Environmental Knowledgeof the North

This web portal aims to stimulate discussions on environmental knowledge and sustainable relationships with nature among the peoples of the North. Indigenous knowledge is brought together with current scientific research. Worldviews and rituals convey unique values in how people relate to nature and serve to implement this knowledge into practice and everyday life. The environmental knowledge of the peoples of the North is based on continuous observation of nature and has been developed over many generations. As in the past, this knowledge is best conveyed to young people in the form of oral traditions together with practical guidance. The way these narratives are presented here by local people is in keeping with this tradition. Through their observations, experiences, and activities, they provide us with insights into their relationship with nature. The focus is on the northern regions of Europe, Western Siberia, Central Siberia, and Northeastern Siberia.

This website was created as part of a project carried out in 2021 under the “Eastern Partnership and Russia” program of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany and is continuously being updated with new content. Further outcomes of the project included the book publications: