Indigenous minorities of the North should be allocated land free of charge in their places of residence, believes Igor Shpektor, Chairman of the Commission for the Development of Social Infrastructure, Local Government and the Public Utilities Sector at the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation and President of the Union of Cities in the Arctic Region and the Extreme North.

“It is necessary to grant (indigenous minorities of the North) free use of various categories of land, including rivers and lakes. This right should be granted at the federal level,” Shpektor said during the conference “International Cooperation in the Arctic: New Challenges and Vectors of Development.”

Shpektor believes that the main problems facing indigenous minorities of the North are the absence of legal regulation for imposing tax on reindeer breeders, the auction system for obtaining fishing grounds, and fishing standards. The registration procedure in the place of residence and receiving pension contributions also constitute a problem for indigenous minorities of the North. Shpektor proposes to enact a law regulating these issues.

The international conference “International Cooperation in the Arctic: New Challenges and Vectors of Development” is taking place in Moscow on October 12−13, 2016. Participants in this event include Special Presidential Representative for Environmental Protection, Ecology and Transport Sergei Ivanov, Special Presidential Representative for International Cooperation in the Arctic and Antarctic Artur Chilingarov, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Ferring Pharmaceuticals Frederik Paulsen, executive officers of the Arctic Councils of Russia, Norway and Iceland, officials from Denmark and Canada and other representatives of relevant ministries and agencies and big business, leading experts from Arctic Council member states and observer states.