Human Capital Assessment in Indigenous Regions to Enable Sustainable Futures

This study is dedicated to the economic valuation of human capital (HC) in the regions where the Indigenous peoples of Kamchatka reside. The entire Kamchatksky Krai is considered an Indigenous people’s ancestral territory. However, in this study, only municipalities whose population is more than one-third Indigenous were chosen for the assessment. This includes six municipal districts and one urban district (Aleytsky, Bystrinsky, Karaginsky, Olyutorsky, Penzhinsky, and Tigilsky municipal districts and Palana urban district). The study employs statistical analysis and integrated, situational approaches: the investment approach was deemed the most appropriate tool for the economic assessment of HC in Indigenous territories. The document analysis was based on a content analysis of open-access government documents and included legal acts, resolutions, orders, and other documents issued by federal, regional, and local authorities pertaining to the economic activities of Kamchatka Indigenous peoples. Based on the proposed calculation algorithm, the assessed combined monetized value of HC for the Kamchatka territories with large Indigenous populations was RUB 38.8 billion (approximately USD 520 million) in 2021. The growth of HC in the Indigenous areas of Kamchatka was observed between the years 2017 and 2021. The mean regional value of HC per capita increased more than twofold during this period. The accurate and precise assessment of HC in the Kamchatka Indigenous homelands provides baseline information necessary for economic and sustainable policy decision-making, and the approach proposed in this paper can be applied to Indigenous communities worldwide.