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

7.4.1 RenGIS: co-learning, co-production, and participatory mapping “In conflict (situations) herding-interests often lack resources, capacity, information and tools…It is a challenge to illustrate the cumulative effect of encroachments. We need a tool. Sweden is ahead: it has established a GIS system as a planning tool, which show the cumulative effects.” Anders Eira, EALLIN (2015:34-35) In the northern 55% of Sweden, reindeer husbandry takes place on the same lands as forestry, wind power and hydropower, mining,and other infrastructure developments (Sandströmet al., 2016). This results in a challenging and complicated land-use situation for reindeer herding communities as well as for other land managers and decision-makers, both in a legal and administrative sense. Land-use dialogue between reindeer herding communities and other land users and agencies has long been inadequate.This is partly due to the unequal power structures involved, but also to ineffective communication of existing knowledge. In an attempt to overcome these issues, reindeer herding communities took the initiative and contacted researchers as well as regional and state agencies.This initiative instigated the process of developing reindeer husbandry plans in 2000 that is still ongoing today (Sandström et al., 2003; Sandström, 2015). The process incorporates the development and use of a custom-made GIS toolbox – named RenGIS – for communication of land uses. Extensive co-learning sessions involving hundreds of users, led to a widespread use of RenGIS. This is now the primary tool for reindeer herding communities in their work on compiling and digitizing indigenous knowledge and field measurements

for their seasonal grazing lands. In RenGIS, this comprehensive data set on reindeer habitat use is combined with the most extensive compilation of historic and ongoing land use by others. RenGIS organizes and makes available these datasets for visualization and analysis, not just for GIS experts but also for the real end-users – the reindeer herders (Sandström, 2015). New datasets such as those produced by GLOBIO can easily be incorporated into RenGIS. Experience gained through this process highlights the importance of working closely together; co-producing knowledge, methods and tools (Sandström, 2015). The process begins with partially defined goals that are tested and re-evaluated over the course of hundreds of meetings and training sessions. By co-producing tools and strategies and applying these in real-life settings, participants’engagement and adaptive capacity are reinforced. The work provides a strong foundation for safeguarding the complex land-use system of reindeer husbandry, a fundamental element of Sámi culture, as well as a means to meet societies’ overall goal of successful sustainable landscape management. This process successfully combines indigenous and scientific knowledge in the planning processes used at both the local and landscape level.The use of participatorymapping empowers reindeer herding communities by improving their knowledge base and their dialogue with other land users. It has also enhanced understanding of how the various sectors affect each other, and has provided means by which new knowledge and tools for communication can be integrated. There are clear advantages to researchers, agency personnel, reindeer herders and other stakeholders working ‘side-by-side’ with testing and implementing new tools for data compilation. Although there is still some way to go in

Wilbert van Rooij

Participatory mapping workshops bring herders and researchers together to better understand the complexities of land use and land use change