Community Observations Direct Spatial Analysis of Wildfires in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia

Keywords: Boreal, Wildfires, Remote Sensing, Arctic, Road Networks, Subsistence Livelihoods, Indigenous Communities
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Boreal forest landscapes in Siberia are experiencing accelerated environmental degradation as a result of logging, industrial expansion, and wildfires, often mediated by the expanding informal road network. Informal roads are undocumented and unmaintained by any local or regional government. There is evidence that informal roads, which include industrial access roads, logging roads, trails, and paths can promote wildfire ignition. This research explores the interactions between wildfires and informal road networks surrounding the Indigenous Evenki villages of Vershina Khandy and Tokma in southeastern Siberia. The villages are located in a taiga forest environment with discontinuous permafrost and the surrounding lands and bodies of water are utilized by local residents for subsistence activities such as hunting, fishing, and foraging. This study integrates interview data with remote sensing, and spatial statistics, to examine the wildfires that occurred in 2016 in an attempt to understand the contributing factors to wildfire ignitions as perceived by the local residents. Initial results contribute to our overall understanding of boreal forest fires, and can provide new insights into the socio-ecological structures at play in this region and their sensitivities to climate and industrial development.