Text and Source: Dan Robert Larsen, NRK

The article reports on a new study by the International Reindeer Husbandry Centre (ICR) and the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), which concludes that the Fiettar reindeer grazing district in Finnmark has already exceeded its tolerance limit for further land encroachment. District manager Nils Mikkelsen Utsi says this has long been clear: summer grazing areas have been steadily reduced by cabin construction, roads, traffic, and now the controversial Nussir mine.

A central point is that reindeer herding faces a “double burden”: existing land-use pressures are being intensified by climate change. Warmer and more unpredictable winters, altered snow conditions, and disrupted seasonal cycles make it harder for reindeer to access grazing and force herders to move or feed animals earlier than before.

The report also argues that the problem is not just individual projects, but the cumulative impact of many forms of development. Cabins, roads, mining, renewable-energy projects, helicopters, heavy machinery, noise, and increased human activity all fragment grazing areas and cause reindeer to avoid important land. Around 60% of traditional reindeer grazing areas in Norway, Sweden, and Finland are affected by land use.

The article concludes that climate adaptation for reindeer herding must give Sami traditional knowledge a stronger role. It also warns that conflicts over land in the High North are likely to increase as economic and political interest in the region grows.

Read the full article here: NRK

Photo: CABIN VILLAGE: Finnmark's largest cabin village in the Repparfjord valley with around 400 cabins is located in the summer pasture of the Fiettar reindeer herding district. The photo shows only a few of the cabins. PHOTO: ALLAN KLO / NRK