Das Projekt "Naturressourcen im Gebiet der Itelmenen in West-Kamtschatka" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Berlin, Fachbereich Philosophie und Sozialwissenschaften II, Institut für Ethnologie durchgeführt. The study has been carried out by a Russian expert group of natural scientists of the Kamchatka Institute of Ecology and Nature Management, RAS, in collaboration with E. Kasten as part of the project 'Ethnizitaetsprozesse' at the Institut fuer Ethnologie der Freien Universitaet Berlin. New data obtained by fieldwork and analyzed and evaluated against the boackground of existing information provides a comprehensive understanding on the state of the environment and the economic potential of available natural resources within the area (traditional territory) of the Itelmen people extending over 26.800 km2 on the Western coast of the Kamchatka peninsula in the Koryak Autonomous District of the Russian Federation: The result of this project, writen up in a comprehensive report of 180 pp. (in Russian) and published in various articles in Russian and German, were discussed with members of the local community at a conference in the Itelmen village of Kovran in September 1996, and can be summarized as follows: It was possible to make detailed assessments on the future use of various natural resources in terms of their availability and profitability, as well of potential conflicting environmental impacts of certain economic activities. An example for this would be the high risk of planned off-shore oil and gas drilling for one of the most valuable renewable resources for the local economy, the Kamchatka crab, which is extensively used for export. Together with the considerable economic potential of fish and other marine resources, possible incomes from land-based hunting and trapping, above all sabel, were ascertained, as well as their sustained yield. Furthermore, opportunities are seen to develop a special kind of ecotoursm which could create new incomes and employment, in particular for indigenous populations in more remote areas. Beyond the accurate mapping of the territory with regard to different qualities of the environment, reliable data has been obtained for the first time by means of chemical analysis on the occurrence of microelements in soils and local resources in order to ascertain potential health risks for the local populations.