Sámi reindeer herders prepare for changed climate in Sweden
Reindeer owners in the Sámi reindeer herding community of Vilhelmina Norra, in the northwestern Swedish province of Västerbotten, will work with researchers to find new ways for reindeer herders to adapt to changes in climate.
The community is conducting the project in collaboration with the Department of Government at Umeå University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). There, studies are already underway to examine reindeer herding conditions and how they may be affected by future climatic changes.
A meeting was recently held and attended by 20 members from the Sámi reindeer herding community, representatives from the Sámi Parliament, the Swedish Forest Agency, Umeå University and SLU.
An important conclusion reached during the meeting is that it’s impossible to isolate the climatic challenges from other factors that can influence reindeer herding.
“We have therefore placed the climatic changes in a larger context in the project and investigated how the Sámi reindeer herding community can expand its capabilities to take action within other areas, so as to be able to meet future changes to the climate,” says Annette Löf, political scientist, Umeå University.
