
Since the end of communism there has been a decline in the demand for Venison as there is more consumer choice due to the fact that meat can now be imported. Without state support the price is too expensive so herds are not being slaughtered and their numbers are growing, impacting on their grazing. This also impacts the indigenous Nenets as the reindeer are economically vital for their way of life but there will be less Venison to sell on the markets.
Explain the Nenet’s children’s choice in relation to areas of conflict.
After the 1930s there was a move by the communist authorities to settle all the Nenets in order to control them. Their children were sent away to boarding school to be educated and many did not then wish to return to the hard life on the tundra. The children of the Nenets may find that the well paid jobs in oil and gas tempt them away from a life that has remained little changed for hundreds of years and a sustainable way of life will give way to one of extraction and damage to the environment.
are these developed social attitudes within their soceity sustainable?
Explain Global Warming in relation to areas of conflict.
It has also been documented that climate change is causing problems for nomadic Nenet reindeer herders, as certain parts of the land they need to cross are only accessible in winter - which now comes later and leaves earlier.
Is this really sustainable?
Today most Nenets are paid workers within the state reindeer enterprises. About 200 still try to maintain the traditional way of life although this is increasingly hard as outside influences are being felt more and more since the discovery of oil and gas in the region.
Overall, I believe there is conflict between development and sustainability in the tundra region of Siberia. This is because sustainability means meeting the needs of today’s population without harming the environment so that future generations can still meet their own needs. However, all of the arguments I have put forward exhibit that development damages the environment and discourages the Nenet way of life, which may soon be no longer a way of life, with a population of more educated urbanised Nenets.
