Russia returns native people to ancestral lands in nature park

Villagers in Kamchatka stockpile salmon for their winter food supply

By From Gary Strieker
CNN Environmental Correspondent

KAMCHATKA, Russia (CNN) -- The Kamchatka peninsula in far Eastern Russia is a vast, undeveloped land of mountains and forests, where national political and economic changes have given new opportunities to the native people and to those who want to protect the region's conservation parks.

At this time of year, pink salmon spawn on the Itsha River. For those who live here, it's a time of plenty. Like other native Evenis in this region, the Adukanova family stockpiles smoked salmon and caviar for the long harsh winter that will soon close in on central Kamchatka.

Life is not easy, but the people want nothing else. Artem supports his family by hunting and trapping. He says he'll never leave here, because this is his land.

Actually, the land is part of Bystrinsky State Nature Park, a wilderness of mountains and forests covering some 13,000 square kilometers (5,000 square miles).

VIDEO CNN's Gary Strieker reports on a Russian park where native people aid in the preservation of their ancestral lands Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     PHOTO GALLERY To see more photos of life on Kamchatka, click here

A United Nations world heritage site sheltering rare plant species, abundant wildlife, and the headwaters of major rivers, the area has also been the home of aboriginal Evenis for centuries, before the Soviet government forced them into towns and villages to work on state farms.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, families like the Adukanovas have returned to their ancestral land that is now a state nature park and authorities have allowed them to stay.

The director of Kamchatka's parks points out this would have been impossible under the Soviet system. We're helping to preserve their culture and lifestyle, he says, and they will help us to preserve the park.

This is a new idea, not only in Russia, but in other parts of the world, that local people should be allowed to remain and live inside a national park and should play an active role in park conservation.

Native families have returned to their traditional lands and ways of life in Bystrinsky State Nature Park

In the park, some 30 families like the Adukanovas now live in remote camps along the rivers, surviving once again by hunting, trapping and fishing.

And if they use these natural resources sustainably, conservation groups like the Worldwide Fund for Nature support them.

"We used to work very heavily in areas where no people were allowed and now we're finding new ways to work side-by-side with local people. It's in their interest to protect the resources and that's our goal too," said WWF's Margaret Williams.

This pilot project supplies these families with hand-powered radio stations, allowing them to keep in touch with each other, and with those on the outside.

The next step is training programs to help them protect their resources, to improve their living standards and to enforce laws against poaching.

According to the plan, these people will eventually take responsibility for managing this park.

The park is a good thing, says one elderly woman, adding that her family and all the others here will always watch over it.

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Volcanoes of Kamchatka
WWF International

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