New Nordic Cooperation to Study Sami Rights and Environmental Protection in the North
Reisa National Park in Troms, Northern Norway, is one of the national parks included in the new research project. (Photo: Rune Benonisen)
A new Nordic research project will explore how climate change and tourism add pressure to the nature and Indigenous ways of living in the Arctic. The project will look at how legislation and political frameworks can be utilized to ensure the sustainable management of national parks in Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
The new research project ALAMOT(Adapting Law for Moving Targets: Climate Change, Overtourism and Biodiversity in Indigenous Arctic National Parks) will explore how legislation in Norway, Sweden and Finland impacts the management of national parks and indigenous rights in the North.
Kristin Rosendal, senior researcher at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute. (Photo: FNI)
ALAMOT is funded by NordForsk and led by the Finnish Environment Institute. The Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI) in Norway and the Mid Sweden University are central partners.
"The project will compare the management regimes in the three countries," says Senior Researcher at FNI, Kristin Rosendal, who is also the leader of the project on the Norwegian side.
"We have chosen two main factors to explore: climate change and changes in tourism. We will study how these two changes can impact nature, environment, and Sami livelihoods in these areas."
These factors will be studied in national parks in the northern Nordic region, including Reisa National Park in Norway and Sarek National Park in Sweden.
EU legislation
Øyvind Ravna, professor at the Faculty of Law at UiT, the Arctic University of Norway, is also contributing to the project on the Norwegian side as an expert in Sami rights.
Which laws and legal principles are most relevant to look at in this project?
"In general, legislation for environmental protection, biodiversity, and natural diversity," says Ravna.
"I would also think that the Outdoor Recreation Act is of great importance here, because it has to do with traffic, including tourism and especially unorganized tourism," he adds.
Øyvind Ravna, professor of law at UiT. (Photo: UiT)
Are there major differences between the legislation in the three countries?
"The work has just begun, so I cannot say much about that. But there are likely differences due to Finland and Sweden being bound by EU regulations to a greater extent than Norway. Norway is also bound by it, but not in the same way," says Ravna.
"Yes, it is important because nature management itself is largely exempt from EEA legislation, so Norway is not directly obligated when it comes to nature management," adds Rosendal.
She says that the researchers expect to find some interesting differences based on this.
Knowledge base
The goal of the project is to increase the knowledge base and find the best management practices for sustainable development in the Arctic. The researchers will prepare concrete proposals for politicians on how nature conservation and the Sami way of life can be strengthened both politically and legally.
How does legislation manage to keep up with rapid climate change?
"It is difficult for states to keep up, and not least to be ahead of the legislation, so this is more a matter of acting fast afterwards," replies Ravna.
"It will also be important to get the local population to talk about how they experience climate change and whether they see any particular needs for legislative changes and other types of management options," adds Rosendal.
How does cross-border protection of nature and wildlife work today?
"It is difficult to say beforehand, but we know that today there are problems, for example, with the fact that a joint reindeer herding commission has not been put in place, so that is something that affects reindeer herding between the countries," answers Ravna.
Indigenous rights
Since the project will look at how tourism and climate change affect Arctic nature and Sami livelihoods, it is naturally important to include Sami bodies.
"We are contacting the Sámi Parliamentary Council, a superstructure for the Sami parliaments in Norway, Sweden and Finland," says Ravna and continues:
"We have approached them first because then you have a unified body to deal with. It is particularly important to inform that we are doing this and that we want to involve Sami organisations from the start."
What challenges have you seen in advance that make this project necessary?
"An example from a biological perspective is that crowberries are in the process of outcompeting lichen and moss species," says Rosendal.
"This could affect reindeer herding, as lichen is an important source of food for reindeer and we need more knowledge about how this affects people in these areas."
Cross-border collaboration
At a time when research and collaboration are threatened in both East and West, researchers see the value of Nordic research collaboration.
"In a world where multilateralism and academia are challenged in one of our most important partner countries throughout history, it is clear that international research collaboration is only becoming more and more important," says Rosendal and concludes:
"Nordic research collaboration is very important to us and it is not the first time we have collaborated with Nordic researchers, but we are pleased that this NordForsk call for proposals makes this possible."
