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Abstract
ABSTRACT Extractive industries are rapidly developing in Siberian boreal forests, also known as the taiga. Expanding informal roads are undocumented, nor officially maintained, and range from wide industrial easements to narrow trails. Remote communities use informal roads for subsistence, intercommunity, and market access. This study quantifies informal road expansion surrounding Indigenous Evenki villages in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia; describes subsistence uses and ecological impacts; and offers good practice recommendations for research collaborations between Indigenous communities, researchers, and students. Interviews and mobile ethnographies informed a student-run crowdsourcing event, or “mapathon,” to digitize roads from high-resolution 1960s aerial photos and 2010s satellite imagery. Informal roads expanded more than 50 times surrounding the two villages over the last 50 years. Specific road case studies examine complex environmental justice questions regarding access, maintenance, and landscape fragmentation. Data distribution through OpenStreetMap offers empowerment through increased visibility of this unregulated development. Keywords: Indigenous knowledge, landscape fragmentation, mapathon, OpenStreetMap, Siberia
Published Version
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