Sami Reindeer Herders Map Climate Change

Indigenous reindeer herders have long experienced and faced how climate change influence reindeers and their well-being. Their knowledge is personal, based on years spent living close to nature and watching conditions change. 

This knowledge is a necessary component of research in order to get the full picture. Yet, the gap between Indigenous knowledge on climate change and scientific data has been a difficult one to close.

Now, Sámi reindeer herders and researchers have come together in the Climate Change Impacts on Terrestrial Ecosystems (CITE) project, funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers, to codesign a digital tool.

This was originally reported by Arctic WWF.

The tool allows Sámi reindeer herders to document observations of changing land, climate and ecosystems.

Supporting Sámi livelihoods

Máret J. Hætta,  Project leader, Arctic Environmental Unit of the Saami Council, says that "by combining herders’ knowledge with scientific data, the tool strengthens decision-making, biodiversity stewardship, and adaptation strategies—ultimately supporting Sámi livelihoods and fostering resilience to climate and environmental change across Sápmi."

Creating a tool for Sámi reindeer herders to directly report their observations allows for more extensive research and results that may not have been possible without the herders.

The herders experience how climate change is reshaping life across Sápmi on a daily basis. Warmer winters, sudden thaws, refreezing ice, shifting vegetation, unpredictable snow, alien species and increasing presence of predators are all factors that impact their livelihoods.

These observations are combined with scientific data to create a fuller picture of how climate change is unfolding.

The project is part of protecting both the land and Indigenous knowledge to ensure that reindeer herding can continue to endure for future generations.