7 THE STATUS AND TRENDS OF BIODIVERSITY FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
7.7 Traditional knowledge to preserve and use associated biodiversity and wild resources
Interesting initiatives have been and are being undertaken to document traditional knowledge of associated biodiversity and wild food species with a view to use this knowledge in today’s and tomorrow’s food related practices.
7.7.1 Sámi traditional knowledge
Sámi traditional knowledge is essentially held by older people and passed on to the next generation orally and through "learning by doing". It can therefore easily be lost during the rapid
modernization that Sámi society is undergoing. Examples of such knowledge include the use of resources that are picked and harvested in outlying fields, such as berries and plants, as well as fish.
Article 110a of the Norwegian Constitution (1988), the establishment of the Sámi Parliament and the Sámi Act stipulating the responsibilities and powers of the Sámi Parliament (1989), as well as White paper Nr.42 (2000-2001)55 and the Finnmark Act (2005) have all significantly contributed to protect Sámi culture and strengthen the maintenance and use of Sámi traditions, including with respect to the use of wild foods.
The Árbediehtu (inherited knowledge) project is of particular importance when it comes to supporting Sámi communities to develop sustainable livelihoods using traditional knowledge.
Through this project, that is being carried out by the Sámi University College since 2010, traditional knowledge and methods Sámi have been utilizing to manage natural resources, including wild foods, and that had so far mainly been transferred through verbal communication and by practice, are being collected, documented and systematized.
For the documentation of Sámi traditional knowledge in the context of the Árbediehtu project ethical guidelines were prepared (Nordin Jonsson, 2011). These guidelines include a section on
"male and female traditional knowledge", acknowledging the fact that men and women have and had different responsibilities, tasks and roles in Sámi life (i.e. the traditional knowledge of Sámi women is usually linked to family life, such as the preparation of food, taking care of the family home, etc.). Female traditional knowledge has generally been documented to a lesser extent than male traditional knowledge (Grenier, 1998).
The long-term goals of the Árbediehtu project are (i) the preservation of traditional knowledge; (ii) the inclusion of traditional knowledge in educational programmes; and (iii) the use of traditional knowledge in decision making processes on the conservation and sustainable use of biological
55 In section 8.3 of the paper of White paper nr.42 (2000-2001) the government recognizes the importance to preserve and document traditional knowledge to maintain and provide the opportunity to develop Sámi culture.
diversity. The Project's work is aligned with the conventions and declarations that were ratified by Norway and are of relevance to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.56
Finally and very importantly, municipal and regional authorities consider the preservation of Sámi traditional knowledge a priority. They closely follow the work that is being undertaken by several projects, like Árbediehtu, to document and preserve this knowledge.
7.7.2 Traditional farming
During the 20th century, a series of ethnological registration projects documenting knowledge of traditional practices were carried out on national government supported programmes. Among others, the history of plants used in traditional Norwegian cuisine and medicine were mapped for some of the approximately 107 plant species in the Norwegian wild flora (e.g. the history of Garden Angelica (Angelica archangelica) was documented dating back to the 11th century).The results of these projects are reflected in monographs and short publications and are stored in museum- and archive-collections.
More recently, similar type of registration and collection activities have been carried out at a more local level by interested individuals, some of which have put their documented knowledge into use, for example by developing niche products. An interesting case in this respect is the successful commercialization of "tjukkmjølk", a thick sour milk and traditional summer drink from mountain areas in Norway. Tjukkmjølk is believed to have been produced by using butterworth (Pinguicula vulgaris), a plant that grows on the moors. Up until 1995, when Røros dairy (Rørosmeieriet) started to produce tjukkmjølk at a larger scale, the product had never been commercially distributed. Today, six different local and traditional products, including tjukkmjølk, are exclusively processed at and sold by Rørosmeieriet, and in 2004 tjukkmjølk was the first Norwegian food product to be granted a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI)57(Amilien, Torjusen & Vittersø, 2005).
In the 1990s, the Sogn og Fjordane University College initiated a local project studying commonly used pollard trees in the county. This included documenting traditional techniques to use pollard trees as fodder. Restoring and maintaining pollard trees have since become a state supported activity that is part of the environmental measures of the agricultural agreement.
56 For example, as a Contracting Party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Norway has taken on the responsibility to facilitate, as far as possible and as appropriate, the implementation of Article 8(j), pertaining to the preservation and maintenance of knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, including biodiversity for food and agriculture.
57 PGI is one of three European Union schemes to promote and protect names of quality agricultural products and foodstuffs. It is based on the legal framework provided by the EU Regulation No 1151/2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs. This Regulation ensures that only products genuinely originating in that region are allowed to be identified as such in commerce. The PGI scheme protects the reputation of the regional foods, promotes rural and agricultural activity, helps producers obtain a premium price for their authentic products, and eliminates the unfair competition and misleading of consumers by non-genuine products, which may be of inferior quality or of different flavour.
In Lindås municipality (Nordhordland), the Lyngheisenter, a living museum, explores and teaches old management techniques for the maintenance of coastal heathlands. Through the Regional Environment Programme (RMP), the Norwegian Ministry for Agriculture and Food supports the maintenance of coastal heathlands through the use of environmental friendly techniques like these.
There are also examples whereby knowledge of traditional practices has been translated into practical measures in the area of landscape management. In the preparation of field guides for the maintenance of cultural landscapes, such as «Bondens kulturmarksflora», for example, Bioforsk Midt-Norge (now NIBIO) uses information from historical literature (Bele & Norderhaug, 2008).58
Similar to other farming systems, herding and range management also involve traditional
practices. The knowledge of such practices has been steadily declining, partially because more and more agricultural land is being rented out.59 The government has implemented economic and political measures, including grant systems to maintain and enhance traditional farming methods, such as, for example, small-scale transhumance. The main objective of such measures is to
preserve certain fields, farmland and landscapes and conserve their rich diversity in grasses and legume species (Asdal, 2008).
The "Man and natural heritage" project (Mennesket og naturarven) is another example whereby traditional knowledge on the use of natural resources is translated into practical action. The project aims to improve the management of protected areas and threatened species, as well as of selected nature types and cultural landscapes by collecting and using knowledge on how natural resources were used by Norwegians in the past, at the time when fishermen, farmers and forest-dwellers were living closer to nature. The project is led by the Norwegian Environment Agency and the
Norwegian Nature Inspectorate in close cooperation with relevant institutes and organisations, including the Sámi University College that is responsible for the Árbediehtu project.
7.7.3 Role of women in the sustainable use of wild resources
Norway’s active hunting and fishermen's associations play a significant role in terms of the maintenance and dissemination of traditional hunting and fishing practices.
In the 2012/2013 hunting season there were slightly less than 138,000 registered hunters in Norway, nearly 6% of which were women. These figures have shown a rising trend for five
consecutive years between 2008 and 2013 (SSB) and slightly decreased in the 2013/2014 hunting season.
Hobby fishing is also quite a male-dominated outdoor activity. In 2008, barely 5% of the Norwegian salmon anglers were women (Tangeland et al., 2008).
58 Additional knowledge about the maintenance of traditionally managed agricultural landscapes can be found in Norderhaug, A., Austad, I., Hauge, L. and Kvamme, M. (1999). Skjøtselshåndboka for kulturlandskap og gamle norske kulturmarker. Landbruksforlaget.
59 More than 50% of Norway’s agricultural land is rented out.
Together with horseback riding, berry and mushroom picking are the only outdoor activities where women are more active than men (http://www.hegnar.no/kvinner/artikkel15985.ece). In 2012, Statistics Norway estimated that there were about 1,6 million annual berry pickers in Norway,60 most of which were women; men in the age group 16 to 24 were the least involved. In Northern Norway, about 51% of the population is estimated to pick berries on an annual basis, followed by 50% in Trønderlag, 39% in Østlandet (excluding the inhabitants of Oslo and Akershus), 29% in Vestlandet and 28% in Agder and Rogaland. In the northern part of the country, cloudberry is the most harvested berry species, in other regions, billberry, lingonberry and raspberry are the most commonly picked species (http://www.nationen.no/tunmedia/helt-hekta-pa-baerplukking/).
Berry and mushroom picking is also especially popular among the older share of the population. In 2012, 36% of adults aged 67 and above were engaged in either of the two activities at least once over a twelve months period. State supported mushroom checkpoints existed across the country to assist mushroom pickers, free of charge, to identify edible mushrooms. The state support for this service was suspended in 2015.
The eider tradition on the Vega archipelago is an example whereby the role of women has been particularly important in bringing back a lucrative traditional practice in favor of the conservation and use of a wild duck species. For more than 1000 years, the inhabitants of the Vega archipelago made nests for hundreds of eider ducks during spring. The women of the households were
responsible to look after the eiders once they were nesting. Half of the eggs produced were used for consumption, while the eider down was collected, cleaned, processed and sold. As a valuable export commodity eider duck down provided about half of the islanders’ annual income. From the 1960s onwards, when the inhabitants started abandoning the islands, the eider population also
significantly declined.
However, the eider tradition was revived when the Vega Archipelago was awarded the World Heritage status in 2004 and five years later, around 3000 bird houses and nests were made and nearly 1300 birds nested. Today, the down-collecting tradition is upheld by 18, mostly women, bird tenders, as opposed to 6 or 7 in 2000. The annual global production of cleaned eider down is approximately 2000 kg.61 62
60 3% less than in 2002 (http://www.ringblad.no/kultur/article6827286.ece).
61The people of Vega and the surrounding district, particularly women, still manually clean the down. It takes a couple of weeks to clean one kilogram of down, as the down needs to be dried, shaken, rough-cleaned and then fine-cleaned.
62 See http://www.verdensarvvega.no/index.php/no/ for more information.