Reindeer husbandry and climate change: Challenges for adaptationShow others and affiliations
2022 (English)In: Reindeer Husbandry and Global Environmental Change: Pastoralism in Fennoscandia / [ed] Tim Horstkotte, Øystein Holand, Jouko Kumpula, Jon Moen, Routledge, 2022, p. 99-117Chapter in book (Refereed)
Abstract [en]
Reindeer and reindeer herders in the circumpolar North are exposed to harsh and often hard-to-predict weather conditions. Herding communities have previously adapted to these external disturbances by flexible pasture use, seasonal mobility, changing herding practices, diversifying livelihoods and continuously developing traditional or experience-based knowledge. However, few places in the world experience ongoing climate change as clearly and rapidly as the high northern latitudes. The effects of climate change and increased frequency of extreme weather events are transforming the biophysical environment of reindeer husbandry. These changes challenge the adaptive capacity of herders who operate in a landscape they share with, and which is highly impacted by, other forms of land use. Thus, sociopolitical factors play a major role in developing adaptation strategies that are perceived as desirable and possible. This chapter summarizes the observed and expected changes in climate and impacts thereof within the reindeer herding area (RHA) of northern Fennoscandia. The chapter further presents a range of strategies adopted by herders to cope with adverse, seasonal weather conditions and indirect impacts of climate change. Finally, it situates these strategies in the context of more proactive and institutional adaptation.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2022. p. 99-117
National Category
Climate Research Environmental Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-203079DOI: 10.4324/9781003118565-8Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85135607406ISBN: 9781000593402 (electronic)ISBN: 9780367632670 (print)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-203079DiVA, id: diva2:1727749
2023-01-172023-01-172023-01-17Bibliographically approved