Participatory meaning making of environmental and cultural changes in reindeer herding in the northernmost border area of Sweden and Finland

Observed Regional Climate Variability during the Last 50 Years in Reindeer Herding Cooperatives of Finnish Fell Lapland

“…By assessing whether there is any evidence of change in climate in Fell Lapland over the last 50 years, the present paper attempts to link global climatic trends with local conditions and respond to the need of information at the local level. In addition, the obtained results from climate and weather data treatment and analysis were used in semi-structured interviews with Finnish and Sámi reindeer herders of Fell Lapland [14,19]. This paper finally aims at assessing the changes in temperature, precipitation and snow cover in Fell Lapland at a regional and local scale, and at determining the climatic trends over half a century in order to anticipate the future evolution.…”

“…In Finnish Lapland, reindeer herders' activity is strongly dependent on the surrounding natural environment. Reindeer herding systems can be considered as nature-based cultural livelihood systems [19] whose practitioners are both Sámi and non-Sámi people [20], and it is an excellent indicator of livelihood welfare, especially as the activity is directly exposed to environmental changes and climatic variations [21,22]. Indeed, the seasonal migrations of reindeer, the availability of the ground and tree lichen [23] and the calving rate and period [13] can be affected by weather conditions, particularly in the wintertime.…”

“…The study area comprises three reindeer herding cooperatives of Fell Lapland in the North of Finland (Table 1 and Figure 1). More precisely, the Käsivarsi reindeer herding cooperative is partly located in the Scandinavian Alps and offers a tundra landscape where Sámi herders breed around 10,000 reindeer (Reindeer Herder's Association, n.d.) around the fells under, sometimes, very hazardous weather conditions [19]. Fell mountains are still present in the northern part of Näkkälä reindeer herding cooperative, which is located in the taiga-tundra transition zone.…”

“…Fell mountains are still present in the northern part of Näkkälä reindeer herding cooperative, which is located in the taiga-tundra transition zone. Further south, the boreal forest covers the partially hilly surface of Muonio reindeer herding cooperative, which includes about 6000 reindeer (Reindeer Herder's Association, n.d.) that migrate around the pine and spruce forests and peat lands of the Muonionjoki River valley [19]. The whole study area is a region where the sustainability of reindeer herding and pasture conditions is at the heart of many debates involving a "complex set of ecological, political, cultural and socioeconomic issues" [25] (p. 141).…”

“…The whole study area is a region where the sustainability of reindeer herding and pasture conditions is at the heart of many debates involving a "complex set of ecological, political, cultural and socioeconomic issues" [25] (p. 141). The vulnerability of reindeer herding livelihood is prone to combined social-ecological pressures [19], whose starting point is often linked to climate change. By assessing whether there is any evidence of change in climate in Fell Lapland over the last 50 years, the present paper attempts to link global climatic trends with local conditions and respond to the need of information at the local level.…”