The robustness of reindeer husbandry – need for a new approach to elucidate opportunities and sustainability of the reindeer industry in its socio-ecological context (In Swedish with Summary in English)

• Published in: Rangifer
• Main Author: Öje Danell
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Septentrio Academic Publishing 2005
• Subjects: reindeer husbandry; robustness; socio-ecological approach; Sami land use; adaptive cycles; resilence; Animal culture; SF1-1100; Rangifer; sami
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.7557/2.25.3.1737; https://doaj.org/article/ead42f1609284f04a80c78ba17ca6d9a

A series of transformations and adaptations in the Sami use of land for their subsistence over a long period of time has led to the reindeer husbandry of today. In Sweden the Sami rights to land and water are today legally connected to the practising of reindeer husbandry as a livelihood. Together with a few associated commodities, it has become considered is the only lasting Sami land-use. In the Sami culture, a central element is the association of the people with the land and the subsistence on what is provided in nature. Consequently, this association between people and land is today kept alive by the reindeer husbandry practiced as a livelihood, which thereby also produces and manages an essential base for the culture. The developments in the surrounding society are currently reducing the latitude for the reindeer industry at an accelerated rate and thereby also its capacity to handle new situations. In the complicated ecological, economic, social and institutional contexts, where reindeer husbandry is practiced, there is a large risks for sudden and unpredicted disintegrations and collapses at different system levels. The consequences thereof for the long term continuation and adaptability of Sami land use are largely unpredictable. If it leads to a collapse of reindeer industry as mode of land-use, the risks of additional deterioration of the Sami indigenous rights is also apparent and thereby the scope for new solutions as well. This will likely have serious negative consequences for the viability of the Sami culture concurrently with declining live dependences of the land. The situation of reindeer husbandry has similarities with management crises in many other integrated socio-ecological systems, which have led to sustainability failures and unpredicted consequences. These insights seem to be deficient in the treatment of the problems, which reindeer industry is facing. Scientists could probably make a very important contribution by elucidating these circumstances. This requires the adoption of a new ...