Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2020
Shifting Strategies between Generations in Sami Reindeer Husbandry: the Challenges of Maintaining Traditions while Adapting to a Changing Context
Axelsson-Linkowski, Weronika; Fjellstrom, Anna-Maria; Sandstrom, Camilla; Westin, Anna; Ostlund, Lars; Moen, JonAbstract
Many traditional pastoralist systems are greatly impacted by cumulative encroachments of other land users and by climate change. Understanding land degradation and the adaptive capacity of people who are dependent on the rangelands is an urgent priority for many areas in the world. In this research we explore how changing environmental conditions affect herding strategies on winter pastures and the role of indigenous and local traditional knowledge (ILK) in Sami reindeer husbandry. Our results indicate that traditional Sami reindeer herding strategies are still practiced, but that rapidly changing environmental circumstances are forcing herders into uncharted territories where these traditional strategies and the transmission of knowledge between generations may be of limited use. For example, rotational grazing is no longer possible as all pastures are being used, and changes in climate result in unpredictable weather patterns unknown to earlier generations.Keywords
Strategies; Encroachments; Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK); Knowledge transmission; Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK); Climate change; Rangelands; Sami reindeer herding; SwedenPublished in
Human Ecology2020, volume: 48, number: 4, pages: 481-490
Publisher: SPRINGER/PLENUM PUBLISHERS
Authors' information
Axelsson Linkowski, Weronika
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Swedish Biodiversity Centre
Fjellstrom, Anna-Maria
Stockholm University
Sandstrom, Camilla
Umea University
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Swedish Biodiversity Centre
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Ecology and Management
Moen, Jon
Umea University
Associated SLU-program
Sámi and reindeer husbandry related research
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG15 Life on land
SDG13 Climate action
UKÄ Subject classification
Animal and Dairy Science
Ecology
Publication Identifiers
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-020-00171-3
URI (permanent link to this page)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/107729