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This paper reflects on the experience of the PhotoVoice workshops conducted with the Dukha and Darkhad communities in Mongolia. These workshops were designed to empower local communities to tell their own stories and share their own perspectives, even among those who had little to no experience in storytelling, photography, or visual arts. In remote communities, the workshop's success highly depends on a facilitator who shares the cultural background of the audience and can relate to existing cultural traditions of learning, sharing knowledge, and communicating any concerns. By centering the experiences and voices of the participants, providing them with the tools and encouragement to become active storytellers and agents of change within their communities, these workshops yielded benefits that extended beyond the project itself. While the research results of the workshop are to be created during the following year, the process of its organization may be relevant for other community-engaged projects that value inclusive research practices. The PhotoVoice in Khövsgöl aimag (province) was conducted as part of the FC project. 

Abstract: Short statement submitted to the 2026 Arctic Observing Summit. 

Abstract Cryosphere has a global role as a biogeophysical phenomenon. It affects the livelihoods of people inhabiting permafrost areas and is affected by human activity within and outside of the cryosphere’s geographical span. ‘Frozen commons’ (FCs) are cryosphere resources and landscapes, defined by snow, ice, and permafrost, that are experienced, used, protected and managed by groups of people together. This paper highlights collaboration between herders and scientists aimed at improving the understanding of FCs in northern Mongolia, a region of rapid cryosphere transformation. The impact of climate change on Indigenous and pastoralist communities in Mongolia is profound, leading to the damage or loss of FCs critical to local livelihoods. Therefore, Indigenous and local knowledge becomes crucial in assessing and predicting the climate-driven dynamics of FCs. In 2022, 2023, 2024 a team of permafrost scientists, geographers, and economists conducted interviews in reindeer and cattle herder camps in Khövsgöl Aimag (Province) located in the northern part of Mongolia. Local livelihoods do not depend only on cattle, which allows us to examine a variety of animal–environment interactions and impacts on pastoralism. The analysis of interviews indicates that FCs are a vital resource for the Khövsgöl communities and holds significant importance in their daily lives. Permafrost plays a key role for herders as it provides water resources for pastures and local rivers, which is critical during dry summers. Ice and snow also have many uses, such as a source of water, winter transport and the basis of cultural events. As winters become shorter and ice conditions become less predictable, the sustainability and availability of these resources for local people are under threat. In light of these challenges, it is imperative to formulate climate adaptation and mitigation strategies through collaborative efforts that actively involve and respect the perspectives of Indigenous and local people. 

The availability of natural resources drives the exploration and transformation of remote regions in the Arctic and beyond. Extractive infrastructure is one of the major sources of industrial development and environmental impact on landscapes. For Indigenous people, these landscapes are homely environments full of sentient beings, and for other local communities, they provide a wide variety of subsistence and hunting resources. While extractive infrastructure violence is the evident issue for many Indigenous communities, there are more complicated situations where extractive infrastructure is adopted and utilized for the subsistence and support of other human and more-than-human relations in local and Indigenous communities. Based on materials from interviews and observations with Evenki communities in Eastern Siberia in 2013–2021, the authors discuss the complex relations and sustainability issues entangled around infrastructure objects’ creation, use, maintenance, and transformations. The results demonstrate a wide variety of relations between obshchinas (non-governmental organizations of Indigenous peoples) and extractive companies constructed with infrastructure development of the latter. The paper discusses the shortcomings of the top-down approach in infrastructure planning and the need for contextualization and meaningful engagement with affected communities, some examples of which have already taken place in specific locales. The study concludes by calling for the support of environmentally and socially just infrastructure defined by Indigenous people and local communities as a way to increase sustainability. 

In northeast Russia, the famous historic Kolyma Road spans two thousand kilometers across two federal subjects of the Russian Federation: the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) and Magadan Oblast. Thousands of people live along and in close proximity to the road, depending on it for communication, mobility, goods, and life support. As the major transportation infrastructure in the entire region, it should be reliable and stable for local communities’ well-being. One strategic approach to ensure its reliability is to acknowledge the role of Indigenous knowledge, which has been neglected despite being established long before the emergence of existing formal systems of communication. Based on data collected through fieldwork, personal observations, and conversations, this paper aims to demonstrate that Indigenous knowledge regarding ways of living, moving, and communicating along and on the road is the key to sustainability in the region. As a result, we claim that this realization should be manifested in designing and implementing communication and mobility systems based on the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In the long term, it is necessary to develop a sustainable road management system for the Kolyma Road to ensure the security and well-being of local communities and for everyone visiting and working on the road.