Klímaváltozás antropológiai szemszögből : Örökké fagyott talaj és nagyjószág-tartás Jakutiában

The paper focuses on the changing perception and use of alaases (i.e. round-shaped meadows in thermocarst depressions) in a Central-Yakutian village community under the impact of global climate change. First, the author provides a brief description of the local cattle economy before collectivisation (1930), pointing out that households used to be located at alaases and they used small and disperse hayfields. Subsequent economic reforms in the Soviet era and decollectivisation in the 1990s distanced villagers from alaases. Therefore knowledge on the alaas ecotope has radically diminished. In the 21st century global warming has changed agriculture in Central-Yakutia. Increase in annual precipitation and in mean annual temperature has resulted in the rapid humidification of permafrost soil and the degradation of hayfields. Three factors expose today’s agricultural production in the village to ongoing climatic changes: low level of self-dependency in agricultural production, undiversified production of unprocessed raw material, and the vanishing concepts of local spiritual ecology. The author argues that anthropological research can effectively contribute to the mitigation of losses in Sakha cattle economy by studying traditional methods of land use and the perception of environment