New data was obtained by fieldwork and analysed and evaluated against the background of existing information provides a comprehensive understanding on the state the environment and the economic potential of available natural resources within the area (traditional territory) of the Itelmen people extending over 26.800 km² on the Western coast of the Kamchatka peninsula in the Koryak Autonomous district of the Russian Federation. The results of this project, written up in a comprehensive report of 180 pp. (In Russian) and published in various articles in Russian and H-German, were discussed with members of the local community at a conference in the Itelmen village of Korvan in September 1996, and can be summarised as follows:
It was possible to make detailed assessments of the future use of various natural resources in terms of their availability and profitability, as well as of potential conflicting environmental impacts of certain economic activities. An example for this would be the high risk of planned off-shore oil and gas drilling for one of the most valuable renewable resources for the local economy, the Kamchatka crab, which is extensively used for export. Together with the considerable economic potential of fish and other marine resources, possible incomes from land-based hunting and trapping, above all sable, were ascertained, as well as their sustained yield. Furthermore, opportunities are seen, to develop a special kind of ecotourism which could create new incomes and employment, in particular for indigenous populations in more remote areas. Beyond the accurate mapping of the territory with regard to different qualities of the environment, reliable data has been obtained for the first time by means of chemical analysis on the occurrence of microelements in soils and local food resources in order to ascertain potential health risks for the local populations.
The efficient European-Russian interdisciplinary collaboration between natural and social scientists on these issues has lead to the conceptualisation of various follow-up projects, such as one on preserving biodiversity and employing sustainable development regimes, in accordance with the recently announced World Heritage status for parts of central Kamchatka.
