What benefit-sharing arrangements between indigenous communities and oil companies in the Arctic are more equitable?

Postdoc Maria Tysiachniouk spoke at the ‘Arctic Social Science and Humanities Symposium’. At the symposium new social scientific research on the relation between communities and the oil and gas industry in the Arctic was presented. Also the role and relevance of new scientific insights for Dutch policy makers, companies, organisations and researchers was discussed.

In her presentation Maria compared different types of benefit-sharing arrangements between indigenous communities and oil companies in Russia and Alaska. She asked which of these arrangements are more equitable. Unfortunately, there is no ideal blueprint of best benefit sharing practices. Maria concluded that benefit sharing practices are highly variable and dependent on institutional, financial and political settings. If we want equitable and transparent benefit-sharing arrangements Maria recommends the development and use of global standard guidelines on benefit sharing.

You can find more information on Maria’s research project ‘Developing benefit-sharing standards in the Arctic’ here.

You can find Maria’s presentation here.

You can find the report of the Arctic Social Science and Humanities Symposium here