Who are Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd.?
Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. is a Russian company operating an integrated oil and gas project in Sakhalin Island.
What was done?
In 2006 in consultation with the four indigenous groups - Nivkhi, Uilta, Evenki, and Nanai - the company developed the Sakhalin Indigenous Minorities Development Plan (SIMDP) which seeks to mitigate negative project impacts and to share project benefits. Designing and implementing the SIMDP, including a Grievance Procedure, was done in consultation with the indigenous peoples concerned. A special committee of only indigenous representatives, elected during public meetings, makes decisions regarding how SIMDP funds are used.
Special attention is paid to the preservation of indigenous languages and culture. Some of the projects include:
- Publication of the first ABC book of the Uilta language
- A series of books published, including the Tales of the Northern Country for the Children of Sakhalin in Nivkh and Russian and a Cultural Heritage of the Peoples of the Russian Far East series
- Production of Quiet Songs of Ancestors with Nivkh folk songs
- A number of language books and dictionaries have been developed and published in native languages including Uilta, Nivkh, and Russian.
A separate joint project of Sakhalin Energy and the Russian Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is publishing the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Sakhalin indigenous languages.
