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

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Chapter 7 · Indigenous peoples’ perspectives

Box 7.2 Nenets insights and perspectives from the Yamal Nenets AO, Russia First person view by Igor Slepushkin, a Nenets reindeer herder from Yar-Sale, Yamal Nenets AO. He works in the Administration of Reindeer Husbandry, Yar-Sale, Russia.

and taiga areas of the region, which cannot however solve the problem of lack of pastures, as the movement of animals is simply not always possible. The placement of winter and summer pastures and migration routes have been developed and adapted over many generations and are integral to the practice of the livelihood. The biggest threat for our reindeer pastures is industrial development. Oil and gas facilities, roads, railway tracks and other related activities remove and fragment reindeer pastures and prevent reindeer from accessing them.The rapid development of the Yamal region’s oil and gas reserves, while it has been directly on top of or bisecting reindeer pastures in some key areas, has conversely led to an improvement in the regions’ economy, which has led to a steady growth in the demand for reindeer meat and other reindeer products. It is important to mention that the regional administration has also invested in processing, packaging and marketing facilities for reindeer meat as well as direct supports to reindeer herders. Despite the adverse weather conditions (the dramatic icing events of 2014 whereby tens of thousands of reindeer died) the reindeer inYamal survived and continue to grow.The people of the reindeer have not yet been discouraged and continue to do their work, live their lives and move with the reindeer.

In Yamal, we have the largest domestic reindeer herd in the world and reindeer are the foundation of our life in the tundra. Thanks to our traditional knowledge accumulated over centuries while living in harmony with animals, the land and the climate, we Nenets have kept our traditional lifestyle of herding and thriving in the harsh climatic conditions of the Arctic, all the while our region is undergoing dramatic and in some cases, irreversible change. Living with the reindeer, its character and habits, consolidates our Nenets ways and means by which to live with nature, a means by which also children and adults can learn a reciprocal relationship with the land upon which we all depend. As for conservation, appropriate use of resources and norms of behavior,people have long-established restrictions,compliance withwhich is compulsory for all.The goal of these prohibitions, embedded inmultiple customs and traditions is the nurturing of a nomadic life on themove,on the tundra.The passing on of these lived experiences and this multi-generational knowledge is a key component of Nenets survival. Pasture quality and access are considered the foundation of our animals. In some areas of the okrug, the question of pastures is acute and a significant lack of pasture is observed mainly in two districts:Yamal and Taz.At the same time there are significant reserves of food resources in the forest-tundra

Svein D. Mathiesen

Oil and gas development on the Yamal Peninsula, a significant area for Nenets reindeer husbandry, has been rapid. Herders have had to adapt