Alyp Initiative Group
Background and objective
In 1998, the Tengri School of Spiritual Ecology established the Uch-Enmek Karakol Ethno-Nature Park to preserve, protect, and develop the natural and cultural space of the sacred valley. The establishment of the park was a necessary step, given that Russian law has no other category of land use that enables special protection for sacred lands. This nature park is the first protected area in Russia created at the initiative of the local indigenous population. In recent years, local authorities have been taking measures that exclude the indigenous communities from co-managing protected areas established in their traditional (tribal) and sacred lands.
The project seeks to consolidate local landholders of agricultural lands into a single association of indigenous landholders with unified rules for traditional land use, and establish a legal process for government regulatory action aiming to preserve ethnocultural interests for the local community, both within the protected area and outside of it.
The team developed a legal concept for self-governance within protected areas and established a platform for dialogue between the indigenous population and the government. We also established a platform for the application of international principles (UNESCO, IUCN) for the protection of sacred natural places in Russia’s regional protected areas system.
Local partner information
The Alyp Initiative Group was formed in the early 2000s when traditional farms established during the Perestroika era, and many people were unable to correctly register their lands and affirm their right to use those lands. Gradually this became the primary focus of the organization to support the land titling/registration processes of indigenous populations.
