“Frozen Commons” are defined as ice, snow, and permafrost landscapes collectively used and managed by the Indigenous Peoples, local communities, governments, and non-local stakeholders. Melting ice, snow, and thawing permafrost are all evidence of amplified Arctic climate change. Indigenous Arctic worldviews, infrastructure, and daily life are highly dependent on cold and/or frozen conditions. However, the cultural, social, and economic implications of climate-induced environmental change in the Arctic are still poorly understood.
This NSF-funded project will examine the sustainability of frozen commons under changing environmental conditions to assess Arctic community resilience. This project will advance transdisciplinary research by converging science, arts, local and Indigenous Knowledge systems.
Community-centered research will take place in Alaska and Siberia, involving natural and social scientists, local residents, Indigenous Peoples, and governments in research design, data collection, analysis and dissemination of results.
(A) Study area locations
(B) Khövsgöl Aimag, Mongolia containing
(C) Bayanzürkh Village (Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terre (SPOT) image acquisition date: 12 May, 2022)
(D) Upper Kuskokwim Tanana Chiefs Conference subregion of Alaska containing
(E) McGrath and Nikolai Villages (Maxar image acquisition date: 25 May, 2011).
Khövsgöl aimag
Khövsgöl aimag (Mongolian: Хөвсгөл) is the northernmost of the provinces of Mongolia, named after the stunning Lake Khövsgöl, one of the largest and most beautiful freshwater lakes in the country. The aimag was founded in 1931. Khatgal was the administrative center until 1933; since then it has been Mörön. The province is renowned for its diverse landscapes, which range from expansive grass steppes in the plains and foothills to alpine tundra at higher elevations.
As the region with the largest share of the country’s protected lands, which has helped preserve its natural beauty and ecosystems. As a result, the region remains largely untouched by industrial development. The population of the region is around 140 000 people. The local economy and way of life are deeply rooted in pastoralism—a traditional form of livestock farming. The people of Khövsgöl raise a variety of animals, including cattle, horses, sheep, goats, camels, yaks, and even reindeer. This diverse livestock culture reflects a long history of human adaptation to the region’s harsh environment.
Local societies have been living in snow, ice, and permafrost landscapes for millennia and built rich traditional knowledge systems with a deep and intricate understanding of Frozen Commons.
Bayanzürkh
The community of Bayanzürkh (from the Mongolian for “rich heart”) was founded at the confluence of the Altraga and Beltes Rivers in 1931 when Darkhad cattle herders were undergoing collectivization by the socialist Mongolian People’s Republic. Bayanzürkh’s population is around 4,200 people, and is the first settlement you meet when entering Darkhad Valley. The tentative nature of the community’s connection with others via the bridge does not appear to be as concerning to locals as issues of shared pasture degradation.
The Darkhad Depression is named after Indigenous people who practice traditional herding within the valley. Their cattle, horses, sheep, goat, camel, and yak herds roam in the valley and nearby forests, providing milk, meat, clothing, and transportation for the Darkhad. Sheep and goat wool, horse and yak meat, and gathered pine nuts and berries are also sold for income.
Darkhad cattle herding families migrate four to six times a year depending on annual fluctuations in grazing quality of pasturelands. Light and easily assembled traditional gers, or Mongolian yurts, are made of wood covered in felt or canvas. Circular footprints of former ger locations remain visible for several years as seen from drone images.
Tsagaannuur
The Dukha people have close relationships with their reindeer, which led to their Mongolian name, Tsaatans, meaning “reindeer-herding people.” These intimate human-reindeer connections include not only provision of food (meat and milk) and transportation, but also spiritual and emotional ties*. The Dukha people live primarily in areas referred to as the Eastern and Western Taiga. The population who identify as Dukha is rapidly decreasing, from 296 registered Dukha in 2000 to only 189 in 2021**.
The Dukha dwelling ortz, often likened to Native-Americans tipis, are constructed from wood and covered with birch bark in summer and reindeer hides in winter. Currently, 96 % of the territory of Tsagaannuur Sum, the administrative district where Dukha primarily reside, is either locally or nationally a protected area with various rules and regulations for land use. Tourism constitutes one of main source of income. Dukha families are offer tourists hand-made souvenirs, accommodation in their ortz, meals, and guide services.
Tsagaannuur (Mongolian for “White Lake”) was man-made in the 1920s as part of a fish factory infrastructure initiative by the new Mongolian Soviet regime. Traditional migration routes were disrupted when people were forced to settle in the Eastern Taiga village. Adults settled in the village were then coerced to work in the newfactory and children were enrolled in the village boarding school. While some Dukha resumed reindeer herding in the 1990s after the peaceful democratic revolution, some families continue to migrate close or into the village for children to attend the school year. During the Soviet era the village was connected by gravel road with southern sums, or districts, and the regional capital, Mörön. Few of these Soviet gravel roads remain intact.
Lake Khövsgöl
Although Lake Khövsgöl is located outside the Darkhad Depression, the lake plays an important role in Darkhad and Dukha livelihoods. Known as, “Mother Sea,” Lake Khövsgöl contains approximately 70% of Mongolia’s freshwater reserves, a primary justification for the establishment of nature preserves and other restrictive environmental policies in surrounding drainage basins.
During the Soviet era, Lake Khövsgöl served as an important connection between Mongolia and Russia. For local residents, the winter ice road across the lake still provides the easiest means to access the Russian-Mongolian border. The lake is also a popular tourist destination in summer. Some Darkhad and Dukha herders will visit the lake to offer services and sell crafts.
