Prevent desecration of pristine Altai habitats

Summary

Stop governmental sale to developers of endangered habitats and pristine lands by securing legal communal title and rights to the ancestral lands of 60,000 indigenous Siberians.

What is the issue, problem, or challenge?

The unspoiled land of Altai are a global legacy that the Altai people have held in trust forever. Fund the surveying and registration of 100 communal tracts of land (300-400 acres/tract) and five unprotected UNESCO World Heritage Sites, before unregistered lands must be forfeited to the government in 2010 due to new Russian land privatization laws. Villages are completely mobilized, needing only the funding for the required fees. Displacement would mean devastation of cultural wisdom and land.

How will this project solve this problem?

Women elders lead in gathering their communities to protect aboriginal lands and culture. Volunteers secure complex documentation to be processed through the government and courts, to officially survey, register, and secure communally-held lands.

Potential Long Term Impact

Survival of culture, health, and continue traditional role as stewards of the land. Indigenous ownership will protect sacred virgin lands from the massive commercial and tourism development projects that are already moving forward in the region.

Project Message

The whole world hears about the sanctity of the land of Altai and about the spiritual culture of the people living on this ground. But only a few understand what irreversible processes are occurring.
- Svetlana Katynova, Volunteer community leader

Additional Documentation

This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).

Resources

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