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

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Chapter 7 · Indigenous peoples’ perspectives

“The unpredictability of weather has an impact on herd behavior, as animals scatter in search of better pastures and in response, as an adaptation method, herders often have to resort to providing artificial food in the winter, an expensive option and sometimes harmful if reindeer are unfamiliar to it… Predators are a terrible threat to the livelihood in some areas of Sápmi, where the predators are extremely dense. Legislation from the Länsstyrelsen, Naturvårdsverket and state is a constant fight for the communities and dominantly unsuccessful for the reindeer herders. The result is that the predators run freely in the herd and are causing tremendous damage. In parts of Sápmi, suicide and depression are reactions to the increasing unpredictability, insecurity and threats facing traditional livelihoods such as reindeer herding…Another significant challenge (aside from climate change) on our territories is the presence of the mining industry, tourism, windmill parks and hydropower generation. Significant further development in these activities is planned across the whole of Sápmi. We have an immense body of knowledge about how to maintain the land and live sustainably from it. To not recognize this is to ultimately threaten the regions overall biodiversity.” Jannie Steffanson, Member of the Saami Council’s Arctic and Environment Unit

Infrastructure development is perhaps the most significant driver of change in land use in the Barents area. Transportation corridors have been developed across northern Norway, Sweden and Finland (Vistnes et al., 2009) and the extraction of resources, such as timber, minerals and offshore oil and gas have been significant drivers of this development, as well as hydropower and wind power more recently. Although development has been less extensive in northwestern Russia, there are significant exceptions such as the cities of Murmansk and Naryan Mar.While much infrastructure has already been developed, substantial further development is likely under future ‘extreme’ development scenarios (see Section 7.3.1). Figure 7.1 illustrates possible developments in Finnmark. The scenario illustrated in Figure 7.1 represents the assumption that all potential infrastructure developments, as described in municipal zoning plans, road authorities and future development scenarios as envisaged by regional planning and development bodies will be realized, with 2030 as a stipulated time horizon.The cumulative and cascading effects of these developments include increased fragmentation of the land rendering significant (particularly at the coast) land use change, which has meant a substantial loss of land for traditional activities. This is especially the case in Finnmark (Figure 7.1) and will have significant local effects in the Nenets AO (Figure 7.2).Although reindeer pastures cover a large part of the Nenets AO and reindeer husbandry is a core part of the indigenous Nenets culture, the dominant economic activity of the region concerns oil and gas, and substantial infrastructure developments are planned (Figure 7.2).

Projected infrastructure (2030)

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100 150 200 km

Urban and Agricultural areas Developed area Worn-down area Heavy impact area Moderate impact area

Oil pipeline, above surface, uncert. pos. Oil pipeline, above surface Gas pipeline, above surface Above ground pipeline

Cabins Remote settlements Roads and tracks

Airports Industrial sites Oil installations

Figure 7.2 Projected infrastructure development in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia (Wilbert van Rooij / Plansup).