Reindeer Herding, Traditional Knowledge, Adaptation to Climate Change and Loss of Grazing Land

Abstract

The IPY EALÁT project (EALÁT: Reindeer herding, traditional knowledge, adaptation to climate change and loss of grazing land) was designed to gather information about the environmental changes which Arctic reindeer herders are facing and to give concrete examples of herders’ traditional knowledge leading their adaptation to changing conditions, e.g. traditional uses of grazing land. In all, 21 workshops have been held in local herding communities in the reindeer herding regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia in 2007–2011 and recently in Canada. The challenge of EALÁT is to transfer herders’ knowledge into action for sustainable development of the rapidly changing Arctic. The legacy of IPY EALÁT work has therefore developed into local information centers for different types of reindeer husbandry in Russia, as well as the UArctic EALÁT Institute - University of the Arctic Institute for Circumpolar of Reindeer Husbandry. This report is produced for the 7th Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Nuuk, Greenland, as a Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG) executive summary report. The report builds on information collected during IPY EALÁT including the community-based workshops, and includes key findings and recommendations. The report also is based on the IPY EALÁT scientific report (Magga, Mathiesen, Corell and Oskal in prep.). A 30-minute documentary EALÁT movie is produced and delivered with this report

The Arctic is the home of indigenous peoples like reindeer herders and is now changing rapidly. The ambition of EALÁT and this report is to contribute to increased cooperation between Arctic nation states and indigenous peoples to secure future sustainable development in circumpolar north and maintain a highly resilient society for reindeer herders.