Exploring the power dynamic between forestry and reindeer herding

By focusing on forestry and Sámi reindeer herding as two forms of land use in northern Sweden, the researchers in this project aim to explore and understand the power dynamics in conflict and collaboration.

Furthermore, the researchers will examine how power dynamics create gaps between policy and practice, explore potential strategies to address them, and how they affect the future of sustainable forestry.

Efforts to promote forest-related collaboration, such as dialogue, consultations, and participatory processes, have had varying degrees of success. A decisive factor is the power imbalance between forestry and reindeer husbandry, but also the differing conditions between Sámi reindeer herding communities. Reindeer husbandry faces cultural and political pressures and is often treated as a homogeneous interest group.

In reality, it consists of three types of Sámi communities – mountain, forest and concession Sámi communities – with different rights, forms of support, and capacities to adapt to forest management strategies. Forest Sámi communities hold reindeer herding rights, whereas concession communities operate through state-issued concessions with specific laws. Unlike forest Sámi communities, concession communities are not part of the National Association of the Sámi People in Sweden, lack representation in forestry-related conflicts, and are treated differently by the forest sector as they are not considered to meet the requirements of customary law.

In research, forest Sámi have received less attention than mountain Sámi, and concession reindeer herding has been largely overlooked and remains particularly underrepresented, despite its markedly different management structure. The few empirical studies that exist are dated but suggest that the concession Sámi community’s management model reduces conflicts between reindeer herding, agriculture and forestry, which underlines the need to include these different conditions in the analysis and highlight the potential paths toward sustainable forestry.

Previous studies have provided insights into how different forestry methods affect ecosystems and power relations within the forestry sector. The researchers in this project will use critical theory to conduct a more in-depth analysis of the power relations that influence conflicts and collaboration between forestry and reindeer herding.

The project is divided into two different interlinked phases. The first phase involves data collection and analysis through reviewing policy documents, conducting interviews, and participatory observations. The second phase focuses on collaboration and joint analysis with representatives from the forestry and reindeer herding husbandry, where conceptual surveys and strategic agenda for future forest management strategies are developed. Through this approach, the researchers believe that the project will contribute to a greater understanding of how forest resources can be balanced between exploitation and conservation, and how collaboration can be strengthened for long term sustainable coexistence.