Pastoralism is one of the most sustainable food systems on the planet and it plays a major role in safeguarding natural grasslands and rangelands (McGahey et al., 2014, p.
viii). However, when addressing the issues of pastoralism, a challenge is the myriad of definitions of the concepts. For example, Jenet et al. (2016) explain that “estimates of the numbers of pastoralists worldwide range from 22 million to more than 200 million, depending on the definition used and the age and quality of the data”. On the other hand, UNEP and IUCN (2009) state that pastoralism is practised by between 200 and 500 million people worldwide. Further, according to McGahey et al. (2014), pastoralism is conducted in more than 75% of the countries in the world, across a quarter of the world’s land area, and provides a livelihood for approximately 500 million people. The FAO (2001) and WISP (2010) state that pastoralism supplies 10%
of the world’s meat production through approximately one billion head of livestock, making a significant economic contribution – especially in some of the world’s poorest regions. The types of livestock kept by pastoralists depend on climate, landscapes and ecosystems, access to water and other natural resources, and may include many different species – cattle, camels, goats, sheep, yaks, horses, llamas and reindeer (Rota
& Sperandini, 2009).
Mobility is a key feature of pastoralism. Many pastoralists are nomadic or semi-nomadic, as these practices offer a way to exploit the seasonal variability of marginal and unstable grazing resources – such as the drylands and steppes of Africa, the Mideast, Central Asia and Mongolia, the highlands of Tibet and the Andes, and the tundra and taiga of Scandinavia and Siberia (FAO, 2001; Pedersen & Benjaminsen, 2008). Another common pastoral practice is maintaining pastures for contingencies
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such as periods of drought or frozen grounds (McGahey et al., 2014). Seasonal migration between different grazing lands is a key strategy to reduce the risks of food shortages. Through herding and migration, pastoralists disperse the impacts of grazing over several pasture lands in a relatively large area and allow the recovery of
seasonally used pastures (Reid et al., 2008).
Nomadic and semi-nomadic reindeer pastoralism provides a livelihood for approximately 24 different indigenous peoples living on the Arctic tundra and sub-Arctic taiga. Most of these indigenous groups live in the Russian Federation, but reindeer husbandry is also practised in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Mongolia, China, Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Scotland. The livelihood involves some 100,000
herders, nearly 2.5 million semi-domesticated reindeer and approximately four million square kilometres of pastures in Eurasia (CAFF, 2006).
In Norway, reindeer husbandry is recognised as an indigenous livelihood. According to national legislation, only people of Sámi descent may own reindeer, with the exception of a few concessions areas in the south were both Sámi and Norwegians are reindeer owners. In the Sámi population, those engaged in reindeer husbandry are a minority.
In 2017, there were 541 concessions9 for managing a herding unit in Norway, and there were 3,233 registered reindeer owners with a total of 213,913 semi-domesticated reindeer (Landbruksdirektoratet, 2017a). There are six reindeer-herding regions, which together cover about 40% of the Norwegian mainland, from Finnmark in the north to the counties of Sør-Trøndelag and Hedmark in the southern part of the country (see Figure 2). This area is sometimes referred to as the Norwegian part of Sápmi, which is the traditional homeland of the Sámi people – a transnational area which also covers parts of Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula of Russia.
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Figure 2: Map indicating Sámi reindeer husbandry regions in Norway (Reprint from Paper 3, made by Alf Bjørnar Eriksen, September 2015)
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The Norwegian reindeer-herding regions are further divided into reindeer-herding districts. According to the County Governor (2017), there were 72 summer and year-round grazing districts in 2017, as well as 10 districts that are only used for grazing in autumn and winter. Within Sápmi, Finnmark is the largest reindeer-herding region. It is Norway’s northernmost county; roughly 75% of the pastoralists and 70% of the semi-domesticated reindeer in Norway are registered in Finnmark
(Landbruksdirektoratet, 2016a). Roughly the whole county is reindeer pasturage, and according to Riseth (2014, p. 85):
[Finnmark has] by far, the best natural conditions for reindeer husbandry in Norway. The poor bedrock with good lichen pastures and dry, cold winter climate with little snow, provides stable and reliable pastures in the interior areas, while the nutritious bedrock in mountainous islands and peninsulas, provides lush summer pastures.
In West Finnmark and most of East Finnmark, the interior in the south is used as winter pastures, while the coastal areas are spring, summer and autumn pastures.
Most herds cross a number of municipalities during the annual migration between winter and summer grazing areas (see Figure 3 and 4). The majority of the pastoralists in West Finnmark have their primary homes in Kautokeino municipality, where the winter pastures are located. In square metres, this is the largest municipality in Norway, but its population is only about 3,000 people. Those with a primary home in Kautokeino can vote for the local government. The municipality collects their tax payments, and their children attend school there. In addition, many herders also spend a considerable amount of time in second homes in their summer pastures closer to the coast.
Traditionally, the use of seasonal pastures and the division of labour are organised within siidas (MN Sara, 2009). The concept of the siida is known throughout Sápmi and can be loosely translated as ‘community’ (Mustonen & Mustonen, 2011; MN Sara,
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herders and the customary management units of Sámi reindeer husbandry (Bjørklund, 1990; Paine, 1994).
Figure 3: Pastures, migration routes and herding districts in West and East Finnmark The numbers indicate the codes used to refer to the different herding districts. (Made by Statistics Norway, 2011).
The key role of the siidas’ is to deal with issues related to “ecology, herding strategies, coordination of herding tasks, and relations to surrounding siida units” (MN Sara, 2009, p. 158). However, siidas are not static organisations. The siida members and herds often differ in size and composition throughout the herding season. In addition, every siida unit is continuously formed by ongoing practices and siida members’
participation in daily discussions and actions in response to events and processes within the herd and the landscape in which they operate (MN Sara, 2009, p. 176). The siidas’ practices are therefore continuously formed and diversified by their distinct local adaptation and the knowledge base of the siida members (MN Sara, 2009).
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Figure 4: Seasonal pastures in West and East Finnmark herding districts
The numbers indicate the codes used to refer to the different herding districts. (Made by Statistics Norway, 2011).
Though the reindeer are organised in siida herds, it is important to note that each animal is the private property of an individual owner. Traditionally, new-borns, boys and girls alike, are given reindeer and a personal mark that is cut in the ears of their animals. As such, all reindeer owners get a chance to develop a herd by earmarking offspring from their own reindeer and animals they receive as gifts throughout their lives. Moreover, the tradition is that after marriage, both husband and wife retain the ownership of their own reindeer and their offspring.