Ground lichen development and consultation between reindeer husbandry and forestry : the past, present and future of samråd in Sweden

Sammanfattning

Samråd has long been the policy instrument for consultation between forestry and reindeer husbandry in Sweden. Natural pasture-based reindeer husbandry is crucial to the Sami culture, and ground lichen is the key winter grazing resource for the reindeer, while forestry has great economic significance. In recent decades the volume and denseness of the forest have significantly increased, contributing to a strong decline in lichen-abundant forest. The aim of this thesis is to investigate what could contribute to a more balanced development of the two key resources, timber and ground lichen, taking its departure in samråd as the instrument for consultation.

Results show that reindeer husbandry’s expectations regarding samråd have differed from forestry’s, and that samråd has mainly become an instrument for information exchange. Analysis of Swedish National Forest Inventory data shows that ground lichen cover declined by 57% from 1993 to 2015, while there was no declining trend from 2015 to 2023. Results also show that a significant increase in lichen cover could be possible using conventional forestry methods adapted in timing and intensity. Scenario analyses were used to show how lichen habitat could increase in the future through specific forest management strategies, and also showed the resulting decrease in economic output for the forest company.

The thesis discusses reasons why this new knowledge might not be implemented. These include that consensus in samråd is voluntary, the reindeer herders have low levels of influence and power, and the decisions governing samråd are made at a higher level. Implementing the results of the thesis in the forest companies’ strategic planning could to some extent replace samråd and guarantee a certain lichen habitat development. However, this is not likely in today’s context, and might require changes in areas such as legislation, certification, or international/national societal pressure.

Nyckelord

boreal forest; forest management; reindeer husbandry; consultation; environmental policy; indigenous land use; voluntary policy instruments; knowledge; samråd; Sweden

Publicerad i

Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae
2025, nummer: 2025:17
Utgivare: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

SLU författare

• Roos, Ulrika

  • Institutionen för skoglig resurshushållning, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

UKÄ forskningsämne

Husdjursvetenskap
Skogsvetenskap
Statsvetenskap (Exklusive freds- och konfliktforskning)

Publikationens identifierare

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.54612/a.1la6mtsetf
• ISBN: 978-91-8046-452-9
• eISBN: 978-91-8046-502-1

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/132957