Norilsk holds the second meeting of the Coordination Council of the Indigenous Peoples' Communities

The second meeting of the Taimyr indigenous communities Coordination Council was attended by Nikolai Utkin, Senior Vice President of Norilsk Nickel. He greeted the community representatives and spoke about the stages of support within the framework of the assistance program for the primordial inhabitants of Taimyr adopted for five years. The indigenous people themselves also made proposals to improve life on the peninsula. This was reported in an article published by the Severny Gorod Daily.

Members of the Association of Indigenous Minorities of Taimyr (AIMT), leaders of five family and clan communities and representatives of Norilsk Nickel discussed how the implementation of the Taimyr social and economic development program is progressing. Designed for five years, the program was developed by the company together with public figures and authorities in 2020. Two billion rubles were allocated to fund the program.

Speaking at the second meeting, Nikolai Utkin noted that another 100 million rubles would be added to the total funding. The funds will be used to help reindeer herders and family communities to meet their top priorities.

“I have something to please you,” Nikolai Utkin said addressing to the indigenous people representatives. “I look forward to your proposals aimed at the development of territories, at solving the problems that you and your colleagues have.”

Earlier, under the program of assistance for communities and farms, the company compensated for the losses caused to the original habitat as a result of the oil spill at TPP-3 in May 2020. Norilsk Nickel allocated 175 million rubles for payments to Taimyr residents. In addition, Norilsk Nickel helped young residents of the peninsula from among orphans to buy apartments; the company gave a chance to 19 young people from villages to study at the Norilsk Industrial Institute at its own expense, and so on. Much has been done to revive reindeer husbandry: for example, more than 13 million rubles have been allocated for the study of 15 000 square kilometers of reindeer pastures in the Avamskaya tundra.

It should be kept in mind that the core of the coordinating council is made up of representatives of the Taimyr communities from the Norilo-Pyasinsk system including residents of Ust-Avam and Volochanka. The measures included in the Agreement with Norilsk Nickel were discussed in detail. Among other things, the participants discussed how to streamline the process of interaction with the authorities in the allocation of certain resources and to what ends the help from Norilsk Nickel should be directed first of all.

Following the meeting, the company's management received a response from the indigenous people themselves.

Valery Vengo, Vice President of the Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation for the development of rural areas spoke about what regulatory and legislative acts should be consolidated and how to build a systematic work of the authorities, business and residents of the region, how important it is that Norilsk Nickel decided to increase basic assistance to the indigenous communities.

“There is confidence that the company is ready to be a resident of the Arctic zone, a responsible business, and be responsible for partnerships with the indigenous people living in the territory of its presence. It is necessary to streamline the process of support from government bodies and constituent entities of the Russian Federation,” he said.

As an example of social interaction and assistance, he named several facilities built in the villages of the Taimyr Peninsula, including in the village of Tukhard, where a new school, a rural House of Culture, an administration building, etc. were built.
Recently it was decided to rebuild a new hospital there, as well as to relocate the residents of the village - reindeer herders and their families - in three stages providing new housing.

“Construction at some point stalled, but Norilsk Nickel supported the initiative, and today it is ready to complete the construction of Tukhard with its own efforts and resources. This is a good example of private and public partnerships. Except for Norilsk Nickel, no one is so close and clearly approaching such issues,” stressed the vice-president of the Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation.

According to Vengo, additional funds from the company will go to direct assistance to communities, reindeer and fish farms, strengthening the material and technical base in the villages, and subsidizing transportation costs.

“This assistance can simply go to help the indigenous people who find themselves in difficult life situations - this is often observed today,” he said.

According to him, by the end of August, the Coordination Council will collect and present more specific and pinpointed proposals from indigenous people. By the end of the summer, they will also compile a register of communities that can apply for this or that assistance from the company.

“The federal state and the Krasnoyarsk Territory also have a program of assistance to indigenous people. We hope that from 800 million it will be increased to 1 billion rubles - after all, we are talking about the whole of Russia. The Krasnoyarsk Territory could be a pioneer in this field,” summed up Vengo.

Grigory Dyukarev, Chairman of the Taimyr Indigenous Peoples Association confirmed that the work on interaction with indigenous people is carried out by Norilsk Nickel promptly and timely, including in terms of joint activities with the Research Institute of Agriculture and Ecology of the Arctic.

“Due to climate change and for a number of other reasons, the number of reindeers has decreased by 2,000, but thanks to Norilsk Nickel scientists who have arrived on the territory make new maps of the grounds, determine their ecological and economic potential,” he said.

Zinaida Veselovskaya, Head of the Agapa Family (Tribal) Community of the Indigenous Peoples of the North said that she raised the issue of logistics within her village at a meeting held by Norilsk Nickel’s Polar Division. Now, in her opinion, there is hope to solve the problem with the transportation of fish catch – before that this process was at a standstill, and her fellow countrymen could not receive timely payments for fishing.

“I liked the attitude displayed by the head of the Norilsk Division of Norilsk Nickel to indigenous people. Our applications and proposals are accepted and will be satisfied. The company will solve the problem of transportation thus making cheaper the products from the fishing point. We will be grateful for such support,” she said.