The Environmental Change Poses a Serious Threat to Reindeer Herding

An era is past, and a new era, with a new generation and new conditions for existence have begun! As such, one could define the life of the Sami and the Sami people's history here in Lapland.
Times change but it rarely makes so fast and unforeseen. As a reindeer herding Sami, I have seen development and decline whithin it over the years in a number of specific areas that affect the Sami business community here in a sparsely populated area with sometimes already harsh conditions for an existence.

During our generation, we have experienced perhaps the most dramatic stage of a decline in reindeer herding which has also become the perhaps most demanding challenge for most Sami people in reindeer herding.

Let me explain!

Over the past ten years, we have seen an environmental impact on nature and the mountain world, which already constitutes a threat in the long term towards the existence of ours and the reindeers here.

With a warmer climate of C + 0.4 degrees over the past 100 years, because of environmental pollution we have seen a negative effect on the reindeer pasture, which is essentially the wildly growing white moss. This most important pasture for reindeer has now almost disappeared in an almost described as an, uncontrollable extent from the ground because other herb species and grass varieties that thrives on a warmer climate with longer roots than the roots of white moss. There are research since several years at UiT The Arctic University of Norway that shows how we have 11 new sorts of herb species and grass varieties that has compete out white moss from important reindeer grazing areas, as well  from the high mountain and important winter pastures for the reindeers.
This problem is not a dramatic negative consequence that happens rapidly, it is constantly happening from year to year. And now the situation is already unsustainable!

What is definitely today is that we have to do something about this problem because we, as reindeer herders, should not lose our reindeers year by year because the reindeers are starving to death, because we should not lose our largest and most important life work  and income in the most affected regions.

This problem already causes great losses every year and the reindeer herding loses big money in conversion, winter feeding, and migration of the reindeers that must be made every winter due to all to small areas were  grazing is to be find under the cover of snow.

A negative development in reindeer herding entails large losses for not least the state and tax revenues to the state. Therefore, there is no longer any time to waste doubtful speculation about the environmental change that we see happening here and now. We must act on a broad front for support to set an end to this effect before we make an environmental disaster that obliterated the reindeer herding and the existence of the Sami people.

From an environmental perspective, we have a negative development for the environment due to migration with reindeers in the winter with the motor-borne reindeer herding in today's society.
More unfortunate, this negative trend during our time has meant that the younger generation who is now starting up reindeer herding activities does not always have the historical perspective and thus cannot perceive the limitation within today's reindeer herding before they've struggled through some time. We who have an experience and knowledge of the conditions for reindeer herding thirty years ago clearly see how the reindeer herding decreases and this because of lack of food and pastures for our rendeers, and thus following negative concequences because of that. It may happen that we are actually changing the nature of the reindeer seen in a longer perspective, as well. However, we see that the reindeer today is considerably more fragile and much smaller in weight per animal in the presence of what it was thirty years ago.

With this as background, we must now gather ourselves for an effort to remedy this negative development. And before we do that, we should read about the history of the Sami within reindeer herding to create an idea of the marked change that we have suffered and which we are now undergoing. Furthermore, without deforming structural conservatism with any more environmental impact, I would say that we must think in new paths regarding opportunities for grants to plant out white moss in strategic winter pastures in northern Lapland. Through various sources we have received an idea of buying packed white moss that has been pressed into bales by irrigation and then drying. These white moss bales could possibly be grounded down to crop as seeds to be planted in specified areas. This could be feasible using a similar support structure as those found at the Swedish Board of Agriculture for the application (EU support for the management of "slåttermyrar"). Hereby, I intend to transfer this matter for further dialogue for the officials in each area for an action plan.

This document is public. https://news.store

Kiruna 2019-04-26
Roger K. Olsson

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Arctic Charter Icefishing Tours and Excursions

Arctic icefishing

Arctic Charter is a project started in Kiruna to offer complete solutions on package tours such as ice fishing for wilderness tourists visiting Kiruna. The most optimal wild-land tour that you can experience up here in Kiruna during late winter and spring is the number of ice fishing trips that are arranged here. We also have scheduled weekends when we offer bus trips to ice fishing competitions arranged around the county. Ice fishing such as hobbies and sports has become increasingly popular with visitors and for the locals. This leisure activity is a must preferably every weekend. It is a fantastic way to get out into the wild from the hectic city life, and it is not least an activity in the region that fulfills a great function in the social context between visitors, local families and acquaintances. These ice fishing competitions have been arranged for many years already, year after year. What we do is that we record bookings for joint transfer solutions to these events and we naturally have ice fishing experts as guides for those who for the first time visit an ice fishing competition in Kiruna county.

What is so enticing with ice fishing?

Imagine a warm sunny spring day when there are still stong ice on the  lakes and rivers, people gather at the event in thousands, the snow reflects the heat of the sunshine, and a convivial community is created around fishing stories from familiar and prominent places. After a series of stories about unusual catches and big fishes, ice fishing starts with hopes of some big catch, or to hit right in a big shoal of fish under the ice. Even the unpredictable in which fish species get stuck on the hook contributes to an extra exciting existence. You can sit for hours and even whole days on the ice and fish and enjoy this common activity on a beautiful sunny day. Many visitors often think so good about this activity for the immediate contact that one gets with happy local people. We do have a large number of fish species that live in most lakes and watercourses here at the foot of the mountain also far up the mountain. We also have a number of undeveloped rivers that offer excellent fishing opportunities in all seasons. Some fish species that may be notable in the waters surround to Kiruna are arctic char, salmon, river trout, brown trout, rainbow trout, grayling,  whitefish, pike, perch, burbot, roach, nine-spined sticklebac, and Ide.

For more information contact Kiruna Guide Tour at www.kirunaguidetur.com


Regards

Roger K. Olsson