Damages to indigenous communities of Yakutia from industrial companies amount to 1.3 billion rubles

Damage from activities of industrial companies operating in the places of residence of the indigenous small peoples of the North in Yakutia was estimated at 1.3 billion rubles, according to Deputy Minister for Arctic Development and Affairs of the Peoples of the North of the Republic of Yakutia Mikhail Pogodaev.

The Law on ethnological assessment has been in force in Yakutia since 2010. It is mandatory to conduct such an assessment before making decisions on the implementation of the planned economic and other activities in the places of traditional residence and traditional economic activities of indigenous peoples.

"In general, during the period of validity of the regional law on ethnological assessment, we conducted 66 ethnological examinations. The total losses from the activities of industrial companies in the territory of residence of indigenous peoples amounted to more than 1.364 billion rubles," Pogodaev said during the Northern Forum in Yakutsk.

The Deputy minister clarified that 251 million rubles of compensation have been paid out of this amount at the moment.

The law on ethnological assessment is designed to minimize conflicts between indigenous people and industrial companies, tass.ru notes.