A healthy and productive Arctic Ocean and coasts that support environmental, economic and sociocultural values for current and future generations
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| Reflections from the Kola Coast |
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Shipping is but one of the many aspects of the history of northwestern Russia, one of the many factors shaping today
the Kola Saami, many elders still remember the sites, places and songs of the Kola coast. They remember the and tomorrow. Murmansk was a bustling seaport during the Soviet era, when at the height of the Cold War it was the fishing capital of Northern Russia. The Murmansk Region is home to about 2,000 Saami, who continue their traditional culture in the inland parts of the Peninsula. In the Murmansk Region, history has been witnessed, lived, forgotten, suppressed, remembered and altered. Kola Bay, with its nuclear fleets, is poised to be the jumping off point for Arctic opportunities of shipping and mineral development. The Kola coast is a smaller version of the multi-faceted, complex and layered coastal landscape and seascape that is the Russian Arctic coast today. As a part of the time of transformation, the Kola Saami are witnessing a painful rebirth of their culture and nation. Since the formation of the Russian Federation, they can collaborate with the Saami in neighboring countries. They can participate in the Arctic Council and influence,for example, the development of marine and ocean policies. Even though the seasonal salmon harvest along the fjords of Kola is over and seals are no longer harvested by yearly cycle of the ocean, birds, fish and other beings. The Kola Saami are afraid that the increased shipping and construction of new pipelines will ruin the remaining wilderness areas of the Kola. Atlantic salmon spawning rivers,such as the Ponoi, are vital traditional fishing areas for the Saami and their productivity is directly related to the ecological status of the Russian sector of the Arctic Ocean. The Kola Saami are engaging in planning and decision-making to make sure that the people of the Sun Deer will be here now and forever. |
