Climate Change, Land Use Conflicts, Predation and Ecological Degradation as Challenges for Reindeer Husbandry in Northern Europe: What do We Really Know After Half a Century of Research?

Pape, Roland; Löffler, Jörg

doi:10.1007/s13280-012-0257-6

Cited by 103 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…The reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) are herded in a pastoral system, where the animals move freely in the landscape during most of the year, often making extensive migrations between seasonal ranges to make use of the natural forage resources. One of the major threats to current Sámi reindeer husbandry is habitat loss due to direct or indirect impacts from competing land use (Danell 2005;Pape and Loeffler 2012). Numerous studies have documented large-scale effects on free-ranging reindeer from industrial development, resorts, roads, power lines and forestry operations, especially during late winter and the calving season (for review see Skarin and Å hman 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The disruption of migration routes as a result of human activities and infrastructure has been observed for decades amongst reindeer herders (Klein 1971;Vistnes and Nellemann 2001;Ö ssbo and Lantto 2011;Pape and Loeffler 2012), however it has not previously been quantified scientifically with respect to free-ranging reindeer. The effects of reindeer on additional development in already fragmented landscapes are important to understand in order to address fully the impacts of progressive development (Nellemann et al 2003;Joly et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Wind farm construction impacts reindeer migration and movement corridors

et al. 2015

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Context Over the last decade, we have seen a massive increase in the construction of wind farms in northern Fennoscandia. Wind farms comprising hundreds of wind turbines are being built, with little knowledge of the possible cumulative adverse effects on the habitat use and migration of semi-domesticated free-ranging reindeer. Objectives We assessed how reindeer responded to wind farm construction in an already fragmented landscape, with specific reference to the effects on use of movement corridors and reindeer habitat selection. Methods We used GPS-data from reindeer during calving and post-calving in the Malå reindeer herding community in Sweden. We analysed data from the pre-development years compared to the construction years of two relatively small wind farms. Results During construction of the wind farms, use of original migration routes and movement corridors within 2 km of development declined by 76 %. This decline in use corresponded to an increase in activity of the reindeer measured by increased step lengths within 0-5 km. The step length was highest nearest the development and declining with distance, as animals moved towards migration corridors and turned around or were observed in holding patterns while not crossing. During construction, reindeer avoided the wind farms at both regional and landscape scale of selection. Conclusions The combined construction activities associated with even a few wind turbines combined with power lines and roads in or close to central movement corridors caused a reduction in the use of such corridors and grazing habitat and increased the fragmentation of the reindeer calving ranges.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wind farm construction impacts reindeer migration and movement corridors

et al. 2015

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“…The reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) are herded in a pastoral system, where the animals move freely in the landscape during most of the year. One of the major threats for contemporary Sámi reindeer husbandry is habitat loss due to direct or indirect impact from competing land use (Danell 2005;Pape and Loeffler 2012). The UN Environment Programme and European Union have concluded that nearly one-third of the current traditional Sámi reindeer husbandry ranges in Northern Europe are severely affected by or partly inaccessible for reindeer herding due to the presence of infrastructure, industrial development or other human activity (UNEP 2001;.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do human activity and infrastructure disturb domesticated reindeer? The need for the reindeer’s perspective

Skarin

Åhman

2014

Polar Biol

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In recent decades, human-Rangifer (reindeer and caribou) interactions have increasingly been studied from a scientific perspective. Many of the studies have examined Norwegian wild reindeer or caribou in North America. It is often questioned whether results from these studies can be applied to reindeer in managed herds, as these animals have been exposed to domestication and are also more used to humans. In order to examine the domesticated reindeer's reactions to various disturbance sources, we reviewed 18 studies of the effects of human activity and infrastructure on 12 populations of domesticated reindeer and compared these to studies on wild reindeer and caribou; based on this, we discuss the effects of domestication and tameness on reindeer responses to anthropogenic disturbance. We also consider the relevance of spatial and temporal scales and data collection methods when evaluating the results of these studies. The reviewed studies showed that domesticated reindeer exhibit avoidance behaviours up to 12 km away from infrastructure and sites of human activity and that the area they avoid may shift between seasons and years. Despite a long domestication process, reindeer within Sami reindeer-herding systems exhibit similar patterns of large-scale avoidance of anthropogenic disturbance as wild Rangifer, although the strength of their response may sometimes differ. This is not surprising since current Sami reindeer husbandry represents an extensive form of pastoralism, and the reindeer are not particularly tame. To obtain a true picture of how reindeer use their ranges, it is of fundamental importance to study the response pattern at a spatial and temporal scale that is relevant to the reindeer, whether domesticated or wild.

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“…This is a fairly novel concern: as late as the 1960s a key textbook on reindeer management did not discuss 'excessive' reindeer as an environmental problem (Skjenneberg 1965), but with the increased focus on environmental issues in the 1970s and 1980s terms such as 'overgrazing' (overbeiting) moved to the fore in Scandinavian research on reindeer management (Pape & Löffler 2012). Along with this increased attention, the matter of excessive reindeer was also progressively configured as a technical problem, to be 'solved' through managerial interventions (Reinert 2012).…”

Section: History Of a Perceived Ecological Crisismentioning

confidence: 99%

Misreading the Arctic landscape: A political ecology of reindeer, carrying capacities, and overstocking in Finnmark, Norway

Benjaminsen¹,

Reinert²,

Sjaastad³

et al. 2015

Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift - Norwegian Journal of Geography

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Sámi reindeer pastoralism in Norway is said to be in a state of crisis that has lasted for several decades and is due to excessive numbers of reindeer. A general overstocking of the range is believed to cause widespread pasture degradation, poor economic performance, and increasing land-use conflicts. These are the main assumptions of a dominant narrative shared by key government and non-governmental actors, most scientists, and the media. The resulting policy focuses on reducing reindeer numbers to set carrying capacities in order to promote ecological sustainability and improve economic performance through the means of increasing carcass weights. The article presents a critical review of the ecological evidence behind the dominant narrative. The authors conclude that the narrative and the associated policy lead to a misreading of the Arctic pastoral landscape that neglects both alternative scientific evidence and interpretations in line with non-equilibrium ecology as well as the indigenous knowledge of the reindeer herders. Hence, such alternative perspectives generally remain invisible to the government institutions that regulate the practice of reindeer management. Further, the authors' study resonates with wider theoretical debates about state governance within political ecology and development studies in general.

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Climate Change, Land Use Conflicts, Predation and Ecological Degradation as Challenges for Reindeer Husbandry in Northern Europe: What do We Really Know After Half a Century of Research?

Cited by 103 publications

References 83 publications

Wind farm construction impacts reindeer migration and movement corridors

Wind farm construction impacts reindeer migration and movement corridors

Do human activity and infrastructure disturb domesticated reindeer? The need for the reindeer’s perspective

Misreading the Arctic landscape: A political ecology of reindeer, carrying capacities, and overstocking in Finnmark, Norway

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