Adaptation Actions for a Changing Arctic: Perspectives from the Barents Area

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Adaptation Actions for a Changing Arctic: Perspectives from the Barents Area

7.2 Trends affecting indigenous peoples Multiple drivers of environmental and social change can be identified across the Barents area. The area has experienced significant development and land fragmentation in the post-war period, but especially since the 1970s when oil and mineral resource extraction first began to show a marked increase (Vistnes et al., 2009). Indigenous peoples in the region, in common with ethnic minorities face a broad range of challenges including loss of language, loss of identity, loss of traditional food culture, loss of land to practice traditional livelihoods, and threats to rights and community sustainability. In addition to more long-term threats such as climate change, those practicing traditional livelihoods also face many everyday issues such as a poor economy, loss of reindeer due to predators, and perceived overregulation. Such issues are compounded by the inability or unwillingness of mainstream authorities, planners and local administrations to understand the specific needs of those practicing subsistence and traditional livelihoods (Tyler et al., 2007). ‘Knowledge’ is central to this question – not just in terms of traditional knowledge holders having their knowledge recognized, but in having it utilized in future planning steps and towards adaptation. However, current models of impact assessments are not designed to integrate or understand indigenous peoples’ knowledge or to address cumulative and cascading effects of proposed developments. Possible future steps to aid adaptation include a reevaluation of impact assessments so that traditional knowledge is recognized, improved landscape and biodiversity modeling, protected areas for practicing traditional livelihoods, and appropriate models of education and delivery.

“There are scientific estimations of pasture capacity and howmuch reindeer it can carry. But are there assessments of how much industrial development our pastures can take?” Helena Omma (EALLIN, 2015:34) In the Sámi language, the traditional settlement area of the Sámi people is called ‘Sápmi’.This is a contiguous geographical area extending through parts of Norway,Sweden,Finland andRussia. The size of the Sámi population is a subject of some debate but most Sámi live within Norwegian borders (e.g. Hassler et al., 2004). It should also be noted that although there are no official data on current Sámi settlement patterns, it is widely known that many Sámi live outside the traditional settlement area, just as many non-Sámi live within it (Statistics Norway, 2010). Sámi are a heterogeneous people, both linguistically (there are nine distinct Sámi languages across Sápmi) and culturally, as well as economically, socially and politically. Traditional livelihoods – reindeer herding, fishing, hunting and handicraft making – are still widely practiced by Sámi. All traditional livelihoods, especially reindeer herding, are now strictly controlled by various bodies within the nation states in which they reside, in all parts of Sápmi. In total, there are just over 42,000 people in the Nenets AO of whom just over 7500 are indigenous Nenets and 3623 are Komi.Reindeer herding and fishing are central to the traditional livelihoods of these Nenets as well as to the numerically more numerous Nenets living in the neighboring andmore populous Yamal Nenets AO (nearly 30,000).The traditional lands of the Vepsians have been divided by the administrative borders of the Republic of Karelia and the Leningrad andVologda regions. Today,most of the just under 6000Vepsians live in the Republic of Karelia (All Russian Census, 2010).

Present infrastructure (2011)

Planned infrastructure (2030)

0 30 60 90 km

New urban/industrial development Concession windpower park New holiday houses

New tidal plant New sea port

Mines Cabins Roads Powerlines

Urban areas 2011 Wind power park

Potential mine area New airport

New roads New railway

Hydropower plant

Figure 7.1 Infrastructure in Finnmark, Norway: present (left) and planned (right) (Wilbert van Rooij / Plansup).