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Indigenous Knowledge for Sustainable Communications and Mobility: Perspectives from the Kolyma Road, Northeast Russia

Author

Listed:
  • Daria Burnasheva

    (Department of Folk and Traditional Arts, Arctic State Institute of Culture and Arts, 4 Ordzhonikidze Street, Yakutsk 677000, Russia)

  • Viktoria Filippova

    (The Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 1, Petrovskogo Street, Yakutsk 677027, Russia)

  • Mariia Kuklina

    (Institute of High Technology, Irkutsk National Research Technical University, 83, Lermontova Street, Irkutsk 664074, Russia)

  • Vera Kuklina

    (Department of Geography, The George Washington University, 2036 Street NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA)

  • Antonina Savvinova

    (Department of Ecology and Geography, M.K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University, 48 Kulakovsky Street, Yakutsk 677000, Russia)

Abstract

In northeast Russia, the famous historic Kolyma Road spans two thousand kilometers across two federal subjects of the Russian Federation: the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) and Magadan Oblast. Thousands of people live along and in close proximity to the road, depending on it for communication, mobility, goods, and life support. As the major transportation infrastructure in the entire region, it should be reliable and stable for local communities’ well-being. One strategic approach to ensure its reliability is to acknowledge the role of Indigenous knowledge, which has been neglected despite being established long before the emergence of existing formal systems of communication. Based on data collected through fieldwork, personal observations, and conversations, this paper aims to demonstrate that Indigenous knowledge regarding ways of living, moving, and communicating along and on the road is the key to sustainability in the region. As a result, we claim that this realization should be manifested in designing and implementing communication and mobility systems based on the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In the long term, it is necessary to develop a sustainable road management system for the Kolyma Road to ensure the security and well-being of local communities and for everyone visiting and working on the road.

Suggested Citation

  • Daria Burnasheva & Viktoria Filippova & Mariia Kuklina & Vera Kuklina & Antonina Savvinova, 2024. "Indigenous Knowledge for Sustainable Communications and Mobility: Perspectives from the Kolyma Road, Northeast Russia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-15, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:9:p:3658-:d:1383943
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Arun Agrawal, 1995. "Dismantling the Divide Between Indigenous and Scientific Knowledge," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 26(3), pages 413-439, July.
    2. Tatiana Argounova-Low & Mikhail Prisyazhnyi, 2016. "Biography of a Road: Past and Present of the Siberian Doroga Lena," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 47(2), pages 367-387, March.
    3. Anna Bunce & James Ford & Sherilee Harper & Victoria Edge, 2016. "Vulnerability and adaptive capacity of Inuit women to climate change: a case study from Iqaluit, Nunavut," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 83(3), pages 1419-1441, September.
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