Analysing the lack of consideration for local people’s perspectives and opinions in mining permitting approvals in Sweden – the case of Gállok

• Main Author: Barakauskas, Paulius
• Format: Bachelor Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper 2022
• Subjects: Sustainable development; mine permitting; resource extractivism; environmental justice; Sámi; Earth and Related Environmental Sciences; Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap; Jokkmokk; Northern Sweden
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-477607

This paper uses an environmental justice framework which is expanded through decolonial theory to analyse whether the mine permitting process used by the Swedish state does justice to local people’s opinions, perspectives and cultural histories. The specific case of Gállok is chosen as it is widely known in national and international circles and therefore has potential to make long-term impact. Research analysing the Swedish permitting process and its implications is severely lacking, thus this paper aims to act as an important stepping stone for future research into the subject. To answer the question, yarning was used to capture local perspectives in Jokkmokk. The conversations were later transcribed and coded using the expanded forms of justice as main coding topics. The results show that the inclusion of local communities in the consultation process is mostly symbolic and that they have no say or power over project details. The conversations also revealed that there is an overwhelming belief that the benefits to the local community are greatly exaggerated, while costs are understated. The analysis shows that the local communities, especially the Sámi sub-group, would have to bare the largest part of ecological and social damages, while overall benefits would be minimal. Finally, the paper argues that the Indigenous community members in northern Sweden cannot live according to their own ways, as land alterations from industrial developments force them to adapt, in order to be able to continue herding reindeer. This study fills a gap in research looking at the permitting process in the Swedish context as a potential source of oppression from a local community’s perspective. It emphasises the importance of understanding and addressing a larger system’s subsystems in order to cause an eventual transition towards more equitable functioning.