Reindeer Herding and Forestry in Northern Sweden
A case study about conditions, problems and possible solutions regarding the relationship between forestry and reindeer herding
Present at the Indigenous Peoples´ Workshop on the Underlying Causes of Deforestation and Forest Degration Quito, Ecuador, 7-11 January, 1999
By Olof T Johansson
Contents
Introduction
This case study is not a scientific document. I intend to describe the situation of the reindeer herding Sámis in Sweden, from a reindeer herding perspective. I will also try to describe the Sámi relation to the forest, the problems and conflicts of which, and the possible solutions available. Being a reindeer herder myself and also chairman of Tåssåsen Sámi community, I have also since 1984 taken active part in the environmental movement regarding forest issues, at a time when the struggle for preserving the boreal forests was at its height. Since many years I am a member of a central consultation group for reindeer husbandry and forestry issues together with representatives for forest companies, private forestry and state forest administration.Swedish forests in an international perspective
The major part of the Swedish forest landscape is a part of the taiga - the huge circumpolar belt of coniferous forests. The climate is cold with much snow, long winters and cold summers. The taiga covers an area of 1,300 - 1,500 million hectars, which equals a third of the world´s forest area. In Scandinavia the coniferous forests are dominated by two species of trees, pine and spruce. In other parts of the coniferous belt there are a considerably greater number of forest species of trees, but the number of species is very poor compared to tropical forests. This is among other things due to the eco systems being young. Great parts of the areas now covered with coniferous forests have been covered by ice, in Scandinavia as late as 15,000 - 10,000 years ago. The 24 million hectars of forest areas in Sweden constitute less than 2 percent of the entire coniferous forest region. For the last 200 years this little edge of the taiga has been exploited beyond comparison in the coniferous forest region. No other countries, apart from the Scandinavian, have an almost 100 percent claim on their coniferous forests, performing industrial forestry with plantation forests.No other countries have nowhere near as little old growth coniferous forests left. Therefore the original plant and wildlife of the taiga faces a larger threat in our countries than it does in other parts of the taiga belt. Our way of managing the forest is sometimes compared with the devastation of tropical forests. In such a comparison Swedish forestry appears almost as an international role model and exemplary when it comes to nature resource management. (Olsson, R. 1992) The comparison makes reason if the forest is seen only as a nature resource. Swedish forestry is a good example of the means by which a high production of timber is achieved by planting and taking care of the forest in an implementive way.
The fact that these results are partly achieved by ecological risk-taking can not be overlooked. More detailed information and analyses about Swedish forestry and forest exploitation are found in Karin Lindahl´s case study "Forest and Forestry in Jokkmokk Municipality", (1998). This case study contributes to the discussion of the underlying causes of deforestation and degradation of the world´s forests.
Reindeer herding in Sweden
History
The Sámi´s inhabited northern Scandinavia long before the present Scandinavian states emerged. The land they themselves called Sápmi consisted of the northern parts of Sweden Norway, Finland and the Kola peninsula in Russia.Genetically speaking the Sámi are unique and show no relationship with any other people.
The reindeer herding Sámi lead a nomad life and their traditional way of living is characterized by the close contact with nature, following the trail of the reindeer between summer grazing land in the mountains and winter grazing land in the forests.
As early as 800 A.D scripts describe a well-ordered reindeer herding, managed by the Sámi and based on a systematic use of the land. The Sámi have also traditionally made their living from hunting and fishing. During the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries reindeer herding developed and the domesticated reindeer became the base for Sami livelihood.
The reindeer were guarded on a daily basis and the Sámi moved along with the herds. The reindeer was used for transports and produced both milk and meat. Skin, fur, sinews, every bit of the reindeer was processed to food, clothes or utensils. During the 20th century reindeer herding has been leaning more and more towards meat production. Modern technique has become an increasingly common part of daily work. Earlier on a reindeer herder´s work was done by foot or on skis. Nowadays snow mobiles, helicopters and cross motorcycles are used in collecting and transporting the reindeer. Where the rivers are dammed due to hydro power production the ice on the lakes can no longer be used for trails, and therefore lorries have come to be used for transporting the reindeer to their winter grazing land.The reindeer
The reindeer is a deer living in flocks in the northernmost parts of Europe, Asia and North America.The reindeer are a ruminant and both the male and female reindeer carry antlers. It does not take to heat very well and tends instead to seek the high mountains during hot summer days.
In the summer the main food is grass, leaves, herbs and fungae, of which the reindeer builds its fat to last the poor grazing of the winter. Then it feeds largely on various lichens and shrubs, continuously using the fat saved up during summer.
The reindeer is well adapted to snow and cold. The winter fur is thick, consisting of a layer of wool close to the skin and long hairs covering it, filled with air. The reindeer can save both water and energy when it is cold. In the nose cavity there are mucous membrane discs warming and moisturing the inhalated air before it reaches the trachea. The exhaled air is condensed into steam on the discs.
The supply of winter grazing depends not only on the size of the grazing land and its supply of lichens but even more so on the availability of the food. Ice crusts on the ground or a hard ice surface on the snow are among the greatest problems for reindeer herding. The grazing conditions on large clear cuts are worsened due to unfavourable snow quality and damaged lichens. The lack of tree pendent lichen is a serious risk for malnutrition for the reindeer when the grazing from the ground is inavailable on large areas. The reindeer does not feed on pine,spruce or any other coniferous trees.Lichens
The reindeer eats most lichens on the ground and on the trees. Lichens have a slow, only 10 percent annual growth. Tree pendent lichens require old and undisturbed forest types, with spruce in the first place, but pine and birch are also important. The best tree pendent lichen feed is found in 120 - 210 year oldspruce forests.Outside the boreal forests in Sweden there are very few of these old growth forests.
The reindeer´s need of forest land
Reindeer herding is the traditional outcome for the Sámi, the indigenous people in Sweden. Reindeer herding is based on a system of grazing rotation where the reindeer move freely between the different grazing lands of the season and also within the grazing land itself. This has been the way in which reindeer have moved since the time when the inland ice began to retract from Scandinavia some 10,000 years ago. When the Sámi started to domesticate the reindeer the custom of following its yearly cycle was continued. This is still the case, even though modern technique now helps out in moving reindeer between the different areas. In the old days skis were used when moving to the winter grazing land. The frozen rivers were the migration trails and dogs were used to keep the herd together. Today the reindeer herds are moved with the help of snow mobiles, helicopters and lorries. The development of the society has changed the conditions of reindeer herding, but the main prerequisite for reindeer herding is still the same as it was some hundred years ago; the reindeer´s need of food.In summer the reindeer graze in the mountain range which the Swedish state claim owner´s rights to. (In some areas there is also reindeer herding based on stationary forest use, where the reindeer graze all year round in the forest area.) In the winter, grazing takes place in forest lands owned by private persons as well as private enterprises and state owned land.
The Sámi people do not own any land. The right to free access to grazing for the reindeer is based on old customary rights.
The forest provides the soft snow sheet that the reindeer can dig through, finding the lichen needed as basic food during winter. The old forest has the tree pendent lichens necessary as spare fodder when the lichens on the ground can not be reached due to ice and ice cover on the snow.For the Sámi and their reindeer there are, generally speaking, three conditions that must be met with concerning the forest:
Today all three conditions are hard to meet. Each of them will be more closely investigated in the following chapters. The possible solution today is FSC-certification, which also will be presented accordingly.
Figure 1: Reindeer grazing land
Reindeer herding rights
By using land for reindeer herding, hunting and fishing the Sámi have acquired a right to this land use by old customary rights. These rights are not passed by any grant of enjoyment from the Swedish state. The right to reindeer herding is described in the act on reindeer husbandry. Reindeer herding is now carried out on 40 percent of Sweden´s area.It is to be performed on private as well as state land within the areas allowed for reindeer herding. This means that the land of private owners´ is also permitted for reindeer grazing. The problem is that the legislation does not state any clear geographical boundary for the validity of the rights. Therefore seven legal disputes are present today, where a total of some 1,000 private land owners challenge the rights of the Sámi communities, claiming the Sámi without rights to reindeer grazing on their properties.
Sámi communities
A Sámi community is an economic and administrative cooperation performing reindeer herding in a certain area. The name of the Sámi community also refers to this geographical area. The Sámi community uses the grazing land collectively and is collectively responsible for the tending of the reindeer.There are 52 Sámi communities in Sweden. (Appendix 1: Map over the reindeer grazing lands in Sweden.) Within a Sámi community there are several reindeer husbandry enterprises, each of which consisting of one or more reindeer owners. As a total there are some 950 reindeer husbandry enterprises in Sweden. The number of persons depending on reindeer herding for their living is estimated to 3,000. Each reindeer owner has an independent right to make decisions about their reindeer, e.g. the number to slaughter.
Number of reindeer
In Sweden there are 228,000 reindeer today (1997/98). The number of reindeer varies according to good or bad years. The allowed upper limit is 276,000. The regional authorities in each county decide on the number of reindeer allowed in every Sámi community.This limit is conditioned by the viability of the reindeer grazing land of the Sámi community. A number of 400 - 600 reindeer is needed for a family to live off reindeer herding only.
Combinations of occupations are common. According to the reindeer husbandry act the reindeer in each Sámi community is to be counted each year. The regional authorities have the right to oversee the counting. It is important for the Sámi community to know the number of reindeer that goes with each reindeer husbandry enterprise since the mutual costs of the Sámi community is spread according to the number of reindeer owned.
Land right conflicts
The land of the Sámi, Sápmi, was gradually colonized by Sweden, Norway, Finland and parts of Russia during the latter half of this millennium. The Swedish part of Sápmi includes most of northern Sweden, with core areas along the mountain range. No explicit land claims have been made by the Swedish Sámi, and no such rights are recognised by the Swedish state. Their customary right to graze their reindeer, on private as well as state land, is however confirmed in Swedish legislation.In case of conflict, the legislation does leave it to the Sámi to prove their customary use in the courts. For better understanding a commented excerpt out of the Swedish legislation follows describing the reindeer husbandry act and the Sámi community grazing areas.
Swedish Reindeer Husbandry Act and Sámi communities´ grazing districts
Paragraph 3 of the Swedish Reindeer Husbandry Act describes that reindeer herding may be carried out the whole year round on year-round herding areas, and during the winter months from October 1st to April 30th on winter grazing land. Regarding the year-round herding areas there is a clear definition and boundaries are clearly drawn. However, regarding winter grazing lands, the law only says that reindeer herding may be carried out during the winter months Ain the other parts of the Lappmark below the agricultural border and "within such areas outside of the Lappmark and reindeer grazing mountains, in which reindeer husbandry has been traditionally carried out at certain times of the year."The preparatory documents for the Swedish Reindeer Husbandry Act of 1971 (Prop. 1971:51 s. 158) mention that: "A lower border for the areas in which reindeer customary rights occur can not be defined" and further that anybody who questions these rights should seek a hearing on the matter in court. Thus, the presumption is, that the right to herd reindeer (the right to winter grazing) applies in all cases where no legally effective court decision denies such rights.
As there was previously no comprehensive map covering all reindeer herding areas which showed the most important areas of interest for reindeer herding, the Board of Agriculture and the Planning Commission, in consultation with affected Agricultural Councils, developed such a map with a scale of 1:1 million. Thereafter, supplements were made in addition to the county maps, which contained among other things information from the Planning Commission Inventory of Land Use for Reindeer Husbandry. (Swedish National Planning Commission Report 20, Part 3). The map is titled "Reindeer Herding Areas of Interest" and is an appendix to the Agricultural Board, report of the Swedish National Planning Commission 44:5, "Reindeer Husbandry in Municipal Planning."Court cases
During the last decades, the Sámi customary right to winter grazing on private lands have been challenged, primarily by private land owners and the Forest Owners´ Associations. The forest owners claim that the reindeer are causing damage to their pine plantations by scrubbing their antlers against the small trees. It is true that such damage exist, although hardly at the scale that the land owners claim. The observed damage is, for example, marginal in comparison with damage caused by moose. Some Sámi communities have suggested the problem could be solved by individual landowners being economically compensated for the damage by the state. No such system is at work at the moment, however, and the conflict has escalated and culminated in a number of ongoing legal processes.Groups of private forest owners (backed by the Forest Owners´ Associations and the national farmers organisation LRF) are taking the Sámi communities to court, questioning their right to use the land and suing them for the damage that the reindeer have caused on the young forest. In the absence of written documentation which can prove long-standing use of the land, the Sámi are very likely to lose the court cases, probably followed by losing their grazing rights as well as large sums of money. Compensation to the landowners and all costs of the legal processes may have to be paid. The court cases which there are seven at present, spread out along the mountain range, have become a question of survival for the reindeer herding Sámi communities.
Without the right to graze on private lands, the Sámi communities will face problems feeding their reindeer herds, at least to the extent of the present number of animals, and they can not afford the legal processes, financially speaking.
Current courtcases against native grazingrights.
This problem exists only on land owned by private persons (family farms and private wood lot owners - about
Multiple forest use
Neither forestry nor reindeer herding can claim superior rights to the forests in northern Sweden. This calls for rules governing the co-existence of these two areal uses on the same area.Mutual respect for each other´s trades and compliance with the fact that both parties cn experience damage to their interests; the forest and the reindeer grazing. In the way that reindeer herding accepts the forest being used for timber extraction the forest owner must accept the use of the forest for reindeer grazing. Once these speaking terms are achieved local discussions with both parties are important. To be able to talk with each other is a must for the future use of the forests by both parties.
Requirement for Consultation regarding Forest Practices
The consultation procedure between forest owners and reindeer husbandry interests is regulated by the Swedish Forestry Act. However, consultation is obligatory only within the year-round reindeer herding areas, with certain exceptions. There is a need for consultations also concerning the winter grazing land. Such meetings should occur at least once a year for larger forest owners who engage in forest practices on a year-round basis. Minutes of the meetings, adjusted by both parties, shall be kept.The minutes must indicate clearly which logging settings and practices were discussed at the meeting, what was agreed upon, and which differences of opinion remained unresolved at the end of the meeting. In addition to the specific practices discussed, the meetings shall also address in a general way all practices being planned for the following three to five years.
If meetings are held in response to felling planned in order to construct a logging road, discussion should also include all felling and forest management practices that are planned for the following five year period within the setting the logging road is to serve. Either party may invite a representative from the Swedish National Board of Forestry to attend the meeting. Planned felling may not cause the loss of reindeer grazing land of such significance that maintenance of the allowed number of reindeer or traditional herding or moving of reindeer herds would become impossible. Adaptive measures which are clearly called for with consideration to reindeer husbandry shall be taken for all forest management practices with regard to:- - The size and layout of logging settings
- - The establishment of commercial stands
- - Residual stands
- - The route and extent of logging roads
To ensure that contiguous grazing lands shall be accessible on a year round basis for all Sámi communities, clear cutting should be avoided. This is especially important regarding the migration trails and resting pastures. Regeneration felling should not be done in such a way that the function of migration trails is unnecessarily compromised. This may, for example, require that a buffer zone of an appropriate distance up to a 100 metres surrounding a marsh is established, wherein wood vegetation is left standing. Regeneration felling should not be done in areas that include corrals and similar facilities that have been traditionally used for reindeer herding, before an agreement has been reached regarding replacement facilities. Regeneration felling within herding areas must be well-planned so that the function of the areas is not unnecessarily compromised.
In areas which support tree living pendent lichens, which are vital to reindeer husbandry, it is of pressing importance that forestry practices and the needs of reindeer husbandry are coordinated so that the supply of tree living pendent lichens can be used as fodder for extended periods. When regeneration felling is carried out within forest areas with tree living pendent lichen, smaller stands of trees within the logging setting should be left standing to promote the spread of tree living pendent lichens.Site preparation required for reforestation should have the least possible effect on tree living pendent lichen-bearing lands and should not unnecessarily impede the migration and herding of reindeer. The planning of logging road patterns should be done only after consultation with the affected Sámi communities in order to prevent the division of pastures and the difficulty in keeping the herd together during grazing (freely cited from the handbook of the Swedish Forestry Law, National Forestry Board).
Forest Areas With Tree Living Pendent Lichens
Access to forest areas with tree living pendent lichens is of great importance to reindeer husbandry, primarily when access to grazing lands is obstructed by ice formation or frozen snow crusts. Because the earliest allowable age for felling has been lowered, and because areas of old growth forest with tree living pendent lichens located outside protected forests are progressively decreasing, it is vital that a certain percentage of trees in commercial forests are left standing for a longer period of time. However, this does not mean that this percentage must be withdrawn from timber use.In a 1984 thesis "Tree lichens as reindeer fodder - a comparison between spruce, pine, and twisted pine," Maria Andersson at the University of Umeå, Department of Ecological Botany proves beyond doubt that the largest supply of lichens are found in old growth spruce forests. The thesis was part of a project called "Tree lichens as reindeer fodder" which was carried out at the Reindeer Research Department of the Swedish University of Agriculture. The best tree moss fodder is found, according to a Finnish study, in spruce forests that are 120-210 years old (Mattila 1979). Increasingly greater numbers of old growth spruce forests are being clear cut and replaced with planted trees which are then cut before they have aged sufficiently to provide the optimal environment for tree lichens. Tree lichens are spread from older to younger trees, primarily through fragmentation (Ahlner 1948). Large clear cuttings and young forest areas without any older trees will most likely impede the dispersion of tree lichens (Essen 1984).
With a quantification of ten percent and a minimum age class of 120 years, it would be a simple matter to add the requirement to the logging plan requirements for forest owners. Follow-up and verification of the requirement is then an easy matter.A way forward
Present legislation, as been shown, does not guarantee access for the Sámi to their traditional winter grazing land. Neither has the co-use of the forest, carried out by forest owners and reindeer herders proved satisfactory in legal nor practice terms.Forestry as it has been carried out during the 60th to present days, with clear-cuttings and planted monocultural forests has been an impoverishing factor for both the reindeer grazing and the biological diversity. Obedience to ruling laws has not helped.With FSC-certification whole new dimensions of forestry have emerged which have been taken seriously. For the first time the social aspects are part of the design of a viable forestry. Commitments voluntarily made are more efficient than legislative measures. In Sweden the Sámi as an indigenous people have for the first time been invited to the forming of rules for a viable use of the forests. For the first time a voice of a Sámi has equalled the voice of a representative for the forestry industry.
The result of the national process leading to a Swedish FSC-standard is very good, in terms of reindeer husbandry. Things could have been better, but in a process where the goal is mutual solutions a will to compromise should always be present.In an FSC-certified forestry reindeer grazing is allowed on Sámi traditional grounds. Consultation between the forest owner and the Sámi community in question is obligatory. The availability of older tree lichen forests is to be taken into consideration. These are requirements that are of direct interest to reindeer husbandry, but it can be said that most of the requirements on nature conservation are favourable to the reindeer´s grazing and general comfort.
Tåssåsen Sámi community - an example
Tåssåsen Sámi community holds the central parts of the Swedish mountain range, west of the town of Östersund. The year-round land covers an area of 111,000 hectares and consists only of mountain land. The Sámi community are allowed a total of 5,500 grazing reindeer. The Sámi community has 50 members spread on 15 reindeer husbandry enterprises.All youths in the Sámi community have chosen to stay in reindeer herding and the middle-age of the community is accordingly low. The winter grazing land ranges 100 kilometres to the south and 30 kilometres north-west. In winter the reindeer are divided in four groups. The whole area is very much affected by modern forestry. Larger contiguous areas with old growth forests with tree pendent lichen are only found in the boreal area. Three large Swedish forest companies own land in the winter grazing area; SCA, MoDo and Stora. They own some 40 percent of the land. At the present time cooperation with these companies function very well and they accept reindeer grazing on their land. Consultations held in a positive spirit take place on an annual basis, discussing planned measures in the forests. The rest of the land is mainly private-owned. Consultations here only take place in a few cases. All of the forest companies are FSC-certified or becoming certified. A small number of private forest owners are also certified. The private-owned land is mapped out into the company forests in a way that makes it impossible to keep the reindeer on company land only.
The Sámi community of Tåssåsen is one of the communities which recently have been sued by a group of 50 private land owners. In addition, Tåssåsen Sámi community is affected by an other larger legal process in which four Sámi communities have been sued by 700 private land owners in the county of Härjedalen. This process started in 1990, and the Sámi communities lost the trial in the lowest court in 1996. This verdict is being appealed. The process has so far cost the involved Sámi communities about 11 million SEK (around 1 million pounds). For Tåssåsen Sámi community the court cases are questions of survival, since they cannot afford to lose their winter grazing rights - nor can they afford the court costs.
The two legal processes affect 75 % of the available winter grazing areas of the community. They have analysed the situation and come to the conclusion that their chances of winning the cases are minimal, since they cannot provide the requested written evidence of their traditional land use. They do not think that the government will resolve the conflict - at least not quickly enough.
Appendix 1: Map, showing the reindeer grazing areas in Sweden
Light yellow is the winter grazing area. Dark yellow is the summer grazing area.
Appendix 2: Excerpt from the Swedish FSC-standard
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an independent international organisation with its headquarters in Mexico. Its aim is to encourage the environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world's forests.The FSC promotes a voluntary accreditation programme for organisations and enterprises that certificate forestry. The FSC's Principles and Criteria contain overall forestry management guidelines that may be generally applied all over the world. The system of certification, however, is to be adapted to the local conditions that apply in different countries, and one of the FSC´s most important tasks is therefore to support the work of developing the Swedish FSC Standard.
The Swedish FSC Working Group was formed on February 15, 1996 for the purpose of producing a proposal for the Swedish FSC Standard to be submitted to the FSC for approval. The Working Group, which consists of representatives of social, environmental and economic interests, was reformed on May 7, 1997. Following is principle number four of the ten basic principles, which is about indigenous people`s rights. More information about the FSC could be found on the web at: http://www.fsc-sweden.orgIndigenous People's Rights
- 4.2.1. Areas of Reindeer Husbandry
- The forest owner accepts and gives consideration to the Sami people's reindeer husbandry carried on on his land holdings if it is within the area that the County Agricultural Board, the National Board of Physical Planning and Building report no. 44, Section 5, 1978, has designated as a reindeer husbandry area (year-round and winter grazing land).
- 4.2.2. Consultation procedure
- If the land holdings are in the area stated above, consideration shall be given to reindeer husbandry as set out in '31, the Forestry Act. The regulations and general guidelines on consultation embodied in ''20 and 31 shall apply, unless otherwise agreed, for land other than areas used year-round for reindeer husbandry.
- 4.2.3 Forest Bearing Arboreal Lichens
- In reindeer husbandry areas each forest manager must consider in his planning access to older forest bearing arboreal lichens, leaving edge zones bordering on bogs, streams and water courses and, when felling trees with arboreal lichens, save stands in the clear felled area as areas from which lichens may disperse.
- 4.2.4 Places of Special Importance
- In the reindeer husbandry area, the forest manager shall take into consideration and respect, in co-operation with the Laplanders, places identified as being of special cultural, ecological, economic or religious importance to the Sami people. These are old dwelling places and other Sami cultural relics, migration paths, natural gathering places, overnight resting places (grazing), difficult passages, particularly important arboreal lichen areas, work paddocks and calving places.
References Cited
Main website for: Forest Stewardship Council
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