The project Scaling Up has gathered seven researchers to build on results from previous research linked to mines and reindeer husbandry and aims to explore alternative ways to mitigate land conflicts in Sápmi.
“All knowledge must be valued equally, as to the traditional knowledge contained in reindeer husbandry on similar terms in these mining processes,” says Christina Allard, professor of forensic science at Luleå University of Technology.
Part of the project focuses on how the dialogue between the mining companies and the Sami villages should be improved.
– What we want to reach is what planning can contribute, how to get a better dialogue and how physical planning can support so that you do not get as much conflict.
“National interests trump the reindeer herding”
On site for the subsequent panel discussion on land use was both Maria Sunér, CEO of Swemin and SSR’s union chair Matti Blind Berg.
– A prerequisite for a meaningful dialogue is that you are equal and have the same starting position but today it is not so, today the companies often have a national interest in the back that trump the reindeer industry, says Matti Blind Berg.
Swemin represents about 60 mining companies and Anna Sunér points out that her company is keen to minimize the effect that the industry has on the reindeer industry but that better calls are required.
– Such a project can really create a better foundation for better dialogues. My hope is that the project will be able to lead to just that: how the dialogues will be structured and what they should be about, says Sunér.
“More knowledge is required”
After the presentation, the researchers had to answer questions and Karin Beland Lindahl, research leader at Ájte, highlighted the need for knowledge -enhancing efforts.
– In order to deal with these problems, both more knowledge is required at a political level but also that politicians actively handle these issues because in the end it is a political issue, she says.
The research project Scaling Up has its final date in August 2026 and the researchers want to be able to make recommendations both to decision makers and to legislators.
– We as researchers can lift different alternatives, highlight the problem and show different ways forward, but in the end it is the policy that has to take it.