The Territory of Traditional Nature Use as a Specific Territorial Unit in the System of Territorial Division of the North, Siberia and the Russian Far East

Abstract

New proposals of the Government of the Russian Federation on reorganisation of the territories with traditional nature use by indigenous peoples require analysis and discussion among the scientific community. The legislative model of federal, regional and municipal territory with traditional nature use are developed and described by applying comparative law tools. Through the methods of statistical analysis, emerging tendencies on actual implementation of the rights of indigenous peoples to use the land and other natural resources within the borders of these areas and within the territories of their native residence, which are not considered to be territories of traditional nature use legally, are illustrated. For the new economic environment in Russia, which is oriented on increasing exploration of the North resources, it is necessary to back up exercising of the rights of indigenous minorities guaranteed by the Article 69 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. In particular, on the federal level there should be established general principle characteristics of the legal regime on the territory with traditional nature use similar to a subject in the territorial division of the Russian Federation. The integral legal regime of the territories with traditional nature use should include obligatory formation of such territorial units in the settlements of indigenous peoples, taking into account the current land and other natural resources management within the traditional economy as well as creation of a set of constraints in the others' economic activity, primarily, subsoil users and timber producers, within the territories with traditional nature use. The use of natural resources based on payment, authorization and licensing should be abolished for the indigenous peoples living in the territories with traditional nature use. It follows from the declaration of specific property right -an ethno-communal, non-marketed form of ownership of indigenous peoples of the land and other natural resources (another form of ownership provided by the Article 9(2) of the Constitution of the Russian Federation).

The Evolution of Forming “Territories of Traditional Nature Use” in the Sakha Republic (Iakutiia)

“…A TTP of federal significance has yet to be established ( Zadorin et al 2017). Moreover, legislative interventions have over time compounded weaknesses in the federal TTP law by redacting articles, narrowing terminology, and enacting contradictory laws (Kondrashev et al 2018;Minchenko 2007). The federal TTP law has under gone revision six times since its adoption in 2001.…”

“…The constant efforts of federal legislators to roll back Indigenous rights have been well-documented in the scholarly literature (Kondrashev et al 2018;Kryazhkov 2010;Semenova 2007;Tranin 2010). It is not surprising then that backers of SR's progressive policies regarding Indigenous northerners must continue to defend them in the national arena.…”