Permafrost dynamics and indigenous land use in the Northern Urals

Final Report

While it is often assumed that indigenous livelihoods in the Far North will inevitably suffer from permafrost degradation under conditions of a warming climate, the actual linkages between permafrost degradation and renewable resource use are still unclear. Considering the potential of mobile pastoralism to modify the natural environment to some degree, it is necessary to examine the interplay of land use, vegetation, climate, hydrological and cryological processes in more detail, taking into account the diversity of regional and local conditions. With this in mind, the IPA Action Group “Permafrost and Culture” conducted an interdisciplinary workshop in Vorkuta in September 2017, addressing the link between reindeer husbandry and landscape dynamics in the lowland tundra areas on both sides of the Northern Urals. The workshop complements previous studies on permafrost and land use (Central Yakutia, Republic of Sakha) and contributes to establishing a comparative circumpolar perspective.