概要
With offshore oil and gas projects under increasing international scrutiny, far less attention is paid to some of the major onshore oil and gas developments in northern Russia, where ongoing production is having significant impacts on fragile arctic ecosystems, and the Indigenous communities reliant on the land and waters for their livelihoods. This chapter focuses on the experiences and perceptions of local people in Usinsk Rayon in Russia's Komi Republic, an area that suffers regular oil spills. The author explores the current context of Usinsk Rayon, and compares how global sustainability standards and companies' understandings of their own 'corporate social responsibility' measures compare to local perceptions of these on the ground. The chapter concludes that local communities must redefine the 'social licence' between themselves, government and industry, in order to confront the expectation that provision of social benefits can be used to balance out environmental damamge.