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

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Chapter 7 · Indigenous peoples’ perspectives

The most important issue for Karelians and Vepsians is therefore education: the teaching of national languages and their transmission to the next generations. Because there are no ‘national schools’ in the Republic of Karelia, where all or even some part of particular subjects are studied in the Karelian or Vepsian language, teaching of these languages acquires special importance. According to the UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger (Mosely, 2010), as of 28 February 2016 the Karelian language is definitely endangered and the Vepsian language is severely endangered. For both languages it is typical that “ the language is no longer being learned as the mother tongue by children in the home. The youngest speakers are thus of the parental generation ”. Because the inter-generational language ties are broken there is an emerging need for immersion language education systems andmethods, such as the‘language nests’ used by Maori in New Zealand and Sámi in Finland. Karelians and Vepsians are underrepresented in the Government and the Legislative Assembly of the Republic. Good representation exists only at the municipal level. Existing structures for participation in decision-making have an advisory nature only, and their decisions are not obligatory for the authorities. Karelian and Vepsian decision-making bodies are mainly resource poor non-governmental organizations. Extractive industries and logging companies are active in the region and while some local and ad hoc negotiations have protected culturally or economically important territories,there are no established programs or agreements between indigenous communities and businesses. The main objective of the indigenous peoples movement in Karelia is to survive as a distinct people, to preserve and develop native languages and cultures, and ensure their dignity and quality of life. Karelians and Vepsians are striving for better institutions of influence on decision-making and better representation at all levels with an improvement in legislation one of the most important fields of work for future years. 7.2.3 Climate There is now evidence from across the Barents area that climate change is underway (see Chapter 4). Global and regional models project future changes in temperature, precipitation and snow condition in key areas for indigenous communities. In Finnmark and the Yamal Nenets AO, temperature over the period 1961–1990 increased most in spring, while overall precipitation increased throughout the year (Vikhamar-Schuler and Hanssen-Bauer, 2010a,b; Vikhamar-Schuler et al., 2010, 2013; Benestad et al., 2016). Snow season duration is typically 220 to 250 days per year in the northern Barents area, with spring snowmelt in Finnmark now 15 days earlier than 30 years ago. In this area, climate variation is partly correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) (Vikhamar-Schuler et al., 2010, 2013). Eira (2012) found a positive NAO to be associated with bad grazing years caused by severe snow conditions in western Finnmark, Norway and even large losses of animals due to starvation. Ecological relationships do not define the trajectory that reindeer pastoralism will follow over the next human generation but do represent fundamental constraints

Lappi in Sodankylä) from mining activities that can adversely affect the status of the Sámi as an indigenous people. The participation of Sámi and reindeer herders in management and land use has developed on an ad hoc basis through the implementation of Akwé:kon guidelines in wilderness area planning in Hammastunturi (Juntunen and Stolt, 2013).These guidelines will also be implemented in the planning of Käsivarsi and Kevo wilderness areas that are important reindeer herding areas in northern Finland. Despite these major developments, encroachments on traditional Sámi lands and restrictions on Sámi self- determination will continue to pose serious challenges for traditional livelihoods. Forestry is an important income source for the Finnish national economy and at the same time, over 90% of the Sámi home area (a geographical entity in northern Finland that comprises the three northernmost municipalities and the community of Vuotso) is managed and controlled by the State enterprise Metsähallitus which has overseen conflicts between Sámi reindeer herding and the forest industry, especially in Inari (Raitio, 2008). The conflicts are likely to continue because the newly amended act on Metsähallitus (Laki Metsähallitus, 234/2016) does not include protection for Sámi lands from the adverse effects of activities controlled by Metsähallitus. In general, the Sámi are in a weak position in the governance of traditional livelihoods. In contrast to the situation in Norway and Sweden, reindeer herding is not an exclusive right of the Sámi in Finland, which means that the Sámi are in a minority position in the national reindeer herders’ association, which is an important administrative link between Ministries and reindeer herders (Heikkilä, 2006). It is also the case that the proposed updates to the fishing convention between Norway and Finland is likely to restrict traditional fishing methods, which threatens traditional Sámi fishing on the Deatnu/Teno/Tana river. These drawbacks are symptoms of the marginal position of the Sámi in legislative drafting processes and land use management in general. The powers of the Sámi Parliament in Finland is restricted to cultural autonomy which excludes traditional livelihoods.The Sámi are also in a minority in all municipalities in the Sámi homeland area (except for Utsjoki), which means it is hard for the Sámi to affect decision-making over land use and planning at the municipal level. 7.2.2.4 Karelian insights and perspectives The final document of the Congress of Karelian people identifies demographic decline as the main challenge that Karelian people are facing. This document reports a 48.3% decline in the Karelian population between the Russian censuses of 1989 and 2010 (All Russian Census, 2010).Vepsians in the Republic of Karelia show very similar tendencies. A primary threat for language survival is not only the number of speakers, but also the status of the language in society and the rights ensured by the different language speaking communities. A central issue is their use in education, media and governance – the Republic of Karelia recognizes only one official language: Russian.