Big Miner Engages Architects in UN-Compliant Indigenous Resettlement in Arctic

Image source: Norilsk Nickel official website

Russian miner Nornickel held a public consultation with indigenous people living in the Arctic settlement of Tukhard with participation of architecture bureau Wowhaus and the Norilsk Development Agency as part of a process to obtain UN-approved free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) for their resettlement from industrial sanitary zone.

The meeting was dedicated to the new settlement’s master plan and house plans. Previously, Nornickel organized three rounds of consultations involving international experts in indigenous people’s rights, who came to Tukhard to give advice on the rights and opportunities related to this project.

Tukhard is located on Russia’s Taimyr Peninsula on the banks of the Bolshaya Kheta River, which flows into the Yenisei River 30 kilometers from the village. It was built back in late 1960s at an industrial site, but according to current laws, permanent residence is prohibited on industrial sanitary zones. To resettle people, many of whom are local reindeer herders, a few kilometers away, their FPIC is important.

“After five months of negotiations, we obtained a consent from Tukhard residents to move subject to certain conditions, including the ability to choose social and utility infrastructure options, as well as requirements for the settlement’s appearance and reindeer herding infrastructure. An important relocation consent condition was the community’s involvement in all stages, from design to construction of the settlement,” Nornickel’s indigenous engagement expert Vasily Zakharov said.

The new settlement project, fully financed by Nornickel, will become a benchmark for renovating other remote settlements in the Russian North, the company said.

The Tukhard master plan envisages a modern settlement that supports traditional ways of life of indigenous peoples. The master plan carefully considered the local climate and landscape profile, with curved streets protecting against the wind, main public areas all located within a five-minute walk, a landscaped lake embankment, and a pier on the river.

“It is important to enable the settlement’s organic development in the future. So the best way to do this is not just ask residents about their vision for their settlement but involve them in the design and decision-making processes,” Oleg Shapiro, a co-founder of Wowhaus, which drafted the new settlement’s design, said.

Tukhard’s final master plan is expected to be presented to all interested parties this fall.