Här listas länkar och bloggar om forskning, utveckling och kunskap om samer. Här blandas språk. Det finns mycket intressant skrivet om samer på engelska.
Universitetsuppsatser
På webbplatsen http://www.uppsatser.se/om/samer kan man ta fram uppsatser med samiskt tema. Exempel:
- Den frånvarande samen : en studie av åtta läroböcker och deras framställning av samernas religion
- Kan samisk traditionell kunskap överföras till en ny tid i den samiska förskolan, och i så fall hur?
- En museilärares perspektiv : ett pedagogiskt utvecklingsarbete kring Skansens samiska informationsprojekt 2004-2006
Våra vänner i Sami Siida of North America ständigt bevakar vad som händer i Sapmi och gör det tillgängligt på engelska, på webbplatsen Arran. Denna direktlänk ger bl a en sammanställning av vetenskapliga och akademiska arbeten på engelska.
Resource Centre for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples är en viktig källa för kunskap om samer och urfolk. Webbplatsen är tillgänglig även på samiska och norska. Tidskrifter och manualer finns tillgängliga i pdf-format.
http://www.ookpik.orgArctic youthär en portal för arktiska nätverk, kunskap, åsikter och evenemang.
Kunskapen om samer i skolan
Vi vet att den är dålig och många har synpunkter på den. En av våra yngre medlemmar, Mathias Forsgren, har skrivit ett specialarbete i gymnasiet och har “ett inifrån perspektiv” med nyvunna erfarenheter om hur det är beställt i skolan.
Läs hans arbete Undervisning om det samiska i de svenska skolorna och en kort historik om samer givs i bilagan till specialarbetet – Historik, kortfattad samisk historia.
Bloggosfären:
- Lis-Marie Hjortfors, etnolog
- Arran, Sami culture and news blogg
- Indigenous Peoples at the Arctic Council
- www.reindeerblog.org
Bloggarna:
News from arctic-council.org » Russia allocates EUR 10M towards Pollution Prevention Initiatives
On Tuesday 4 October 2011, the Russian Government signed an agreement allocating up to EUR 10 million to the implementation of Arctic Council priority projects. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands adopt new strategy for the Arctic
Monday 22 August 2011 Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lene Espersen, the Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands, Kaj Leo Johannesen, and Premier for the Government of Greenland, Kuupik Kleist, presented Denmark's strategy for the Arctic from 2011 to 2020. It has been elaborated by Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Technical report of the Arctic Council Task Force on Short-Lived Climate Forcers
[Link]
News from arctic-council.org » New Danish SAO
Denmark has elected a new SAO; Nauja Bianco will represent Denmark, Greenland and Faroe Islands in the Arctic Council. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » EPPR Meets in Canada’s Yukon Territory
Canada hosted the meeting of the Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR) Working Group of the Arctic Council in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory which took place June 15-16, 2011. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Next stop: Luleå
The Swedish Chairmanship 2011-2013 [Link]
Reindeer Blog » Reindeer See in ‘UV’
(Source BBC News) Arctic reindeer can see beyond the “visible” light spectrum into the ultra-violet region, according to new research by an international team.
They say tests on reindeer showed that the animal does respond to UV stimuli, unlike humans.
The ability might enable them to pick out food and predators in the “UV-rich” Arctic atmosphere, and to retain visibility in low light.
Details are published in the The Journal of Experimental Biology.
Seeing predators
UV light is invisible to humans. It has a wavelength which is shorter (and more energised) than “visible” light, ranging from 400 nanometres down to 10nm in wavelength.
The researchers first established that UV light was able to pass through the lens and cornea of the reindeer eye by firing light through a dissected sample. The tests showed that light down to a wavelength of about 350nm passed into the eye.
They then sought to prove that the animals could “see” the light, by testing the electrical response of the retina of anaesthetised reindeer to UV light.
“We used what is called an ERG (electroretinography), whereby we record the electrical response to light by the retina by putting a little piece of gold foil on the inside of the eyelid,” co-author Professor Glen Jeffery of University College London told BBC News.
The tests showed that photoreceptor cells or “cones” in the retina did respond to UV light.
“If you’re a bumblebee, you wouldn’t think much of what this animal is doing because it’s seeing in what’s called ‘near UV’ (about 320 to 400nm), but that’s still very high energy stuff.”
UV vision might enable reindeer to “see” their traditional predator, the wolf
The researchers believe UV vision could enable the reindeer to distinguish food and predators in the “white-out” of the Arctic winter and the twilight of spring and autumn.
Lichen, on which the animal feeds, would appear black to reindeer eyes, they say, because it absorbs UV light. The animal’s traditional predator, wolves, would also appear darker against the snow, as their fur absorbs UV light.
Urine in the snow would also be more discernable in UV vision, which might alert reindeer to the scent of predators or other reindeer.
Neither did the animal appear to suffer any damage as a result of seeing in UV, say the researchers, or suffer the “snow blindness” humans can experience in the UV-rich Arctic environment.
Polar vision
Professor Lars Chittka of Queen Mary University London, who has explored the UV capabilities of bees, said the study showed what we call the “visible” spectrum did not apply to most of the animal kingdom.
“It’s further evidence that UV sensitivity across animals is the rule rather than the exception, and that humans and some other mammals are actually a minority in not having UV sensitivity,” he said.
Professor Chittka was not surprised the UV light appeared to do no damage to the reindeer retina. He said the tests suggested the eye would only admit lower-frequency UV light (“UV-A light”) rather than more damaging higher-frequency light (“UV-B”).
Further modelling and behavioural tests would also be needed to verify that reindeer’s apparent capacity to detect UV light really did result in “better detection of predators and arctic lichens”, he said.
The same research team which conducted the reindeer tests will soon repeat the same experiments on seals to see whether they can see into the UV region. Professor Jeffery believes many Arctic animals are likely to have the capacity.
“There’s no evidence that Arctic foxes or polar bears suffer from snow blindness, so I bet you that most of the Arctic animals up there are seeing into UV.”
[Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Arctic Council Ministers Sign Agreement in Nuuk
Today, foreign ministers and leaders of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic Council met to set out future policy for the Council. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Ministers dine at Hans Egede Hus
Shortly after arrival in Nuuk, the Arctic countries' ministers and indigenous peoples' heads of delegation met for an amiable dinner at the historic Hans Egede House. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » The Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting
Foreign Minister of Denmark, Lene Espersen and Premier of Greenland, Kuupik Kleist, are hosting the Arctic Council Minsterial Meeting in Nuuk. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » The Arctic Council attracts youth
I think it is very important for youth to take an active role in Arctic issues and the Arctic Council is a perfect avenue to obtain this goal, says Amy [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Things to do and see in Nuuk
It is spring time in Nuuk and the snow has melted on the roads [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Nuuk Prepares to Welcome Ministers
The 7th Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting is fast approaching. The meeting takes place in Katuaq, the Nuuk Cultural Center, on 12 May 2011. [Link]
Reindeer Blog » WWF ‘The Circle’ Focus on Reindeer and Caribou
The WWF Global Arctic Programme has just released its quarterly publication ‘The Circle’. This edition has a focus on reindeer herding and caribou, entitled Reindeer and Caribou: Herds and Livelihood in Transition. This edition focusses on a number of themes that are current in the world of reindeer and caribou. Articles cover global warming, wild reindeer in Siberia, oil and gas impacts on Nenets reindeer husbandry and the impact of wind power development on reindeer herding districts in Sweden. Philip Burgess of ICR has an article on the Adaptation to Globalisation in the Arctic course which of course has a focus on reindeer husbandry.
[Link]
Reindeer Blog » Young reindeer herders in Sweden blogging about Härjedalen land rights case
Three young Sami reindeer herders from Härjedalen, Sweden have started a blog where they write about their everyday life as reindeer herders in this area. The reason for the blog is an ongoing law suit, where the Sami villages have lost their rights to reindeer grazing in this area. And while an agreement would appear to be in reach, in principle, it means that the villages renounce their customary rights to pasture their reindeer for ever.
According to Helena Omma, the leader of the Saminuorra the youth perspective is often missing in these kinds of processes, so there is a need for the youth to explain their own lives with their own words and how this process affects them and how they believe that they have a future in reindeer husbandry in Härjedalen.
Visit the blog here (in Swedish)
Read the press release from the Saami Council about the case here on the Reindeer Portal.
[Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Effects of Sea-ice Loss on Biodiversity
Thirty scientists, managers and community experts met in Vancouver, Canada, with the purpose to develop a technical report on what effects sea-ice reduction has on biodiversity in the Arctic. The Arctic Council Working Group on Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), organized and managed the workshop. [Link]
Reindeer Blog » Yamal Railway Officially Open, More Planned. Will Bisect Reindeer Migration Routes.
The new railway line connecting the Yamal Peninsula with the rest of the Russian railway grid has been declared open to regular traffic.
Regular operation of the 572 km long railroad to its terminal point – the Karskaya station – was launched in February 15. The line connects major regional installations like the Bovanenkovo gas field with national key infrastructure.
The Obskaya-Bovanenkovo railway line will enable Gazprom to easily ship huge quantities of goods and construction materials to its field development sites in Yamal.
“The opening of this railway will facilitate all-year-round, quick, cost efficient and not-weather-dependent transport of goods and personnel to the fields in Yamal under the harsh Arctic conditions, a press release from Gazprom reads.
Unline other Russian railway lines, the Obskaya-Bovanenkovo line is owned by Gazprom. As previously reported, the Russian Railways have been invited to take over the line, but has shown little interest.
In addition to railway and field development in Yamal, Gazprom is also investing in the laying of the Bovanenkovo-Ukhta gas pipeline.
[Link]
Reindeer Blog » Alaska tribes, environmentalists work with reindeer herders in Russia
(Arctic Sounder) Pacific Environment, an international environmental NGO focused on protecting the living environment of the Pacific Rim, will travel to Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in Russia (March 7-16) with a group of indigenous leaders from the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope, as part of a cultural and informational exchange to strengthen ties between these communities in an effort to foster supportive relationships across the Arctic and identify opportunities for collaboration, a press release from the group said.
This 10-day exchange will bring leaders working on indigenous issues and a traditional way of life from Alaska’s Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope to the Sakha Republic to meet with Evenk tribal and NGO leaders and officials in several Sakha villages. The Evenk community in Sakha, a traditional reindeer-herding culture, is working to protect its culture and way of life in the face of increasing resource extraction activities and industrial development. Through the exchange, indigenous leaders will convene to share experiences and to learn from each other. Participants will discuss their communities’ approach to protecting sacred traditional lands, participation in decision-making processes regarding natural resource use, and community leaders’ experience negotiating with resource extraction companies and monitoring industrial projects.
This will be the third in a series of exchanges between the Sakha Evenk community and the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope. The first exchange, in 2008, brought Evenk leaders from the Sakha Republic to Barrow for information-sharing and a cultural exchange that resulted in a Memorandum of Understanding, under which the communities agreed to mutual support for efforts to protect indigenous peoples’ rights and preserve traditional lands in the face of industrial development.
The relationship initiated here was strengthened in March 2010, when Evenk leaders from Sakha and Russian geological experts visited Barrow for cultural presentations and to share the effects of hydrocarbon extraction on the indigenous reindeer economy. This third exchange will provide further opportunity for both communities to deepen knowledge of the each other’s culture and community challenges, and to identify ways to support each other’s efforts.
Indigenous communities on both sides of the Arctic, including Alaska’s North Slope and Russia’s Sakhalin Island, have for decades watched their pristine homelands and traditional fishing and hunting grounds be sacrificed to oilfield development.
Traditional Arctic communities are often the first to experience the effects of global climate change, and stories abound from both sides of the Pacific about environmental conditions changing in response to warming trends, such as the melting of Siberian permafrost or the recent appearance of new insect species in Alaska. Such rapid change necessitates strong community organization and cooperation among indigenous groups to protect their lands and traditional ways of life from the impacts of global warming and resource extraction projects.
“Our goal is to continue to help foster the longstanding relationships between native Russian and Alaska tribal communities that can eventually be developed into an influential information-sharing and advocacy network,” said Shawna Larson, Alaska Program Co-Director for Pacific Environment. “We see this as an opportunity for both groups to gain a better understanding of the impacts of oil and gas projects on indigenous life in the Arctic and how to collectively best approach this.”
Members of the delegation will be available for interviews upon returning from the exchange, during the week of March 21, 2011. For more information contact Colleen Keane at ckeane(@)pacificenvironment.org or (907) 277-1029.
For more information visit www.pacificenvironment.org/russia and www.pacificenvironment.org/alaska for more information.
[Link]
News from arctic-council.org » The 7th Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting
In Nuuk, Greenland on 12 May 2011, Foreign Ministers representing the eight Arctic States, Permanent Participants representing the Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic, and Arctic Council Observers and Non-Government Organizations, will meet to discuss future challenges in the Arctic. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » International Monitoring Plan for Polar Bears
On 19-21 February 2011 twenty-two scientists, managers and community experts from Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia and the United States met in Edmonton, Canada, to develop a Pan-Arctic Monitoring Plan for Polar Bears. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Climate Change and POPS: Predicting the impacts
[Link]
Reindeer Blog » Evenki Protest Proposed Pipeline Route / Эвенки Олёкминского района против второго варианта прокладки газопровода Якутия-Хабаровск-Владивосток
This is a media article in Russian from Sakha News about the planning of a second major gas pipeline. This will potentially add another pipeline to the East Siberian Pacific pipeline which although only operative for a year, has already had reports of accidents – see route of the ESPO here). This new pipeline will bisect the pastures of Evenki herders and disturb their cemetaries and if this route is selected, will not follow the route of the already constructed pipeline.
Evenki are urging Gazprom to re-route a pipeline away from one of its settlements in Yakutia.
“We are not against progress or economic development, but we feel like we are the ones who will suffer from this,” the group said in a petition, signed by 213 people. “Our reindeer pastures and hunting sites are being seized, rivers are being poisoned and fish are disappearing.”
Gazprom is reluctant to change the path of a new link from the Chayandinskoye oil and gas reserves to Khabarovsk, saying it will cost an extra $1.67 billion, RIA Novosti reported.
A public hearing will be held on March 11, in the community of Neryungri.
Read article here (in Russian)
[Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Arctic Health Cooperation – a first step
The health ministers from seven Arctic countries met in Nuuk, Greenland to discuss common health issues. Following extensive discussions, the meeting concluded with the signing of the "Arctic Health Declaration", an expressioin of the Arctic countries' intention to strengthen circumpolar cooperation on health issues. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Closer cooperation between CAFF and APECS formalized
The Arctic Council Working Group on Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), and the Association for Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on February 3, 2011. [Link]
Reindeer Blog » Video of young Tsataan herder, Mongolia
Becoming a reindeer herder is a process of lifelong learning..starting from the very beginning
Reindeer Portal :: Boazodoalu uvssahat :: Портал оленеводство [Link]
Reindeer Blog » Reindeer in Comic Book Format
This is an amusing and interesting clip from the web – by graphic artist Stuart McMillen at Recombinant Records. It is an illustrated version of what happened to the reindeer that were introduced to St Matthew Island in 1944 linking it to what may happen to our globe if we continue on this same unsustainable path.
A reindeer herder put it to the Reindeer Blog in a different way – ‘This is what happens when you don’t have reindeer herders!’
Read the comic book strip here.
[Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Arctic Health on the Agenda
Shared Challenges, Different Solutions: Arctic Health Cooperation in the 21st Century [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Pan-Arctic Monitoring Plan for Polar Bears
Under the umbrella of the Arctic Council Working Group on Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), a project was launched to initiate the development of a pan-arctic monitoring plan for polar bears. [Link]
Reindeer Blog » Reindeer husbandry and ore prospecting interests clash in Finnish Lapland
(Helsingin sanomat) Olli Pulju, 49, and his hired man Pasi Salmi, 26, are tending a herd of reindeer in Särkikoskenmaa, northeast of the village of Kersilö in Sodanylä, in Finnish Lapland. The herd is feeding on a patch of forest in the middle of a vast swamp.
The world’s fourth largest mining company Anglo American is conducting exploratory drillings in the same area in order to find nickel, copper, and gold deposits. Almost 100 people are working on samples and test drillings in the area.
The Canadian mining company First Quantum is also making exploratory drillings. The company is building a mine and an enrichment plant in Kevitsa, a good ten kilometres away from Kersilö.
The complex will cost EUR 250 million.
”The nickel and copper mine that is to be started early next year will employ nearly 300 people”, reports General Manager Reijo Uusitalo of the FQM Kevitsa Mining.
Both companies have lodged a claim application with the Finnish MInistry of Employment and the Economy in order to examine further the deposits in Sodankylä.
On the Finnish scale, the claim covers a huge area, namely roughly 400,000 hectares. In addition, four other foreign mining companies are prospecting for ore in Sodankylä.
”Sodankylä is a very promising area. We are searching for ore deposits in order that we could open one or several mines which could operate at least for the next 40 years”, says Director Jim Coppard from Anglo American, but he is unwilling to reveal any results.
Will reindeer herding face trouble when mining activities expand? Central Lapland is turning into a mining zone, stretching from Kolari through Kittilä to Sodankylä.
Kittilä is the home of Finland’s largest gold mine, while an iron ore mine is to be opened in Kolari. The industry is believed to employ at least 1,000 people in the next few years.
”Every night I wonder whether reindeer herding has any future”, says Pasi Salmi. ”The counterforce is so big that one could get depressed. Some good lichen areas were already lost under the Kevitsa mine. I wonder what Anglo American’s men will find”, Olli Pulju contemplates.
In Sodankylä, the number of reindeer owners is 578 and there are roughly 25,000 head of reindeer. The population is 8,002, which is one inhabitant more than last year.
”For the first time in 30 years, Sodankylä recorded a net migration gain. People are moving back from Southern Finland. A new apartment building is being constructed in the centre, and a new K-supermarket has been completed”, says Kauko Nurmela, the trade ombudsman of the municipality.
The mining boom can already be seen and heard. At the breakfast table in the Karhu Hotel in the centre, one can hear a buzz of English conversation. The hotel is fully booked.
All rental flats have also been reserved, even those located in remote villages, and there is a waiting list for the residences.
Today, the unemployment rate is 10 %, while in the 1990s it was as high as 32 %. Sodankylä has launched a housing programme, as on the western side of the municipality, the Swedish Lappland Goldminers is already operating the Pahtavaara gold mine, which employs more than 100 people.
”The atmosphere in Sodankylä is optimistic, as the unemployment rate has declined. I can see Kevitsa’s lights from the window of my home in Moskuvaara. I am only thinking about what will happen to the environment”, says Sini Veikanmaa, who goes to upper secondary school in Sodankylä.
Anglo American, operating in the Natura environmental protection area, has reported that it will take away all mud that comes up during drilling, while also recycling the waters of the drilling machine.
Veikko Virtanen, the chairman of the municipal board, believes that reindeer husbandry and mining can coexist in Sodankylä.
[Link]
Reindeer Blog » Castration seen as climate change aid for reindeer
TROMSO, Norway (Reuters) – Indigenous Sami peoples in the Arctic may have found a way to help their reindeer herds cope with climate change: more castration.
Research by Sami experts shows that sterilized males can grow larger and so are better at digging for food — as Arctic temperatures vary more, thawing snow often refreezes to form thick ice over lichen pastures.
Neutered males are more able to break through ice with their hooves or antlers, and seem more willing than other males to move aside and share food with calves that can die of starvation in bad freeze-thaw winters like 2000-01.
“To make herds more resilient in the future, we need to re-learn the traditional knowledge of castration,” said professor Svein Mathiesen, coordinator of the University of the Arctic’s Institute of Circumpolar Reindeer Husbandry.
More castration “could be useful to adapt to climate change,” he told Reuters in the Arctic city of Tromsoe. “These animals are very good diggers for the small calves in the most critical period of the winter.” Pasture this year is good.
Castration has traditionally been used by reindeer herders, partly to make wild animals more docile. Herders on the Yamal peninsula in Russia still neuter about half of all males — usually by biting into the testicles with their teeth.
Far fewer animals are castrated outside Russia. About 100,000 Sami own about 2.5 million reindeer in homelands in the Nordic countries and Russia.
HALF-CASTRATION
The traditional Sami biting technique aims for “half-castration” — under which the animals become sterile but still produce some of the male hormone testosterone that promotes muscle growth.
Sami in Norway, where laws limit castration to surgery with anesthetics, are now experimenting with a vaccine to recreate the effects of half-castration.
No interest in sex also helps neutered males in winter.
“Males castrated in the traditional way would have an increased chance of survival over other males since they maintain body weight and condition during the rutting season,” according to a research document by Eli Risten Nergaard of Sami University College.
The Arctic region is warming at double the global rate in a trend blamed by the U.N.’s panel of climate scientists on greenhouse gases from mankind’s burning of fossil fuels.
Yamal herders castrate many of their reindeer, partly because they need strong, docile animals to pull heavy sleds. In Norway, Sami have come to rely on snow-scooters and get most money for calf meat, meaning most males are slaughtered young.
The Sami castration study indicates the complexities of adapting to the impacts of climate change. Many other scientists are focusing on issues such as how to cope with river floods or rising sea levels, or ways to develop drought-resistant crops.
Castrated reindeer also keep their antlers for much of the winter while normal males shed their antlers each autumn after the mating season. That implies that Rudolph, pulling Father Christmas’s sled, has been castrated.
[Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Mercury Assessment Report
The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Working Group (AMAP) released a handout summarizing key scientific findings from their 2011 Mercury Assessment. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » The Arctic Council – Nuuk Ministerial
The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum which addresses issues faced by the eight Arctic States and its indigeneous peoples. Its next Ministerial Meeting takes place on the 12th of May in Nuuk, Greenland. [Link]
Reindeer Blog » Reindeer Herder Awarded by President Medvedev
President Dmitry Medvedev awarded the reindeer herder Vitaly Kemlil (pictured on the left with the President at the Kremlin last week) a special award at the Presidents annual awards for Russians who have made a special contribution to the nation. The award is entitled ‘Order of Merit of the Fatherland IV degree’ – the same as the tennis player Elena Dementieva, who won gold for Russia in Beijing (!).
Vitaly was born in 1967 and lives in the village of Nizhnekolymskiy in the Kolyma district of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). He was awarded the medal in recognition of his efforts to save his reindeer from the attacks of a bear – he managed to save his reindeer and not kill the bear, which of course is a sacred animal. Watch the video below – Vitaly and his reindeer are at 2.31
Source – RTV 1 & Sakha News
[Link]
Reindeer Blog » Yamal Herders and Gas – Photos and Article
Interesting article and superb photography displaying Nenets herders coping with oil and gas installations on their migration routes in the ‘Russian Photo Blog‘. The photographer spent quite some time with herders that migrat through the Bovanekovo filed and was also allowed access to the contstruction site itself.
View all the photos here and the article in which they were used here in the magazine ‘Fast Company’.
[Link]
Reindeer Blog » Halal Reindeer Meat? Russia and Qatar Talk Turkey..
MOSCOW (Reuters Life!) – When rival energy producers Russia and Qatar talk business, it’s no longer only about natural gas — they’re talking reindeer meat, which Russia has promised to export and butcher according to Muslim dietary law.
The prospect of Russia exporting halal reindeer meat products to the desert kingdom first came up last month when the governor of Russia’s Arctic Yamal Nenets region, where most of Russia’s gas is produced, was in Qatar for investment talks.
“We told the Qatari leadership that we don’t only have oil and gas. We also have reindeer. And then a Sheikh asked, ‘Is reindeer halal? Can Muslims eat it?’ It turns out they can,” Yamal’s governor Dmitry Kobylkin told Reuters in an interview.
“They were so surprised to learn there exists another kind of meat that they haven’t tried and that it can be halal. Gold mining is interesting for them, gas, infrastructure, and now investment in halal reindeer meat processing,” Kobylkin said.
Upon return to Yamal, home to 700,000 reindeer and 500,000 people, Kobylkin had the state-owned Yamal Reindeer Company arrange for ritual Islamic slaughter and the trial production of 1,000 cans of halal reindeer meat.
This week Qatari officials will get their first taste of reindeer at a Russia-Qatar investment forum in Doha where Kobylkin’s deputy will present the Reindeer Co.’s business plan to expand into halal meat production and product exports.
A spokeswoman for the state-owned Qatar Investment Authority said she could not comment on its investment interests.
“Our plan is to build a separate slaughter house, canning and sausage factory. We hope for a joint venture with Qatar,” said Sergei Uramayev, a representative of the Reindeer Co.
Uramayev also said that after consulting with the Imam of the Salekhard Mosque in Yamal’s capital, the firm decided the project would also market halal canned reindeer within Russia.
“There is a huge demand among Russia’s Muslim community for halal products. Until two-three years ago, you didn’t see any halal stores. Now they’re opening everywhere,” Salekhard Mosque Imam Abdullah Hazrat said.
Reindeer herding and meat production has been Yamal’s No. 3 industry after oil and gas — Yamal produces 85 percent of Russia’s gas and 15 percent of its oil — ever since the Yamal Reindeer Co. received EU certification to export in 2006.
(Source: Writing by Jessica Bachman; Editing by Paul Casciato)
[Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Seasons Greetings
Wishing you a peaceful and merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year! [Link]
Reindeer Blog » Cruelty to Reindeer?
Reindeer were brought into the famous London toy shop 'Hamleys' this christmas. Photo: Darren Hector http://www.wildlifephotography.tv/the-saddest-pictures-ive-ever-taken/
In recent weeks, there has been quite a number of stories (in the english language media) that feature reindeer being ‘mistreated’, coupled with news releases, video and protest letters. These protests have focussed on the treatment of reindeer by reindeer herders who depend on reindeer for their livelihoods and have been practicing the livelihood for millenia. This has become an annual event, as there is no time to tug on the heartstrings of potential donors than christmas, a celebration that has in the last century, again primarily in the english speaking world, become indelibly linked with reindeer (See story on the creation of this connection here on the Reindeer Portal).
These media driven events drop off the radar in January. However, those concerned about the mistreatment of reindeer might do well to take a lok at their own back yard. There are no figures for the number of reindeer that are being housed in the US and UK that are kept for the entertaining of the public, like circus acts dragged out for display. Reindeer are being housed in an art gallery in Berlin, on a garage in Rovaniemi, Finland, running loose in strawberry fields in Santa Monica, California and even housed in London’s most famous toy shop (albeit briefly, after protests about live penguins being on display got peoples’ attention). Numerous reineder parades are held across Britain these days – and their welfare is suffering.
These animals have been removed from their herd, forced to live with perhaps only one or two other reindeer, are housed in highly artificial and restricted conditions, and have to live in moist temperate climates outside the natural habitat in which they thrive. So far, there have not been any major media campaigns by animal rights organisations to eliminate what is an obvious form of cruelty to reindeer, presumably it being deemed easier to target peoples far away about whose lives little is known.
Reindeer for Entertainment. Source: Animal Dramatics UK
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Reindeer Blog » Another Animal Welfare Organisation Targets Reindeer Herders
The World Society for the Protection of Animals has added their voice to what seems certain to to become an annual right of passage – animals rights organisations using the Christmas season to raise their own profile with media friendly releases about the ‘mistreatreatment’ of reindeer by reindeer herders. Another organisation, VIVA, launched a similar campaign a few weeks ago, noted here on the Reindeer Blog. WSPA have launched their campaign with a website and a video featuring video footage of a reindeer roundup in the corral, earmarking, antler cutting and the killing of reindeer with the curved knife.
WSPA urge people to write a protest letter to the Nordic Council of Ministers, highlighting material such as,
Despite legislation to the contrary, the footage obtained by WSPA shows how the reindeer are forced through a process that prohibits their natural behaviour in several ways. The reindeer, used to roaming free in the wilderness with no prior contact with human beings, panic visibly and attempt to flee as they are herded in massive groups of well over a hundred reindeer, by groups of men, some on snowmobiles.
The animals’ distress continues to increase as they are forced into corrals, have their ears mutilated and left to bleed, and in more than one instance visible on film, get mishandled as they desperately resist being loaded onto trucks for transport to slaughterhouses.
See their protest site and video here.
If there is a lesson in this for reindeer herders, it might be to be careful of visitors to reindeer round ups bearing cameras…
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Reindeer Blog » Sami Reindeer Herders in Sweden Lose Out to Wind Power
Wind turbine at Markbygden near Piteå. Photo: Tom Sullivan / SR International
One of the largest wind farms in the world is being built in northern Sweden but not everyone is pleased about it. The turbines cut across an area used by Sweden’s indigenous Sámi reindeer herders.
An hour’s drive inland from the town of Piteå, a dozen wind turbines tower over the surrounding forest. In the next few years 1,101 turbines will be erected here at a cost of $8.2 billion.
“This plateau has really good wind conditions – that’s the main reason it’s being built here,” said Jonas Lundmark from the local council.
“Also 95 percent of the land is owned by two forestry companies and there has been a steady decline in the population over the last 50 years. People living here are very keen to get more business into the area.”
By 2020, the wind farm is expected to provide about half of the national target for new wind energy – about 12 terawatt hours – that’s roughly the equivalent of two Swedish nuclear reactors, according to the company building the wind farm.
Wind power is a high priority for the Swedish government, and the local power to veto planning applications for wind farms has been removed to pave the way for more of them.
Stefan Lundmark, from the Swedish ministry of enterprise and energy says that the trend across the Nordic countries is to build in northern, more sparsely populated areas.
Sámi reindeer herders losing grazing land
“I think that the wind farms will be bigger and bigger and most of them will be in northern Sweden. In the south it’s more densely populated and there are more competing interests,” he said.
Leaving the wind farm traffic, the only traffic I met on the newly paved road was a herd of reindeer that shot out in front of the car, forcing me to stop. With the low winter sun I almost failed to see them until it was too late.
The new road winds through the Sámi reindeer herding lands, and the local herders say it will limit their movements and endanger their animals. They are locked in a dispute over compensation with the company building the wind farm – they say they were never properly consulted before the building got underway.
Ingrid Inga, president of the Sámi Parliament, says this is just the latest chapter in a longstanding struggle between Sámi reindeer herders and industrial interests.
“We’re not against wind power – but we are against big wind farms like Markbydgen because they affect the reindeer business – the local Sámi herders will lose about a quarter of their winter grazing land. That’s really reprehensible from our point of view,” she said.
Inger says that Sámi herding communities should be consulted before giant wind farms are built, which she says did not happen in Markbygden.
She explains that reindeer herders need to move their herds between seasonal grazing lands – often across long distances – during the year. But increasing demands on the land from other economic interests is making that more and more difficult, and is leading to the closure of traditional Sámi businesses.
National interest versus Sámi rights
“The government can take over land earmarked for reindeer grazing – if it’s in the national interest. You have mining, hydro power, forestry and now wind power – each of them competing for land used by Sámi herders – and it all adds up.
Svevind, the company building the windfarm say that they have consulted the Sámi and that they are willing to pay appropriate compensation.
But Sámi grievances run deep – there is a long history in the region of what is perceived as land-grabbing by government and industrial interest, explained Patrick Lantto, an historian at the Centre for Sámi Research in Umeå.
Although the Sámi are protected by a law which gives them the right to grazing lands across vast stretched of the north of the country, Lantto says its does not add up to much in practice as it’s next to impossible for herders to prove they have been using the land.
And despite some recent court rulings in their favour, it would seem that the odds are against them.
“There’s a strong sentiment that reindeer husbandry could prevent development in the north,” he said.
“In a recent case the environmental court clearly stated that Sweden has a goal of increasing it’s percentage of renewable energy and this is a goal which ways more heavily than protecting the rights of reindeer herders.”
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Reindeer Blog » Watch Sarah Palin Shoot a Caribou (for Christmas)
Sarah Palin is hard to miss these days, positioning herself perhaps for a run at the 2012 US Presidential elections. Here she pays homage to that essential attribute for potential US politicians, being able to use a gun (though she missed over 5 times!), taking down a caribou.
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News from arctic-council.org » Joint Statement to COP 16
Cancun, Mexico, 1 December 2010. The Danish Ambassador to Mexico delivered a statement to the UNFCCC secretariat in Cancun on behalf of the Arctic States*. The statement, signed by Ms. Lene Espersen (Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Chair of the Arctic Council), was distributed to all state delegations attending the COP 16. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » The AMSA Report – Follow up in many arenas
Shipping activity in the Arctic is on the rise, including tourism and exploration activities, necessitating the need for reliable communication and monitoring. [Link]
Reindeer Blog » Reindeer Living in Garage in Rovaniemi, Finland
Sami Ruismäki and his reindeer gave a sleigh ride to some children on the upper level of a parking garage in downtown Rovaniemi. The reindeer park will be open until Epiphany. Photo: TIMO LINDHOLM, Source Helsingin Sanomat
Tourism has brought reindeer to the centre of Rovaniemi. Behind the project are Rovaniemen Kehitys Oy, a company promoting tourism in Rovaniemi, and local entrepreneurs, according to a report in Helsingin sanomat.
The Sirmakko family has set up a reindeer park in downtown Rovaniemi, on the upper deck of the parking garage adjacent to the City Hotel. Cars have been removed to the floor below.
”The reindeer will be kept in the reindeer parking garage until Epiphany. Depending on the day, the number of reindeer on the adventure level will be around six”, says entrepreneur Taina Riskilä.
”Entrepreneurs and tourists alike have long wished to see reindeer in the centre of the city”, claims coordinator Risto Saukkoriipi from Rovaniemen Kehitys.
”Today’s tourism is so hectic that not all visitors have time to go to the nearest reindeer farm ten kilometres away from Rovaniemi. They are happy if they have a chance to see some reindeer for example after having been to a restaurant. Tourists’ life is evening-oriented”, Saukkoriipi argues.
According to Adjunct Professor Mauri Nieminen, who works as a senior researcher at the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, the reindeer park marks a new nadir in reindeer herding degradation.
”A parking garage full of petrol fumes is not a natural environment for reindeer but is bound to cause suffering to those animals”, Nieminen charges.
The Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute has launched a study to find out how the increased feeding on farms and the constant proximity of human beings affect the disposition of reindeer.
”Farm reindeer are more domesticated. We suspect that if they are released into the wild they could more easily be hit by a car or be caught by predators”, Nieminen explains.
In the previous winter season, a total of 152,000 out of Finland’s approximately 200,000 reindeer were fed on farms or in the forest if necessary.
This being the season – it is worth revisiting this story on the Reindeer Portal that unpicks the story of Santa Claus, reindeer, and the appropriation of the cultural elements of Sami reindeer husbandry to service the needs of the tourist industry, most especially in Rovaniemi, Finland. Read the story here.
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Reindeer Blog » Reindeer Herding Documentary From Yamal Wins Award
A Russian film has picked up the top honors at an international film festival in Bulgaria highlighting the best work on extreme sports, adventure and mountains.
The award-winning documentary about reindeer herders in the Polar Urals beat 80 films from 27 other countries.
“Nyarma” by Edgar Bartenev focuses on the Nenets people, their customs, family relations, lifestyle, as well as the unique tradition of reindeer herding.
The main character in the documentary is a young Nenets guy who, following the tragic death of his father, becomes the owner of a large herd of 3000 reindeer.
Gosha has to take responsibility not only for his family but for the entire neighborhood – the Polar Ural, according to tradition.
Capturing the spellbound beauty of the landscape, the documentary gives a deep insight into the nature of the indigenous people of the North, moving herds of reindeer.
The St Petersburg-based filmmaker, whose famous teacher was maverick director Alexey German, was quoted as saying that his first trip to the North was when he worked as a doctor in an intensive care unit. He was blown away by the Nenets’ permanent state of enthusiasm and their attitude towards each other, their deer and dogs.
“Relations between the people are amazing. I’ve never seen a husband screaming at his wife or offending his children. The Nenets never beat animals,” Bartenev was quoted as saying.
Source: RT.com
Watch a trailer here: http://www.eastsilver.net/en/east-silver/completed-films/-nyarma-3484/?yearactivity=noac&country=&genere=&director=&producer=&coproducer=&length=&malpha=&fulltext=nyarma&submitButton=Filter
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Reindeer Blog » Reindeer Herding ‘Chum’ for Moscow’s Sheremetyevo
Nenets 'chum' from Yamal, Pic: Francis Latreille
A ‘chum’, the traditional though still in use every day dwelling of the reindeer herding Nenets on the Yamal Peninsula, will be making a guest appearance at one Russia’s busiest airport: Moscow’s Sheremetyevo.
This marks the kick off of a series of events in the nations capital celebrating the life and culture of the worlds greatestest region of reindeer husbandry, the Yamal Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The exhibit will present items of everyday life, patterns of national art, art-works of local painters, video displays and the work of renowned arctic photographer Brian Alexander.
Other events include a literature soiree “Yamal and literature” on the 26th of November in the museum of Lev Tolstoy. Poets and novelists from Yamal and living in Moscow, whose theme of creative work is the North, will gather here. This will be followed by an International festival of documentary films entitled “The Arctic” on the 27th of November. It was organized by the government of Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug with the financial support of “Gazprom-bank”. 60 films from 6 countries from around the world will participate in it.
An exhibition and presentation of humanitarian and scientific-industrial potential of Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug will take place on the 2nd-3rd of December in the Public Chamber of Russian Federation.
[Link]
Reindeer Blog » “Lidl is destroying the magic of Christmas by selling dead reindeer”..The Silly Season is Approaching
You know Christmas is approaching when this kind of story appears in the UK media. Lidl, which has more than 500 shops in Britain, is the first multiple grocery retailer in the UK to introduce reindeer meat in the run-up to the festive season.
The frozen steaks, which cost £5.99 for a 350g pack, were launched this week under its premium Deluxe label. But campaign group Viva! has slammed Lidl for selling the meat, claiming reindeer are often herded in cruel ways. Campaigns manager Justin Kerswell told trade magazine The Grocer: ‘Lidl is destroying the magic of Christmas by selling dead reindeer. ‘What they term “luxury cuisine” belies the truth behind an industry that exists to exploit wild animals. ‘Reports show that up to 70 per cent of reindeer killed for meat are calves.’
Below is the text that VIVA are asking their supporters to send to the company:
Dear Lidl
As a customer of Lidl, I was very disappointed to be informed that you are currently selling products containing reindeer meat in the UK. A report by scientists from the Division of Comparative Medicine, Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden shows that traditional methods of herding have given way to chasing reindeer with snowmobiles and motorcycles, as well as helicopters. This and lassoing them causes huge amount of stress for these wild animals. They can become so distraught that their muscle can literally waste away. Their misery doesn’t end there. In Siberia, it appears that reindeer are killed by having their spinal cord severed, which may cause paralysis and not instant death. This may be a method that would be illegal in the UK. Another report from Food and Drink Europe states that 70 per cent of reindeer slaughtered for meat are calves that have never even seen the snow. These are facts which I – and I’m sure your customers would – find upsetting, and ones that we would hope you will be concerned with. Therefore, I am calling on Lidl to end the sale of reindeer meat in the UK. We hope you will agree to this, otherwise I will be forced to take my custom on the run up to Christmas elsewhere
You can read their press release here. It is hard to know where to begin with such ludicrous statements as stated here, except that this is very like a campaign they ran against IKEA in 2008, with some of the same text, who were selling reindeer sausage and it being Christmas, the media will run with it. It is likely that Piers Vitebsky would be suprised to learn that his book ‘The Reindeer People‘ was being used by VIVA as a source on the ‘mistreatment’ of Siberian reindeer. More interesting is wondering where the reindeer from ‘Siberia’ is coming from. Likely this is Yamal reindeer meat, given that Lidl is a German chain, and that an EU certified slaughterhouse has been built in Yar-Sale. If you want to support reindeer herders in Yamal, perhaps send Lidl an email congratulating them for sourcing reindeer from Nenets herders, thereby supporting indigenous reindeer herders and traditional livelihoods that have survived in the Arctic for millenia. You could cc a copy to VIVA too! Contact them here. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » New UArctic online Master's course
Adaptation to Globalization in the Arctic: The Case of Reindeer Husbandry. Course duration: 10 January to 3 April 2011. Course Location: Virtual Learning Tool Web Portal www.vlt.is [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Resolution at COP10
The resolutions from the recently concluded COP10 in Nagoyja Japan, made specific reference to the Arctic Council and Arctic biodiversity. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » CAFF Report Presented
At the recent COP10 in Nagoyja, Japan, the Arctic Council’s Working Group on Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) held a side event presenting its report: “Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010: Selected Indicators of Change”.The report is the first output of the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA), of which results will be launched in 2013. [Link]
Reindeer Blog » 50 Reindeer Fall Through Thin Ice and Drown
Reindeer froze to death after falling through ice. Pic: NRK
As many as 50 reindeer froze to death after falling through thin ice near Kautokeino, Norway yesterday according to a report in NRK Sami Radio. This is a dangerous time of year for reindeer and their herders, as although lakes and rivers are frozen, the ice is thin and liable to break.
Herders attempted to rescue the animals back to land by using a boat and walking on the ice – extremely risky work, but according to Mikkel NN Eira, as quoted in the article:
We had to and try get the animals onto land… We had to use a boat as we pushed on the ice in front of us. When we came to areas where the ice was thin and we noticed that the ice began to break up, we had to hurry to jump in the boat. There were many times that my foot went through the ice.
Eira called it a ‘tragedy’, with some reindeer remaining locked in the water. Eira even tried bringing a reindeer inside the house to warm it up but it too succumbed to the cold. He said to NRK Sami Radio,
It was mostly females who went through and they would surely have calved. This is a loss of at least NOK 100,000 in income. The animals are our livelihood.
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Reindeer Blog » Sleep With Reindeer for €1,000 / Night
Carsten Höller, Soma, 2010 Installationsansicht Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin, 2010 © VG Bild-Kunst 2010 / Carsten Höller, Foto: Attilio Maranzano
A bizarre exhibition by the renowned artist Carsten Höller has just opened at Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof contemporary art museum. “Soma” also offers the chance for a limited number of guests to overnight in a bed suspended above a collection of animals that includes reindeer, canaries and mice for €1,000. In total there are 12 reindeer in the exhibit.
What’s the reindeer connection? Höller has based his exhibit on elements of a verse in the ancient Hindu text, the Rigveda, which reads: “We have drunk of the soma; we have become immortal, we have seen the light; we have found the Gods.”
In the 20th century, philologists, ethnologists and botanists have tried to identify the main ingredient of the enlightening beverage, the ingredients of which were lost over the years, the museum said in a statement.
But in 1968, American banker and hobby mycologist Gordon R. Wasson made the highly-disputed suggestion that the red and white poisonous fly Amanita mushroom may have been the ingredient, and that it may have been absorbed through the urine of reindeer, which eat the plant as part of their natural diet.
Incidentally, that mushroom has a much older connection with reindeer and story being perhaps the connection between the earliest representations of flying reindeer well south of their current range in modern day Mongolia. You can read that story on the Reindeer Portal
Source: The Local See a Video from the show here (in German)
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News from arctic-council.org » Vacancy at Arctic Council Secretariat
The Arctic Council Secretariat located in Tromsø, Norway, seeks a Translator / Russian Language Adviser from now to May 2013. Application deadline: 30 November 2010. [Link]
Reindeer Blog » Track Icelandic Reindeer Online!
(Souece – Iceland Review, mbl.is) It is now possible to monitor the movements of reindeer on the website of the East Iceland Nature Center (NA). GPS monitors have been placed on 12 females for research purposes, which transmit their location on a daily basis.
“A new world has opened up to us: how the animals behave, what land they use and where they go,” Skarphédinn G. Thórisson, a NA employee and the project’s leader, told mbl.is.
The project, which was launched in 2008, is Thórisson’s Master’s thesis from the Agricultural University of Iceland (AUI) in Hvanneyri.
In 2009, NA and AUI received a grant from Rannís, the Icelandic Center for Research, to purchase 15 GPS monitors and 12 thereof were placed on selected animals in the beginning of 2009.
The information will be used to organize the harnessing of the reindeer stock, not only regarding how many animals can be shot and where, but also regarding how landowners should be benefitted.
The 12 females carrying GPS monitors are all part of the so-called Snaefell herd, which roams the eastern highland off Fljótsdalur valley, and the Álftafjördur herd, which stays around the eponymous fjord and near-lying areas.
However, most of the GPS monitors have since gone silent as the battery only lasts for a limited time. “Today four females transmit daily,” Thórisson said, adding that he hopes the silent monitors will continue to register information which can be uploaded to a computer after they have been recovered.
The project’s purpose is also to monitor how reindeer are influenced by human intervention, such as the presence of power plants. Landsvirkjun, the national power company, pays part of the research cost. The project concludes in 2012.
On na.is, visitors can click on the names of the reindeer that are being monitored and follow their movements (see “Hreindýr med GPS” in the right column and click on “Ána”, for example).
[Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Senior Arctic Officials Met in Tórshavn
On 19-20 October, the Senior Arctic Officials of the Arctic Council met at the beautiful Nordic House in Tórshavn, the Faroe Islands, to talk about relevant Arctic issues. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Arctic Side Event at COP10
On 28 October, the Arctic Council Working Group on Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), will hold a side event on the challenges and changes facing Arctic Biodiversity. The event takes place at the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 10) in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. [Link]
Reindeer Blog » Mongolia asks for Finland for Reindeer Semen
(Source: Helsingin Sanomat) Visiting Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj has asked Finland for help in revitalising the country’s waning reindeer herding livelihood. Reindeer have been raised in Mongolia for about 3,000 years, but their numbers have dwindled to just over 1,000 animals. During a meeting with Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi (Centre), President Elbegdorj asked if Finland could provide Mongolia with Finnish reindeer semen to artificially inseminate Mongolian females, in order to bring more genetic diversity to the largely in-bred national herd.
Kiviniemi had referred Elbegdorj to Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sirkka-Liisa Anttila (Centre), who says that she had discussed the matter with the Mongolian President. Anttila had promised both reindeer semen and embryos to help diversify the gene pool. President Elbegdorj also discussed reindeer during a visit on Thursday to the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute (RKTL) where he was briefed by the institute’s head of research Mauri Nieminen.
“Sending semen is possible but it is not easy”, Nieminen told Helsingin Sanomat. He added that it is usually done only for research purposes.
While it is possible to artificially inseminate reindeer, there are complications involved. “Reindeer are a semi-wild animals”, Nieminen pointed out.
“It is not easy to determine when a reindeer is in heat, an especially when it reaches the climax, which is when the semen should be collected.”
This autumn’s period of heat is already over, which means that new reindeer sperm would not be available until next year. The semen would be frozen for transport.
Nieninen notes that it might actually be easier to deliver live reindeer to Mongolia than reindeer semen. Russia has sent reindeer to Mongolia in past years, and Finnish reindeer have travelled to European countries and to Japan.
Finnish reindeer are considered quite suitable for Mongolia, and should breed well. “There is only one reindeer species in the world”, Nieminen said. There are seven subspecies, one of which is the Finnish forest reindeer, and another is the North American caribou. They can all breed with each other.
Reindeer have been raised in Mongolia for thousands of years. The population is currently so small that inbreeding is a problem. There are many reasons for the decline, but the reindeer herding culture has remained. “People ride them, they give milk, they are used in fishing and hunting.”
Only a third of the Mongolian reindeer population are female, while in Finland females account for 80 per cent of reindeer. “Artificial insemination does not help if there are no female reindeer”, Nieminen points out. “Perhaps we should first go to Mongolia to check out the structure of the population.”
Mongolia is a very poor country and is relatively far away from everything. In addition to reindeer herding, it has plenty of copper and uranium resources, as well as gold and coal.
It is important for Finland that Mongolia should support Finland’s bid to become a rotating member of the UN security Council.
Presidents Elbegdorj and Tarja Halonen agreed that the countries are united by reindeer, the forest industry, and cold winters. Last winter harsh weather conditions destroyed 17 per cent of the approximately 800,000 head of cattle raised by the country’s nomads.
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Reindeer Blog » “God Knew What He Was Doing When He Made Norway”, Industry Minister of Norway on Expanding Mining on Reindeer Pastures
Indistry Minister of Norway Trond Giske With Minerals Map of Northern Scandinavia. His governement has just announced a huge increase in funding to support the mining industry – Source adressa.no
So said, the Minister for Industry of Norway (Labour Party) while announcing a big increase in funding for mining exploration in the country in a story that appeared in Adressa.no
The Norwegian Geological Survey (NGU) believes there is a vast wealth of minerals and ore under the soil just waiting to be exploiting – only what holds them back is insufficient knowledge. That will soon change thanks to the Norwegian government announcing an extra 100 million NOK (ca. 17M USD)) over four years to searching for gold and other precious metals, mainly in northern Norway.
The first 25 million (4.3M USD) will come in next year’s budget, which is presented on Tuesday. This will represent a doubling of the Geological Survey currently receive for such work.
Giske acknowledged that as most of the deposits are in Northern Norway, this may lead to conflict with reindeer herders, but insisted that any conflict between reindeer herding and mining was “fully manageable”
Not according to Nils Henrik Sara, the leader of the Sami Reindeer Herders Association of Norway(NRL), in a reaction in NRK Sami Radio,
“It’s not as simple as the industry minister told Adresseavisen. But of course for their enforcement system, it might be “manageable” because they do not account for what the reindeer industry says, and thus it is easy for them to get the reindeer industry to follow their terms “
The NRL leader clearly stated that their organization is against all mining in areas used by reindeer husbandry.
“NRL is against all who have an intention to destroy the industry’s reindeer pastures. Mining destroys grazing for reindeer, and it can not be accepted by NRL”
“Let the treasure hunt begin” the Minister was quoted as saying in the news report…
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Reindeer Blog » Evenki Reindeer Herders in Buryatia Rescue Plane Crash Victims
Evenki reindeer herders in Buryatia came to the rescue of the passengers and pilot of an AN-2 plane that crash landed in the taiga 300 km West of Chita, due to poor weather over the weekend. The herders were contacted by satellite phone and managed to locate the plane which had lost radar contact and loss of life was feared. Thankfully, herders found the plane, there were no injuries to the 8 passengers and herders were able to feed the survivors and provide them with warm clothing until they were airlifted out by helicopter.
Source – GZT.RU, RAIPON INFO Centre.
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Reindeer Blog » A Troubling Decline in the Caribou Herds of the Arctic (E360)
Across the Far North, populations of caribou — an indispensable source of food and clothing for indigenous people — are in steep decline. Scientists point to rising temperatures and a resource-development boom as the prime culprits.
by Ed Struzik, from Environment 360
In late July, a group of Inuit hunters set off by boat along the west coast of Banks Island to search for Peary caribou, which inhabit the Arctic archipelago of Canada. Roger Kuptana, a 62-year-old Inuit who had grown up on the island, didn’t give his fellow hunters much chance of success in their hunt for the animals, the smallest caribou sub-species in North America.
“I think it’s a waste of gas,” Kuptana told me when I visited his modest home in Sachs Harbour, a traditional community of roughly 100 people on the island, not far from the Yukon-Alaska border. “There used to be a lot of caribou around here when I grew up. But now you have to travel pretty far north to find them on the island. It’s not just here. It seems like this happening everywhere.”
As it turned out, Kuptana was right; the Inuit hunters found no Peary caribou, despite three days of searching. The hunters’ predicament is familiar to the Eskimos of Alaska, other Inuit of Canada and Greenland, and the Nenets, Komi, Evenks, Chukotkans, and indigenous groups of northern Russia and Scandinavia. Throughout the Arctic, many of the great caribou and reindeer herds that once roamed the treeless tundra, providing an indispensible source of meat and clothing for aboriginal groups, are in free-fall.
Thirty-four of the 43 major herds that scientists have studied worldwide in the last decade are in decline, with caribou numbers plunging 57 percent from their historical peaks. Some populations have fallen precipitously: The Bathurst herd in Canada’s central Arctic has plummeted from a peak of 472,000 in 1986 to 32,000 today — a drop of 93 percent.
According to scientists, the causes of the global caribou decline are straightforward: rapidly rising Arctic temperatures are throwing caribou out of sync with the environment in which they evolved; oil and gas development, mining, logging, and hydropower projects in the Far North are impinging on the caribou’s range; and, though not a major factor, hunting is further depleting already beleaguered caribou populations.
In the 1.6 million years that caribou have roamed the northern hemisphere, their populations have risen and fallen with cycles of glaciation and deglaciation. In more recent millennia, populations have ebbed and flowed on a regional basis. But what concerns many caribou experts now is the rapid, global decline of caribou and reindeer (reindeer is the Old World name for the caribou, Rangifer tarandus) in the face of precipitous warming.
Two caribou experts from the University of Alberta, Liv Vors and Mark Boyce, have done extensive research showing that a host of factors related to warming are taking a heavy toll on caribou populations, which they say now “hover on the precipice of major decline.” These factors range from a growing incidence of extreme weather and ice storms, which prevent caribou from reaching lichen and other vegetation under the ice, to a significant increase in mosquitoes and flies, which torment the animals and prevent them from foraging and gaining the body mass needed to successfully reproduce.
Peary caribou have been particularly hard hit by weather-related events. Back in 1961, when the first aerial survey of the Arctic islands was done, biologists estimated Peary caribou numbers to be 24,000. Since then, at
least two catastrophic freeze-ups that were caused by early fall ice storms and rains and early, short-lived spring thaws resulted in more than 90 percent of the animals starving to death because they could not punch through the ice to get to food. Peary caribou populations have fallen today to about 2,000 animals. Scientists in the far-northern Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard told me earlier this spring that they are seeing the same kind of icing take a toll on reindeer in that region.
While there is evidence to suggest that these severe icings have happened in the past, there are also signs that they are likely to occur more often in the future. In recent decades, the Arctic has been heating up twice as fast as the rest of the northern hemisphere — with temperatures routinely rising by 4 to 5 degrees F — making fall rains, early thaws, and severe icing events increasingly common.
Both caribou and reindeer are better adapted to cold than they are to warmer, moister weather. In cold, dry winters there is less snow to slow them down and sap their energy while they’re on the move or being chased by wolves. Less snow, especially if it is not icy and hard-packed, also makes it easier for them to dig down to the vegetation they need in order to get them through to the summer months.
But the icing problem is only one of a host of warming-related effects now plaguing caribou. In a paper published last year in Global Change Biology, Vors and Boyce detailed these impacts. As spring arrives earlier and earlier, “the flush of highly nutritious plant growth” has advanced. Yet caribou reproduction and calving are not occurring earlier, meaning the calves are born past the peak of prime forage availability.
In addition, the lichen and other tundra plants favored by caribou are gradually being replaced by shrubs and trees that are advancing northward as the Arctic warms. Vladislav Nuvano, an expert on the history of reindeer herding in Chukotka, in the Russian Far East, told me recently that reindeer herders there are seeing woody shrubs expand at the expense of lichens and other reindeer food.
Vors and Boyce also reported that rising temperatures have led to an increase in mosquitoes and flies, whose harassment of caribou interferes with their ability to forage and ultimately means that the animals gain less weight. One study in southern Norway showed that rather than increasing foraging times to compensate for harrying by insects, the animals lost body
mass, which makes it harder for the calves to survive the winter and for adults to successfully reproduce.
As other, more southerly animals, such as deer, move north as the Arctic warms, they invade caribou territory, bringing with them disease, such as the meningeal brain worm, according to Vors and Boyce. The worm does not harm deer, but kills caribou. In addition, as moose arrive from the south, wolf packs follow them, and while the much-larger moose are more successful at fending off wolves, caribou succumb more easily to the predators.
Komi reindeer herders along the Kola Peninsula in Arctic Russia are already complaining that their animals are losing 20 percent of their weight by the time they take them to slaughter. Not only is heavy snow making it more difficult to move the animals, warmer temperatures are delaying the winter round-up by up to two months because the lakes the herders need to cross are not freezing over as fast as they once did.
The other major threat to global caribou populations is industrial encroachment — the roads, pipelines, drilling platforms, mines, dams, and other human development that is shrinking the size and quality of the habitat these animals can move to when they become stressed by climate changes and overhunting.
In northern Canada, French mining giant Areva is proposing a $1.5 billion uranium mine near the calving grounds of the Beverly caribou herd, located in Nunavut Territory. That herd’s numbers have fluctuated considerably in recent decades, going from an estimated 210,00 in 1971 to 110,000 in 1980, to 286,000 in 1994. Aerial surveys done in the past several years show a steep drop in both the number of cows and calves, indicating that the herd now contains far fewer animals than in the mid-1990s.
The Canadian government is backing the Areva project, which will include four open pit mines, one underground mine, and the construction of roads
and bridges. The project promises to create 400 jobs, many of which will go to the chronically underemployed Inuit in the region. But indigenous hunters oppose the mine, saying it could seal the fate of the Beverly caribou herd and create a precedent that will endanger other herds in the Canadian tundra. Half of the world’s caribou populations live in Canada’s Far North, which also contains most of the world’s uranium.
Farther south in Canada, logging and other human activities have led to a steady decline in numbers of woodland and mountain caribou. Yet, according to University of Montana caribou expert Mark Hebblewhite, Environment Canada has dragged its feet for years on creating reserves and migration corridors for these caribou sub-species.
Across the Arctic, development — sometimes aided by warming that is increasingly opening up the once ice-covered Arctic Ocean — threatens caribou and reindeer. In the central region of the Russian Arctic, the reindeer-herding Evenks have been struggling to stop a $13 billion hydroelectric development that will flood an area ten times the size of New York City.
In Greenland, a 22-mile access road that was built in 2000 between the Kangerlussuaq airport and the Greenland Ice Cap has already caused a major habitat alteration for the Kangerlussuaq-Sisimiut herd. The road, which provides year-round access to tourists, day-trippers, and hunters, traverses what was once sensitive habitat for the herd during the calving and post-calving periods. Now, ALCOA, the world’s largest producer of aluminum, wants to build a giant smelter in the region, along with several hydro dams to power it.
Anne Gunn, a former biologist with the government of the Northwest Territories and now a scientific consultant, is concerned that the whittling away of caribou habitat is occurring just as the animals are feeling the effects of global warming. Unlike some scientists, Gunn, who has more than 30 years of field experience, believes caribou can adapt to the climate changes occurring now. She is most concerned that very little is being done to protect critical caribou habitat, especially the critical calving grounds and migration corridors. Of 24 large caribou herds being tracked by CARMA — the Circumpolar Rangifer Monitoring and Assessment Network — only the calving grounds of the Porcupine and Bluenose West herds are fully or largely protected.
“For caribou it is all about ‘space’ — their perceptions of what space they need, including the space needed to distance themselves from us,” said Gunn. “Climate change and overhunting are very serious factors that need to be addressed. But unless we give caribou the space they need, I’m afraid we’re going to see these declines continue.”
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Reindeer Blog » Canadian Blackstone Ventures to Mine Reindeer Pastures, Sweden
The Canadian mining company Blackstone ventures has managed to buy the rights to start drilling in the Vindelfjällen nature reserve in the north of Sweden. The company is planning to drill right by one of the most ancient Sámi summer villages still inhabited every summer by the reindeer herders and reindeer of Grans Sameby, the northernmost mountain Sami village in Västerbotten.
This story has been getting some coverage in the Swedish Sami media, most recently with this story, where it was reported that the Grans Sameby wanted Blackstone to pay them 1.5 million SEK (215,000 USD) for the additional work and feed for reindeer because now Sami had to keep animals in enclosures and feed them artificially instead of free-grazing. Village leader, Tobias Jonsson says that they had several meetings with Blackstone, only when the company applied for exploration permits for areas Vindelvaggen 1-4, and Umeå lake. Then they had several consultations on the work plans, but the mining company Blackstone has been unwilling to listen to the Sami village’s views.
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Reindeer Blog » More Wind Parks for Finnmark on Reindeer Pastures
Finnmark Kraft has been granted a licence to establish a new wind park on the Berlevag peninsula, where there is already a wind park. As many as 100 wind turbines could be established supplying up to 300 MW. The company have been reluctant to estimate how many towers they would build in the past, as when numbers were estimated for the Kvalsund region, reindeer herders objected.
John Masvik, CEO of Finnmark Kraft, stated in Finnmarken newspaper,
There were strong views in reindeer herding, one might say. We have learned from this, and it is important for us to enter into dialogue with them as quickly as possible
This would occur after the current autumn migrations are completed, by November and December. The regional administration are extremely keen for the development to proceed.
Source – Finnmarken
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Reindeer Blog » Don’t Call Me a Koryak! Премьера коряком не считать!
Seems a strange thing for the Russian PM, Vladimir Putin to say, but he was calling for the elaboration of rules that would prevent outsiders from moving into the North, declaring they are members of one or another of the numerically small peoples there, and claiming the special benefits these groups enjoy. At a meeting yesterday devoted to the development of the Russian fishing industry, Putin directed Russian officials to address this problem that few outsiders even knew existed, one that activists of these people say is restricting much-needed opportunities for these communities (see RAIPON article Самозванцам закроют путь в коренные народы Севера).
Please don’t list me as a Koryak. I am a Russian. My ancestors from the 18th century lived in Tver guberniya and over these centuries went to the same church. I ask you to develop up to date, correct and civilized rules that don’t offend ethnic feelings or limit the rights of the indigenous peoples
While this has been an issue highlighted around indigenous peoples who fish and not one that has been connected to reindeer husbandry, this of course may change over time and Putin was not referring to Koryak reindeer herders but people claiming to be Koryak to gain access to fishing and hunting rights and takes special import when the census of indigenous peoples is now underway. See Reindeer Blog Story here.
Source: KAMCITY, WindowsonEurasia,
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Reindeer Blog » Census of Indigenous Peoples in Russia Begins
Russia Starts Census of Indigenous Peoples – Download and Listen to MP 3 (Source Voice of Russia)
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Reindeer Blog » Video and Photos from Yamal – Arctic Centre Finland Research
(Video Bruce Forbes) The Arctic Centre of Finland is Finland’s national arctic research centre. Researchers at the Arctic Centre have been carrying out research on the Yamal Peninsula with Nenets reindeer herders for many years primarily under the theme of Global Change and Land use change. Videos and Photos from this years field work on Yamal, led by Dr. Bruce Forbes can be see here
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Reindeer Blog » Reindeer Herding Sami in Sweden Suffer Depression, Anxiety
A recent study published in the International Journal for Circumpolar Health concluded that reindeer herding Sami in Sweden, most particularly men, were more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety than others. Entitled “Depression and anxiety in the reindeer-herding Sami population of Sweden” , the objectives were to investigate symptoms and predicting factors of depression and anxiety among reindeer-herding Sami in Sweden and a total of 319 reindeer-herding Sami (168 men, 151 women) were compared with urban and rural reference populations comprising 1,393 persons (662 men, 731 women).
The Sami population disclosed higher mean values for both depression and anxiety than the reference groups, with Sami men reporting the highest rates. Work-related stress was associated with anxiety and depression in the Sami group and the study concluded that by comparing Sami men and women with reference groups of men and women living in urban and rural areas in northern Sweden, this study identified that reindeer-herding Sami men require special attention with regard to mental health problems.
(Int J Circumpolar Health, Published online 18.08.2010)
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Reindeer Blog » Study to look at market interest in reindeer in Alaska
FAIRBANKS (AP) — For most hungry Alaskans, reindeer meat doesn’t represent much more than a spicy sausage link.
University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers want to know if there’s more potential for the state’s roughly 18,000 reindeer. A new market study is under way to see whether local consumers are interested in high-end cuts of reindeer, and to determine what they’re willing to pay for them.
Greg Finstad, the manager of UAF’s Reindeer Research Program, hopes to see a day when customers eagerly throw a petite reindeer steak on the grill.
“We’re trying to establish the connection — the business relationship between the retailer and consumer,” Finstad said.
UAF researchers began providing Home Grown Market with sides of reindeer last week to gauge demand for the product. The small Geraghty Avenue grocery, which specializes in locally grown foods, is offering reindeer steaks and ground meat.
The market study is expected to last for the next year. Throughout the process, Home Grown Market has agreed to open its books so UAF can determine the specific cost of selling the meat.
The reindeer isn’t cheap — steaks are selling for $25 per pound — but they offer a local product that’s been virtually impossible to find in the past.
Alaska’s reindeer has almost all gone toward sausage, and even the choice cuts went into the grinder. Because of that, reindeer herders on the Seward Peninsula have little concept of the worth of a good reindeer steak.
“They’re raising these reindeer, but they have no idea what their market value is,” Finstad said.
Home Grown Market owner Jeff Johnson said sales have been modest in the first week, although they’ve grown each day. Even so, Johnson said his reasons for participating in the market study aren’t purely financial.
“In my opinion, it’s not about making money — it’s about helping an entire industry,” Johnson said. “If we can get an entire industry going, all of us are going to benefit.”
Finstad said the Reindeer Research Program isn’t in a position to supply a large grocery store with meat, and that at this point it doesn’t want to.
He’s counting on a small store owner like Johnson to help provide customers with guidance on how to cook reindeer, which is an important step in promoting the meat.
“We need to educate the consumer,” he said. “You can’t do that with a large, impersonal grocery chain.”
Both Finstad and Johnson rave about the flavor of reindeer, but say preparation is key. Finstad said people often cook reindeer like they would beef, which almost always ends with disappointing results.
Johnson compared reindeer to lamb, with a rich, delicate flavor. He said a medium-rare preparation, with some grilled onions and minimal seasonings, seems to highlight it best.
Reindeer also is more affordable than it would initially appear, he said, since servings are petite steaks of 4 ounces or less.
“You’re buying this because it’s a unique flavor,” Johnson said. “It’s going to complement a good wine and some local veggies. It’s not a big piece of meat to be the main attraction.”
Finstad said reindeer is more nutritious than alternatives like beef, with high protein and low fat and cholesterol. He said it’s among the most tender meats available, and has a flavor that’s rich without tasting gamy.
The study requires a long-term commitment, Finstad said. He expects some customers will initially buy reindeer simply because it’s a novelty, but said it’s important to know if they’ll come back for more.
If the market study is a success, Finstad said the Reindeer Research Program wants to shift the supply chain to Seward Peninsula herders. He said there are no long-term plans for UAF to become a commercial supplier of reindeer meat.
“We want to work ourselves out of a job,” Finstad said.
Source – By Jeff Richardson Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
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News from arctic-council.org » The next SAO meeting is to take place in Tórshavn
In October, the Senior Arctic Officials of the Arctic Council will meet for their fall session, this time in Tórshavn, The Faroe Islands. The meeting will be an important step in the preparations for the Ministerial Meeting in Nuuk, Greenland in May 2011, which will mark the ending of the Danish Chairmanship and the starting point for Sweden as Chair of the Arctic Council. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Russian Emergency Response Exercise
EXERCISE–EXERCISE– The emergency response exercise "Exercise Arctic 2010", sponsored by the Arctic Council Working Group EPPR, took place at the Nerpa Shipyard near Murmansk, in the Russian Federation, on 28-29 July. [Link]
Reindeer Blog » Herders, Farmers Threaten to Shoot Reindeer From Norway
Farmers and herders in Northern Finland have threatened to shoot reindeer from Norway. “Between December 2009 and May 2010, we have counted, and sent back about 4200 Norwegian reindeer, ” said Assistant Police Chief in Peräpohjola police in Finland, Ossi Hyvönen. Hyvönen estimated the damage to pastures to be as much as 120,000 Euros, just under 1 Million NOK, according to a reports NRK Radio. “In particular the farmers are very angry. If we have no choice, we may have to shoot some reindeer before the reindeer owners on the Norwegian side pay attention. More fences on the Norwegian side of the border were discussed as being a solution the issue. Source: NRK
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News from arctic-council.org » Biodiversity Trends: The Polar Bear
‘Arctic Biodiversity Trends – 2010: Selected Indicators of Change’, the Arctic Council/CAFF report synthesizing scientific findings on the status and trends for selected biodiversity in the Arctic, was launched earlier this year. It has one chapter on Polar Bears, and the findings from this chapter are summarized below. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Inuit Leaders Meet in Nuuk, Greenland
Greenland hosts the World's Inuit Leaders in Nuuk, June 28 – July 2, 2010. The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), one of the 6 Permanent Participants in the Arctic Council, holds its General Assembly in Nuuk, Greenland, from June 28 to July 2. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » EPPR Meeting in Vorkuta
Emercom of the Russian Federation hosted the annual meeting of the Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR) Working Group of the Arctic Council in Vorkuta, Russia, which took place June 16-18. [Link]
Reindeer Blog » Gazprom and Statoil Sign Sci-Tech Agreement
The two Shtokman partners to expand cooperation through a sci-tech cooperation program.
Today within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2010 Alexander Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Peter Mellbye, Executive Vice President of Statoil signed an Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation.
Pursuant to the Agreement, the parties will in such areas as geological exploration and development of hydrocarbon fields; hydrocarbons production and treatment before transportation; technologies and equipment for the hydrocarbons transportation; environmental protection of the Northern seas and territories; Health, Safety and Environment issues under northern conditions; energy saving; renewable energy sources; gas processing; project management and corporate governance.
According to the document Gazprom and Statoil will compile a Sci-Tech Cooperation Program to be adjusted every 1 to 3 years for the purpose of joint efforts coordination.
Background
Gazprom and Statoil are partners in Phase 1 of the Shtokman gas and condensate field development.
In June 2009, Gazprom and Statoil signed the Memorandum of Understanding. The document provides for joint activities of the companies in the area of exploration, development and production of hydrocarbon resources in northern regions.
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Reindeer Blog » Yamal Reindeer Meat to Finland..
Finland’s largest processor of reindeer meat, Lapin Liha, is to begin to import reindeer meat from the Yamal Peninsula.
This will signal the first time that Yamal reindeer meat is imported to a country that already has a domestic reindeer meat industry.
Lapin Liha stated to the media that this was necessary as there was simply not enough reindeer meat supply in the market in Finland to meet their production goals of 40,000 reindeer per year. Currently they are processing around 24000 per year, 3000 of which come from Sweden.
Lapin Liha plan to import 200-250,000 kilos per year, all of which will come from the EU certified slaughterhouse in Yar-Sale, which was constructed by the Finnish company Kometos Oy.
Read the news release here on the Lapin Liha site.
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Reindeer Blog » ‘Wind turbines set out to conquer Sweden’s great north’ AP
MARKBYGDEN, Sweden, By Marc Preel (AFP) — While community opposition often blocks or hampers new wind power projects, Sweden has managed to break ground for Europe’s largest wind park counting more than 1,000 giant turbines, with barely a whisper of protest.
The secret? The giant Markbygden wind farm — covering more than 500 square kilometres, or the equivalent of five times the size of Paris — is being built in a virtually uninhabited, desolate stretch of Sweden’s great north.
“If I were to try the same thing in Germany, it would take me 20 years to get everyone’s agreement,” Wolfgang Kropp, the German head of the project, told AFP.
Standing on the shores of the Baltic Sea at the Piteaa harbour near the wind park site, he added: “For the same area, you would have 10,000 land owners. Here there are three.
“That’s why we came here to Sweden in search of a good location,” he said.
“In the south of the country, it is very difficult. There are farms, and vacation homes. Here in the north, there is no one,” he said.
Kropp’s company Svevind, a client of German wind power giant Enercon, is leading the construction of the park, with 1,101 wind turbines scheduled to be built by 2022.
They should then produce energy equivalent to the production of two nuclear reactors.
The site stretches across a vast area covered with dense pine forests interspersed with scattered villages of just a handful of brightly painted wooden houses.
They are surrounded by silence broken only by the occasional car or a fighter jet from a neighbouring base screaming past on a training mission.
The giant wind park is widely popular here.
The main forestry, paper and metals industries in the region are facing new environmental and climate regulations requiring them to significantly shrink their carbon footprints by 2020.
That is something a change in energy dependence should help with.
“We want to turn this region into a new centre of green energy production,” said Robert Bergman of Solander Science Park, a scientific laboratory in Piteaa studying among other things the potential of wood and paper-based fuels.
The wind park project “is an obvious asset,” he added.
It is also viewed by many as a new source of income and an incentive for people to stay on in the surrounding, increasingly deserted villages.
Despite the sparse population around the park site, there are nevertheless some dissenting voices.
Most opposition comes from the indigenous Samis, who fear the towering turbines will heavily encroach on their reindeer grazing areas, already significantly hit by forestry and tourism in the area.
In late April, the local Sami council refused a compensation package of 5,000 kronor (520 euros, 630 dollars) per turbine and per year, or a total of more than five million kronor each year after the entire park has been built.
“We say no. The amount does not correspond to the problems that this will cause and the threat it poses to our herds,” Anders Ruth, who heads up the local council in Oestra Kikkejaure, said.
“The same number of reindeer will have to be fed in a much smaller area that will be much more developed,” she added.
“This will not work and it is not possible to find other grazing grounds.” About a quarter of the local Sami grazing areas would be affected by the park, Ruth said.
In an attempt to appease the criticism, the project developers have stressed they will not fence in the area, but some 600 kilometres of new roads through the dense forests will in any case dramatically shrink the area where the reindeer are free to roam.
Svevind says it understands the reindeer owners concerns, but that there is no better alternative location for the park.
“It’s true, the paper industry has already taken their forests, the dams have already taken their rivers, the mines have taken what’s underground. And now it’s the wind turbine,” said Mikael Kyrk, a Swedish Svevind executive.
“But at the same time, that’s the way development works.”
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Reindeer Blog » Wild Reindeer in Finland Under Threat
Finland’s rare wild forest reindeer may be facing total extinction, says the Finnish Hunters` Association. The group is calling for Finland and the EU to jointly protect the wild reindeer by further regulating the population of large predators.
The sharp drop in the number of wild Finnish forest reindeer (Rangifer tarandus fennicus) is attributed to the growing numbers of wolves, lynx and bears that prey upon them. The Hunters` Association is calling for more permits to hunt these predators in parts of the country where they threaten wild reindeer.
In Kainuu, in the northwest, the wild forest reindeer population has decline by half over the past decade. Counts now give an estimate of only about 800 of the animals left there. In addition to the wild forest reindeer in Kainuu, there are about 1000 in the old-growth forest areas of west-central Finland.
The wild Finnish forest reindeer are the last population of their species in the world.
Source – YLE
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Reindeer Blog » First Female Head of Finnish Reindeer Herders Association Elected: Notes Challenges to Reindeer Husbandry
On Sunday Anne Ollila became the first woman to head the Reindeer Herders’ Association of Finland.
Both she and the reindeer herding sector face great challenges, writes the daily Lapin Kansa:
“The challenges are not insurmountable because a Finn never leaves a reindeer in the lurch. Lapland wouldn’t be Lapland without reindeers.
The reindeer herding sector will continue to be important for the economy of the north, which serves not only its own people but because of rising tourism also a growing number of customers.
For the future it is vital that reindeers and reindeer meat continue to enjoy an excellent reputation. In a world of green values it’s good to stress that reindeers which grow up surrounded by clean nature leave behind smaller ecological footprints than other ruminants.”
Source – Baltic Review
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News from arctic-council.org » Arctic Social Indicators
The report "Arctic Social Indicators- a follow-up to the Arctic Human Development Report" was recently finalized and published by The Nordic Council of Ministers. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Arctic Council at the IPY-OSC
The International Polar Year- Oslo Science Conference is taking place in Oslo, Norway, in the period 8-12 June. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Rapid Changes in the Arctic
The report "Arctic Biodiversity Assessment – Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010: Selected indicators of change" is being launched at the IPY Oslo Science Conference. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Conference of Arctic Parliamentarians
The Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Chair of the Arctic Council, Ms. Lene Espersen, was attending a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Conference of Arctic Parliamentarians (SCPAR) on June 7th. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Deputy Ministers’ Meeting in the Arctic Council, 27 May 2010
Information from the Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials: For the first time in the history of the Arctic Council a meeting was held between Deputy Ministers in Copenhagen on 27 May 2010. The meeting was a part of the Danish Chairmanship programme in the Arctic Council, which will conclude at the Ministerial Meeting in May 2011. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Rapid Changes for Arctic Flora and Fauna
The report ‘The Arctic Biodiversity Trends – 2010: Selected Indicators of Change’, was presented in Copenhagen recently. The report is synthesizing scientific findings on the status and trends for selected biodiversity in the Arctic, and is issued by the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) Working Group under the Arctic Council. [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Arctic Council Deputy Ministers’ Meeting
Denmark hosts the first deputy ministers meeting in the Arctic Council ever [Link]
Reindeer Blog » Iceland’s Reindeer and the Volcano…
While the world has heard a lot about the impact of the Icelandic volcano on air traffic and the economy, what about its impact on Iceland’s reindeer?
In the last few weeks, the world could hardly have failed to have heard about the Icelandic volcano with the difficult to pronounce (for non Icelandic speakers) name. Air traffic has been disrupted across Europe and airlines have lost over a billion dollars in lost revenue. The impact on the regions climate is unclear but has been the topic of much speculation.
The Reindeer Portal contacted Iceland’s reindeer expert Skarphéðinn G. Þórisson of the Náttúrustofa Austurlands (East Iceland Natural History Institute), in Egilsstadir for an update of the impact of the volcano on the country’s reindeer. Read the full article here on the Reindeer Portal.
(Photo by Ólafur Sigurjónsson)
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Reindeer Blog » ВОСЕМЬСОТ КИЛОГРАММОВ РОГОВ
Каковы реальные объемы браконьерства в Карелии?
На российско-литовской границе задержали петрозаводских предпринимателей, пытавшихся незаконно вывезти более 800 (!) килограммов рогов северных оленей.
Произошло это на карельской таможне, где нарушители оформляли разрешение на экспорт рогов лося и их лома. Как рассказали нам в пресс-службе карельской таможни, у их сотрудников сразу возникло подозрение, что только рогами лося тут дело не ограничится. Но производить “усиленный” досмотр груза наши таможенники не стали, они сообщили о своих подозрениях коллегам на пропускном пункте Бурачки в Псковской области. Так нарушителей удалось задержать с поличным. В фургоне их грузовика обнаружилось 495 единиц рогов оленей и даже несколько рогов барана. Понятное дело, эти товары никак не были задекларированы, никаких документов на них не было. Вся история усугубилась еще и тем, что несколько недель назад в Лоухском районе браконьеры расстреляли 14 северных оленей, занесенных в Красную книгу Карелии. Если опасения карельских таможенников подтвердятся, то реальный размах браконьерства и убийства северных оленей в Карелии шокирует.
– Сейчас идет экспертиза рогов, – объясняют в пресс-службе карельской таможни. – Охотоведы нам объяснили, что в Карелии добывать северных оленей запрещено, а вот в Якутии и Мурманской области их можно отстреливать. Так что нам сейчас нужно установить, принадлежат или нет конфискованные рога карельским северным оленям.
Если да, то нарушители не ограничатся только штрафом, будет идти речь и об уголовном деле.
Оказывается, на вывоз даже пары рогов северных оленей нужно иметь лицензию, которую выдают специалисты ветеринарного контроля Россельхознадзора РК.
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Reindeer Blog » Reindeer Antler Smugglers Caught
A group of businessmen from the Republic of Karelia in April unsuccessful tried to smuggle 800 kg of reindeer horns from Russia to Latvia.
The smugglers where caught by customs officers in Pskov Oblast near the border to Latvia. In the truck, the customs officers found 495 units of reindeer horn with a total weight of more than 800 kg. The goods had no customs declaration, nor any other documentation, weekly newspaper Karelskaya Gubernya reports
The revealed smuggling attempt might indicate large-scale reindeer poaching in Karelia, regional authorities say. Specialists now investigate whether the horns stem from Karelia or from the neighboring Murmansk Oblast.
While reindeer hunting is strictly forbidden in Karelia, Murmansk Oblast has a functioning reindeer industry operated primarily by the indigenous Sami population. Several thousand reindeer use the rich pasture lands of the Kola Peninsula. Source: Barents Observer
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Reindeer Blog » Yamal Reindeer Blood to China?
The preserved blood of reindeer could become a promising area of cooperation between Russia’s Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area and China, a deputy governor of the region in Russia’s Far North said Sunday.
The Yamal-Nenets area, “Russia’s outpost in the Arctic,” became the first of Russian regions to present itself at the international exhibition World Expo 2010 that opened in Shanghai on Saturday.
The deputy governor, Andrei Kugayevsky, responsible for his area’s agroindustrial sector, told RIA Novosti that China showed interest in receiving preserved reindeer blood.
“China is likely to be the main consumer of preserved reindeer blood as they actively use biostimulants it contains,” he also said.
Kugayevsky said blood preservation makes it possible to produce various substances used in pharmacology.
The 2010 World Expo fair is to run from May 1 to October 31. Some 70 million visitors are expected to attend the event.
[Link]
Reindeer Blog » Reindeer Breeding First in Fairbanks
(Source: SitNews) – Thursday’s birth of a 10-pound male reindeer calf at the Fairbanks Experiment Farm made worldwide agricultural history: It marks the culmination of the first documented successful pregnancy of a reindeer by artificial insemination using frozen-and-thawed semen.
The calf appeared at 3 p.m. on April 22, as University of Alaska Fairbanks Reindeer Research Program herdsman Rob Aikman worked nearby. He noticed the calf’s mother, a 2 1/2-year-old named Lightning, was having difficulty and went to assist. As he tugged on the calf, he noticed its heart was beating but that the calf was not breathing. After Aikman performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, the calf was fine.
In September, seven females were artificially inseminated with frozen semen shipped from Canada. Once in Fairbanks, it was thawed and a veterinarian performed the necessary technique. Six pregnancies did not take.
“This is a first and it’s a small step,” said Milan Shipka, an animal scientist at the UAF School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences, which runs the Reindeer Research Program. “We will work to get the bugs out so it will become a tool for reindeer producers.”
He said the procedure allows reindeer owners to move genetics over great distances without having to move live animals. The Reindeer Research Program is dedicated to the study of reindeer: researching meat science, range management and animal health. The applied science is then shared with reindeer producers.
“We are absolutely excited,” said Shipka, who is also a livestock specialist with UAF Cooperative Extension Service. “Janice Rowell and I have been taking steps to get here and we really appreciate the assistance of the Reindeer Research Program. This is just the beginning.”
(SitNews) – Thursday’s birth of a 10-pound male reindeer calf at the Fairbanks Experiment Farm made worldwide agricultural history: It marks the culmination of the first documented successful pregnancy of a reindeer by artificial insemination using frozen-and-thawed semen.
 Lightning, a female reindeer at the Fairbanks Experiment Farm, rests with her newborn calf on Thursday, April 22 at the farm on the UAF campus. Photo by PJ Soden |
The calf appeared at 3 p.m. on April 22, as University of Alaska Fairbanks Reindeer Research Program herdsman Rob Aikman worked nearby. He noticed the calf’s mother, a 2 1/2-year-old named Lightning, was having difficulty and went to assist. As he tugged on the calf, he noticed its heart was beating but that the calf was not breathing. After Aikman performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, the calf was fine.
In September, seven females were artificially inseminated with frozen semen shipped from Canada. Once in Fairbanks, it was thawed and a veterinarian performed the necessary technique. Six pregnancies did not take.
“This is a first and it’s a small step,” said Milan Shipka, an animal scientist at the UAF School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences, which runs the Reindeer Research Program. “We will work to get the bugs out so it will become a tool for reindeer producers.”
He said the procedure allows reindeer owners to move genetics over great distances without having to move live animals. The Reindeer Research Program is dedicated to the study of reindeer: researching meat science, range management and animal health. The applied science is then shared with reindeer producers.
“We are absolutely excited,” said Shipka, who is also a livestock specialist with UAF Cooperative Extension Service. “Janice Rowell and I have been taking steps to get here and we really appreciate the assistance of the Reindeer Research Program. This is just the beginning.”
[Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Arctic Council Senior Arctic Officials met in Ilulissat Greenland 28-29 April 2010
Fruitful meeting in the magnificent surroundings of Ilulissat [Link]
Reindeer Blog » Принят закон об этнологической экспертизе в местах проживания коренных малочисленных народов Севера
Пресс-служба Государственного Собрания (Ил Тумэн) Республики Саха (Якутия) сообщает, что депутаты парламента приняли в ходе XVI пленарного заседания республиканский закон об этнологической экспертизе в местах традиционного проживания и традиционной хозяйственной деятельности коренных малочисленных народов Севера.
Данный документ является законодательной инициативой группы народных депутатов республики – Виктора Губарева, Александра Крылова, Юрия Дойникова, Дмитрия Горохова, Андрея Кривошапкина, Сергея Ларионова, Елены Голомаревой, Семена Иванова. Как сообщил председатель постоянного комитета по проблемам Арктики и коренных малочисленных народов Севера Виктор Губарев, понятие «этнологическая экспертиза» в российское законодательство было введено в 1999 году федеральным законом «О гарантиях прав коренных малочисленных народов Российской Федерации».
«Но порядок проведения этнологической экспертизы, ее методы и критерии федеральными законами так до сих пор и не установлены», – отметил депутат. По его словам, новый закон принят в целях предотвращения и предупреждения негативных воздействий намечаемой хозяйственной и иной деятельности на исконную среду обитания, традиционного образа жизни, хозяйствования и промыслов, социально-экономического и культурного развития коренных малочисленных народов Севера Якутии.
Этнологическая экспертиза определена как научное исследование влияния изменений исконной среды обитания малочисленных народов и социально-культурной ситуации на развитие этноса.
«Смета расходов, порядок использования финансовых средств на проведение этнологической экспертизы утверждается правительством Якутии на основе предложений уполномоченного органа исполнительной власти. Уполномоченный орган может выполнять комплексный анализ демографической ситуации, социально-экономического положения и устойчивости этнокультурной среды групп коренного населения, проживающих в зоне потенциального воздействия промышленного освоения», – сказал Виктор Губарев.
По его словам, этнологическая экспертиза отражает не только оценку воздействия промышленного освоения на сообщества коренного и местного населения, но и рекомендации по осуществлению долгосрочных программ социально-экономической реабилитации коренных малочисленных народов Севера, образовательных программ, программ по сохранению культурного наследия, созданию фонда будущих поколений.
«Председатель правительства РФ Владимир Путин 28 августа 2009 года подписал распоряжение о плане мероприятий по реализации в 2009-2011 годах Концепции устойчивого развития коренных малочисленных народов Севера, Сибири и Дальнего Востока. Первым пунктом в этом документе указана разработка проекта нормативного правового акта о возмещении убытков, причиненных коренным малочисленным народам в результате нанесения хозяйственной деятельностью ущерба их исконной среде обитания», – отметил депутат.
Он также добавил, что в принятии данного республиканского закона заинтересован комитет Совета Федерации по делам Севера и коренных малочисленных народов. «Есть предпосылки, что наш закон станет основой для принятия соответствующего федерального закона», – сообщил Виктор Губарев.
Источник: Пресс-служба Ил Тумэна
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Reindeer Blog » Evenkia Dam Project Postponed
The Moscow Times informed that “RusHydro” will not decide on whether to build a dam in Evenkia this year, the company said Friday, after the project was lambasted at public hearings in Krasnoyarsk.
The Energy Ministry has finished work on the 2020 general plan of power generation, which predicts a growth in annual power consumption of up to 3.1 percent through 2030, Prime-Tass reported Thursday. A ministry representative said last week that the Evenkia dam was not included in the plan, which is expected to be submitted to the Cabinet for approval this summer.
Removal of the $21 billion Evenkia dam from the government’s official plan would once again put a hold on the controversial project, which met with fierce resistance from local residents and environmentalists.
Regional lawmakers and scientists discussed the dam Wednesday in the Krasnoyarsk legislative assembly, which said RusHydro had not sufficiently researched the consequences of constructing the dam and asked the government to look into alternative energy sources, according to the draft resolution. RusHydro did not attend the hearing.
Project of Evenki Hydropower Station in Krasnoyarskiy Krai
The construction would flood about 1 million hectares of the unique deciduous forests and pastures traditionally used by the Evenki reindeer herders and hunters. It would also flood a chamber that contains the radioactive brine left as a result of at least one of the underground nuclear explosions fired in the Lower Tunguska’s floodplain in 1970s.
The hydropower construction can bring to the population of Evenkia: destruction of the key traditional nature use territories; flood of the settlements including Tura, the capital of Evenkia; impossibility of navigation of the Lower Tunguska, which means a destruction of the transport system; huge influx of strange population that is well-known for its destructive influence on the indigenous peoples’ life. 
[Link]
Reindeer Blog » У домашних оленей Якутии демографический взрыв
На сайте информационного агентства ИА SAKHALIFE.RU опубликована информация о состоянии оленеводства в Якутии. Домашнее оленеводство республики в последние годы развивается очень динамично: растет поголовье оленей, стабилизируются показатели сохранности оленей и тугутов. Основой положительной динамики развития отрасли стало комплексное решение проблем, начиная от производственных и заканчивая решением вопросов социальной направленности. О том, как идет работа в отрасли, об предварительных итогах зимовки, начальных цифрах отела важенок рассказал руководитель департамента традиционных отраслей Севера Минсельхоза Якутии Иван ПАВЛОВ.
- Иван Петрович, каково сегодня поголовье оленей в республике – следствие напряженного и активного труда оленеводов?
– По данным территориального органа Федеральной службы государственной статистики по Республике Саха (Якутия) оленеводческие хозяйства всех категорий республики 2010 год производственную деятельность начали с выходным поголовьем – 200861 оленей, в том числе важенок и сыриц – 92786 голов (удельный вес – 46,1 %). По сравнению с 2008 годом за 2009 год увеличение поголовья составило 5,4 %. В прошлом 2009 году деловой выход тугутов составил в среднем по республике около 56,5 % или было получено 49911 тугутов, увеличение составило 2,5 %, показатель сохранности взрослого поголовья в среднем составил 85,4 %.
По оперативным данным управлений сельского хозяйства районов на 1 апреля с. г. поголовье оленей во всех категориях хозяйств составляет 188683 голов, это 93,9 % по сравнению с началом года и 106,0 % по сравнению с соответствующим периодом 2009 года. Один из важнейших показателей – маточное поголовье, к текущему периоду имеем 85743 важенок, или это чуть менее всей структуры стада (45,4 %).
С таким поголовьем мы вступили в 2010 год, по итогам I квартала подведены промежуточные итоги. Недавно прошла корализация – одно из наиболее ответственных работ оленеводом, когда уточняется не просто поголовье, но и состояние оленей, другие важнейшие аспекты работы. Так, по итогам 1 квартала выяснили, что оленепоголовье с начала года уменьшилось на 6,1 %, это средний показатель данного периода. Непроизводительный отход оленей за отчетный период составил 3,4 % (6876 гол.), наибольшие потери приходятся на потери – 4459, травеж – 1627 и падеж – 796 оленей.
Наибольшее число непроизводительного отхода оленей отмечено в хозяйствах Томпонского – 7,6 % (1488), Булунского – 11,1 % (1956), Оленекского – 7,3 % (351) и Олекминского – 7,4% (288). Вместе с тем, наибольшее число травежа оленей, от 100 до 170 голов, отмечено в хозяйствах Томпонского и Момского районов. По данным специалистов оленеводческих хозяйств причиной травежа оленей стала активизация волков на участках, малоснежность на маршрутах стад, что затрудняет охоту на волков наземным путем, запрет на использование яда и неэффективность использования капкана при малой толщине снежного покрова.
Основной проблемой зимовки стало то, что по Якутии выпало мало снега, что расширило ареал выпаса оленей, олени истощены, и как всегда, растет численность волков.
- Хозяйства каких форм сегодня работают в оленеводстве и сколько в них оленей содержится?
– Сегодня оленеводством занимаются 110 оленеводческих хозяйств, в том числе 7 государственных унитарных предприятий, 11 муниципальных унитарных предприятий, по одному открытому акционерному обществу, обществу ограниченной ответственностью и казенному предприятию, 12 производственных кооперативов, 75 родовых общин и два подсобных хозяйств предприятий.
Что касается численности оленей по формам собственности, то наибольшее количество оленей находится в сельскохозяйственных кооперативах – 27%, далее идут государственные унитарные предприятия (21,9%), родовые общины (20,4 %), муниципальные унитарные предприятия (14,6 %), личные подсобные хозяйства населения (12,1%). Наименьшее количество оленей в ведении казенного предприятия (0,7%), открытого акционерного общества (3%), общества ограниченной ответственности (0,2%), подсобных хозяйствах предприятий (0,1%).
Следует отметить, что численность поголовья оленей в республике увеличивается за счет крупных хозяйств тундровой и горно-таежной зон. Задача по увеличению поголовья оленей до 2012 года ставится в Абыйском, Аллаиховском, Момском, Жиганском, Оленекском и группе Колымских улусов, где имеются обширные оленепастбища и трудовые ресурсы. В данные улусы планируется поставка племенных оленей из племенных хозяйств республики.
- Иван Петрович, как идет отел на пастбищах? Как настроение оленеводов?
– Весенняя корализация оленей полностью завершена и все оленеводческие стада достигли пастбищ отела. С середины апреля начался отел оленей. Первыми, как принято, кампанию начали оленеводы Нижнеколымского и Аллаиховского районов. Всего по оперативным данным управлений сельского хозяйств районов на 29 апреля получено живых тугутов – 7.723 гол или 101,1 % к показателю прошлого года (7.641 гол). Оленеводами Нижнеколымского района получено 4.448, Усть-Янского – 655 Анабарского – 598 и Булунского – 593 тугутов.
Отдельные районы (Оленекский, Анабарский, Булунский) информируют о мокрых снегопадах и ветрах, но и там отел начался вовремя. Специалисты всех районов информируют о готовности оленеводов к проведению отела. Надеемся, что обязательства, принятые на II съезде оленеводов республики в с. Сасыр Момского района с призывом к 65-летию Победы в Великой Отечественной войне добиться по итогам года делового выхода тугутов не менее 60% и сохранности взрослого поголовья оленей не менее 90%, будут выполнены.
Так что настроение у оленеводов хорошее, тем более, что за 1 квартал средства на зарплату оленеводов ушли вовремя.
Ближайшие задачи оленеводов заключаются в оптимальном подборе весенних пастбищ для проведения отела, максимально сохранить приплод, поголовье. Идет работа по переброске продовольствия, снаряжения, дров (для тундровой зоны). Необходимо качественно заготовить, хранить и организовать перевозку сырых пантов с участков кочевания. Необходимо также усилить работу охотников-волчатников.
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Reindeer Blog » Debate on Mining in Finnmark Heats Up
(Map shows the mining claims in Kvalsund, an area important to migratory reindeer husbandry in Northern Norway, source: NGU) According to an article on TV2, one of the largest networks in Norway, Finnmark is sitting on a potential ‘treasure trove’ of over 1 billion NOK of valuable minerals and including cooper, gold, iron ore and valuable natural stones.
Helga Pedersen, deputy leader of the governing Labour Party was quoted as saying,
We are for mineral exploration in Inner Finnmark – But it’s not that we can say yes all, everywhere and at any price. We must also develop this industry and take account of the environment and to those on the plateau before (mining)
Here she is of course referring to the indigenous Sami, many of whom (especially reindeer herders) have been critical of the current ‘gold rush’ for minerals that is occurring in Finnmark. Surprisingly perhaps, Pedersen herself is of Sami ancestry and she has been a vigorous supporter of developing mining in the county. Legal researcher, Øyvind Ravna is quoted in the article as saying,
A charge should be introduced which would provide direct compensation to the indigenous Sami people if they are to accept such activities in their core areas
Ravna pointed to the activities of some mining ventures in Canada where First Nations are compensated directly for mining activity on their land. Pedersen is quick to rule out talk of compensation for mining for the Sami, which would be very unpopular among many Norwegian communities,
Meanwhile, in the regional media, the County Mayor of Finnmark is quoted as saying that people are getting angry that mining is being held up,
For far too long there has been talk of the great riches found in the county and how many jobs a new mining industry can provide. Now is the time that they should be realized otherwise people will become frustrated and eventually angry
[Link]
News from arctic-council.org » The Arctic Council visits Ilulissat
The number of tourists in Ilulissat has doublet up since the Icefjord granted status as World Heritage [Link]
News from arctic-council.org » Vulcanic Impacts on Arctic Environment
The Arctic Council Working Group AMAP suggests a study on the impacts of the Icelandic on the Arctic and Global Environment [Link]
Reindeer Blog » New Film From Yamal on Themes of Loss and Identity
A film based on the Yamal Peninsula (with a strong connection to reindeer husbandry) PUDANA – LAST OF LINE was recently released to acclaim at the directed by the husband-and-wife pairing of Markku Lehmuskallio and Anastasia Lapsui, has been awarded the Grand Jury Award for the best fiction feature film at the 32nd Festival International de Films de Femmes in Créteil in France. This is the second time that Lapsui and Lehmuskallio have carried off this award from Créteil – in 2000 their film Seitsemän laulua tundralta (“Seven Songs from the Tundra”) won the same prize. The film has just returned from a release tour of several villages on the Yamal Peninsula.
PUDANA – LAST OF THE LINE is a story of change, upbringing and deprivation of identity. The film takes place in the Yamal Peninsula during Soviet times and is based on a true story set in Director Anastasia Lapsui’s childhood surroundings. A little Nenets girl Neko is taken against her will from her home chum (teepee) to a boarding school in a remote Russian village. Forced to adapt to a foreign culture and new customs, Neko rebels against Sovietisation and gets bullied by her schoolmates and picked on by her teachers. After several conflicts Neko decides to flee together with her Nenets school mate hoping to get back to her reindeer herding family on the tundra. However, the children’s flight in is short-lived and the return to the boarding school and their new Russian life is inevitable.
The story is told as old Neko’s, or now Nadja’s, memory. Now, after long and full life, she recalls the moment that ended her childhood and started her life as a part of the other society. But something important has changed for good; Neko, the last of her family, has grown away from her original roots and lost her skill to sustain the ancient traditions of her family.
Source: Helsingin Sanomat
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Reindeer Blog » Парламент Якутии рассмотрел в первом чтении законопроект “О кочевой семье”
Народные депутаты Государственного собрания (Ил Тумэн) Республики Саха (Якутия) 14 апреля 2010 года в ходе XVI очередного пленарного заседания Государственного Собрания (Ил Тумэн) в первом чтении приняли проект республиканского закона «О кочевой семье».
С докладом по данному вопросу выступил председатель постоянного комитета Государственного Собрания (Ил Тумэн) по делам семьи, детства, молодежи, физической культуре и спорту Александр Подголов.
В законодательстве Российской Федерации и Республики Саха (Якутия) в области семейных отношений осуществлен обобщающий подход. Только в нормативных актах, касающихся социальных льгот и поддержки разных категорий населения, появляется типология семей: многодетные, имеющие детей-инвалидов, малообеспеченные. В принятом в 2008 году законе «Об охране семьи, материнства, отцовства и детства в Республике Саха (Якутия)» включен тип «молодая семья».
Однако в республике имеется еще один тип семьи, который не распространен в России, а имеет место на северных территориях и Сибири – это семьи оленеводов, охотников, рыбаков, ведущих кочевой образ жизни, то есть вынужденных следовать за основным источником своего существования – оленями – по тундре и тайге. Большинство из указанных семей, как правило, не имеют стационарного жилья в населенных пунктах, где они прописаны. С наступлением учебного года дети старше 7 лет отрываются от родителей и поселяются большей частью в интернатах при школах. Данное состояние приводит к разрыву поколений и отрыву молодежи от традиционного хозяйствования, навыки которого приобретаются только в постоянном пребывании в оленеводческих бригадах с раннего детства.
Отрасли традиционного природопользования не являются рыночными и не могут обеспечить требуемых условий жизни современного человека, тем более в нынешних условиях формирования новых экономических отношений. В советский период они пользовались полным государственным протекционизмом, на плечах совхозов содержались все северные деревни. Работа оленевода, охотника, рыбака была престижна и достаточно высоко оплачивалась. Поэтому семьи не испытывали недостатка.
В современных условиях члены этих семей фактически лишены конституционных прав на охрану здоровья, образование, равного культурного пространства.
Отсутствие системного подхода в решении вопросов коренных малочисленных народов Севера, преобладание отраслевого метода, привело к нарастанию негативных симптомов в их среде. Демографические показатели последних лет говорят о снижении среднего уровня продолжительности жизни (мужчины – 42, женщины – 45-50 лет) и уровня рождаемости. Смертность в среде малочисленных народов Севера увеличена на 26 %. Преобладает смертность не по естественным причинам: травматизм, убийства, самоубийства. Тревожным является суицидальная смертность в раннем возрасте и от социальных болезней – пьянства, полового нигилизма.
Кочевая семья большей частью распространена в оленеводстве. По данным министерства сельского хозяйства, всего в оленеводстве работают 1578 оленеводов и 636 чумработника. Вместе с ними кочуют 319 детей дошкольного возраста. Семьи оленеводов по-прежнему разобщены. На время каникул в виде производственных лагерей в оленеводстве было занято 544 школьника. 650 оленеводов детородного возраста не имеют семьи.
Состояние кочевых семей – основа существования самобытных северных этносов, уникальной циркумполярной цивилизации и традиционного природопользования – оленеводства, рыболовства, охоты. Следовательно, реабилитация кочевой семьи, семейных отношений необходима в целях восстановления психического баланса в среде народов Севера и сохранения традиционного природопользования, присущего этим этносам. Этому должен способствовать закон Республики Саха (Якутия) «О кочевой семье», которым юридически признается наличие таких специфических явлений в обществе как «кочевой образ жизни», «кочевая семья», впервые в международной практике рассматриваемые как самостоятельные системные социальные образования и предусматриваются государственные гарантии поддержки этих институтов.
«Это будет первый в мире подобный закон и им уже заинтересовались представители регионов России, а также Норвегии и Финляндии», – отметил Александр Подголов.
Законопроект вызвал бурное обсуждение среди народных депутатов республики, вопросы к докладчику задали Альбина Поисеева, Олег Тарасов, Анатолий Алексеев, Игорь Корнев, Александр Гаврильев, Эрнст Березкин, Александр Ким-Кимэн, Валентина Потрубейко.
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Reindeer Blog » Sami Council Criticize German Bank Funding of Wind Power on Reindeer Pastures
The Saami Council, the NGO that represents the Sami people in all four countries in which they live have released a strongly worded press release criticising the German bank KfW IPEX for their funding of a giant wind power project in Sami reindeer herding areas, in contravention of the OECD Convention on Multilateral Enterprises.
In their complaint the Saami Council argue that the project is socially unsustainable and in breach of Saami rights.
The Swedish government has granted planning permission for the world’s largest land based wind power park to be built in the municipality of Piteå, Sweden, where the Saami community of Östra Kikkejaur have their winter reindeer herding pastures. The wind power park will consist of over 1000 wind turbines, an 800 km road, and extensive infrastructure, which means that reindeer herding in the area will be severely restricted.
”The Swedish state has admitted that the project will destroy at least 25% of the Saami community’s winter reindeer herding pastures, but the state has argued that renewable energy is more important than Saami rights. The financier of the project’s first phase, the German bank KfW IPEX-Bank, has defended their investment by referring to the Swedish state’s approval of the project. But the state planning permission, and thereby KfW IPEX-Bank’s financing, are in breach of international law because Saami rights are not being respected”, says Mattias Åhrén, president for the Saami Council.
Download the Press Release 1004 Press release Markbygden
Download the Letter of Noticification to the Bank KfW IPEX 1004 Markbygden OECD
Text of the full press release below
German bank finances giant wind power project in breach of Saami rights
Saami Council has today lodged a complaint over the German KfW IPEX-Bank’s financing of a giant wind power project on Saami reindeer herding territories. The wind power project risks making reindeer herding unviable in the area and is therefore in breach of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. In their complaint the Saami Council argue that the project is socially unsustainable and in breach of Saami rights.
The Swedish government has granted planning permission for the world’s largest land based wind power park to be built in the municipality of Piteå, Sweden, where the Saami community of Östra Kikkejaur have their winter reindeer herding pastures. The wind power park will consist of over 1000 wind turbines, an 800 km road, and extensive infrastructure, which means that reindeer herding in the area will be severely restricted.
”The Swedish state has admitted that the project will destroy at least 25% of the Saami community’s winter reindeer herding pastures, but the state has argued that renewable energy is more important than Saami rights. The financier of the project’s first phase, the German bank KfW IPEX-Bank, has defended their investment by referring to the Swedish state’s approval of the project. But the state planning permission, and thereby KfW IPEX-Bank’s financing, are in breach of international law because Saami rights are not being respected”, says Mattias Åhrén, president for the Saami Council.
The Saami community has been in contact with the German bank, KfW IPEX-Bank, and highlighted the fact that the bank’s financing of the project is not in line with the bank’s commitments regarding human rights, indigenous rights, and environmental sustainability. The Saami community has also requested a meeting with the bank, but the bank has ignored the community’s request. In their communication with the community KfW IPEX-Bank claim that the bank’s commitments do not apply to projects in OECD countries, and therefore are not relevant to Sweden. The bank argues that they follow Swedish law and the decisions of Swedish public authorities, and that this is guarantee enough that Saami rights are respected.
”The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises apply of course to projects in all countries, and Sweden is no exception. We look forward to a dialog with the German government regarding KfW IPEX-Bank’s investment in this controversial project. It is a myth that Sweden respects human rights”, says Mattias Åhrén, president for the Saami Council.
Sweden has received repeated and harsh international critique from the UN Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the UN Human Rights Committee because Sweden breaches Saami land rights by not regulating resource development activities on traditional Saami lands and does not give Saami communities the opportunity for effective participation in decisions that affect them.
Contact: Mattias Åhrén, President, Saami Council +47 47 37 91 61
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Reindeer Blog » Mining and Reindeer Can Mix According to Senior Politician, Norway
A multi stakeholder seminar was held in the Kautokeino, Norway yesterday which focussed on the issue of mining in Finnmark, an issue of some controversy in the region since the passing of the Finnmark Act which devolved desicion making powers over multiple resource issues to the region of Finnmark. The seminar was attended by the leader of the EALÁT project and several EALÁT partners including the leader of the Sami Reindeer Herders Association of Norway. Heavyweight politicians were present, including the Parliamentary leader of the governing Labour Party Helga Pedersen and the leader of the mining company Store Norske Gull, who have been active in staking claims most particularly in the Karasjok region. Pedersen was unequivocal in her support for the future development of mining in the the region, which reindeer herders fear will mean the further erosion of winter pastures that are already under duress. Pedersen told NRK Sami Radio
Both Finnmark society and the Sami community is entirely dependent on new activity. If one is to preserve the culture and language we are going to have to have new jobs for the youth in the Sami villages. You can not save the Sami culture simply by having Sami kindergarten at Tøyen in Oslo and courses in communities with cafe lattes, it has to happen here,
You can read the rest of the article here on the Reindeer Portal
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