Category: News

The aim of the call is to promote Nordic collaboration between researchers in reindeer husbandry by networking activities including workshops, conferences and seminars. Deadline for application submission is November 20^th, 2020 at 24:00 CET.

Focus areas of the call:

• Reindeer husbandry and climate change adaptation
• Reindeer husbandry and land-use change
• Other aspects of reindeer husbandry

Reindeer husbandry is a traditional source of livelihood in the Nordic countries, which has adapted to changes in the economy and societal changes in general. Reindeer husbandry is an important part of the bioeconomy in the Nordic Arctic region, as well as an important part of Sami culture. It is important for food supply, and also contributes to tourism and other economic activities related to reindeer husbandry.

NKJ sees the need for more knowledge and increased cooperation on the impact and consequences of climate change and land-use change on the future of reindeer husbandry and is therefore calling for research networks on these topics.     

Overall scope of the call

Successful applicants may receive funds from NKJ of up to 300 000 SEK, covering at most 50% of the total budget for the network.  Participants in submitted networks should represent at least three countries consisting of three research institutions in the Nordic* region. 

Network outputs should be useful for the Nordic community and should include knowledge exchange across national borders through e.g. arranging workshops, seminars, scientific meetings or open conferences. Networks could also produce peer-reviewed scientific papers, design policy recommendations based on research findings, write large-scale research funding applications, and create or maintain databases or websites.

* Nordic is defined as Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the autonomous areas of the Faroe Islands, Greenland and the Åland Islands.

Reindeer husbandry and climate change adaptation

Reindeer husbandry is primarily based on the use of pastures all year and is therefore particularly vulnerable to climate change. The availability of pastures during winter seasons, and the quality of pastures, will be changing with variations in temperature. Climate change may bring new challenges to reindeer health, such as new types of diseases or intensified outbreaks of existing diseases.

Reindeer husbandry and land-use change

Reindeer pasture areas are continuously under pressure from other sectors and economic interests. Land-use changes influence the patterns of movement of the reindeer, and the availability of the traditional pastures. Increasing populations of predatory animals is also challenging the traditional use of the pasture areas.

Call for networks in reindeer husbandry (PDF)
Here you will find everything you need to know before applying.

Download the application form (docx)
Download the application form and submit before November 20 at 24:00 CET.

Contact:
Mimmi Blomquist,

Information about previous NKJ networks

In the future, the NKJ-funded research networks will be granted larger amounts. At its most recent meeting, the board decided to increase the amount possible to apply for from SEK 200,000 to SEK 300,000.

Every year, NKJ has one or more different calls for networks that, for example, organize conferences, work with policy-making, write joint major applications for research funding and more. We do this to promote Nordic co-operation in forest research. We believe that the effect of research will be greater if we work across national borders and exchange knowledge and perhaps also equipment, experience and power.

In order to receive financing from us, it is required that you have external co-financing with at least half the budget. This will still be the case, after the increase of the amount. We believe that the impact of our money will be greater if we add a little more.

Welcome to apply for money from the ongoing call, which has three focus areas: soil health, plant health and Nordic food security and self-sufficiency in agriculture.
Information on how to apply for the ongoing calls can be found here. 

We will also open a new call towards the end of the summer, which will be in reindeer husbandry. This will be announced in connection with our matchmaking day which brings together people in the Nordic reindeer husbandry. Matchmaking day is free of charge and takes place online on August 25, interested parties are welcome to register for the Matchmaking day.!

NKJ works to give young people more influence. Now we are about to rewrite the statutes to make it possible to elect a student representative to our board.

At the board meeting in June, the secretariat was also instructed to investigate how a working group with young people or a network of doctoral students could be managed. The intention is to give the board input, proposals and ideas through a young, advisory body.
Such a working group or network will have a clear mandate and job description. It will also require a budget to make it work, something the board has approved.
The preparations can be completed at the earliest to the autumn board meeting so that decisions can be made.

A broad spectrum of research topics is related to reindeer herding and the Sámi culture. From working conditions, viruses and diseases, racism, climate change, land-use effects to predator losses, and many others. Several research questions are similar across the whole region occupied by reindeer, and international cooperation is therefore well established.

More about reindeers

• Reindeer research in the Nordic countries
  
• Reindeer herding in Fennoscandia – same, same but different
• Snapshots from Nordic reindeer research

The Arctic Ungulate Society brings together researchers on reindeer/caribou and muskox in international conferences every fourth year. The last conference was held in Sweden (Jokkmokk) in 2019, with some 110 delegates.

Contact: Birgitta Åhman (president),

ReiGN is a Nordic Centre of Excellence with a focus on reindeer husbandry. The overall aim is to understand how climate change and other processes in the Arctic will affect reindeer husbandry in Fennoscandia and how the industry can adapt to these drivers. Partners of ReiGN represent Norway, Sweden, Finland, Canada, United Kingdom and New Zealand.

Contact: Øystein Holand,

Nordic association for agricultural science (NJF) has a Reindeer Husbandry section. The section promotes reindeer research in the Nordic countries and organises the Nordic Conference on Reindeer husbandry research.

Contact: Birgitta Åhman (chair),

More about reindeers

• Reindeer research in the Nordic countries
  
• Reindeer herding in Fennoscandia – same, same but different
• Research on reindeer husbandry – international cooperation

Reindeer husbandry planning (Sweden)

Per Sandström at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Umeå has been involved in reindeer husbandry planning (Renbruksplaner) for the last 20 years. The plans are each reindeer herding community’s own tool to describe their use of the land, where the reindeer feed, move and rest. The plans are essential for communication with other land-users such as those involved in forestry, energy production, infrastructure development and mining. SLU is an active partner in developing and evaluating the plans, and Per Sandström is hopeful:

– We have recently completed an educational campaign about the use of reindeer husbandry planning, and we conclude that the dialogue has become far more positive. The increased knowledge and understanding about the reindeer herders´ claims is extremely helpful for the planning of forestry activities, mine prospecting or the need for passages over railways or roads, he says.

The development of reindeer husbandry planning is unique to Sweden.

– We have seen a growing interest in our way of creating and improving dialogue including from our neighbouring countries, he says.

Read more: www.renbruksplan.se (in Swedish)
Contact: Per Sandström, 

Structure and economics in reindeer husbandry (Norway)

Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO) is conducting several research projects on reindeer herding. One example relates to the economic sustainability of reindeer herding. In one of the reports, the conclusions are that (1) There is no clear connection between ownership structure and effectiveness in reindeer herding. There is a strong, traditional capacity among the Sámi to cooperate flexibly irrespective of ownership structure. (2) The values created go exclusively to the owner of the reindeer, with no specific reward for labour inputs.

Read more: about the specific project “Driftsøkonomi i norsk reindrift”, https://www.nibio.no/prosjekter/sis-rein-drift/driftsokonomi-i-norsk-reindrift
Reindeer research at NIBIO: https://www.nibio.no/prosjekter/sis-rein-drift

Reindeer and climate change (Finland)

“In northern Finland, climate change could at its worst [will] trap Arctic animals in a narrow strip of land between the Arctic Ocean and the approaching forest zone. Rising temperatures affect the utilisation of Arctic nature in numerous ways.”

Extreme variations in weather in late autumn make feeding more difficult for reindeer. This is one of the conclusions from the research on reindeer and climate change at Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke). If thaws and rain wet the snow and ground high on the fells where most reindeer graze, the snow cover will freeze into a solid and dense layer of ice when the temperature drops below zero. An ice-cover makes it more difficult, or sometimes impossible, for the reindeer to dig for food. One positive side of climate change is that snow-melting comes earlier and improves the availability of food in late winter. However, the early onset of spring cannot compensate for the problems during the winter season.

Another problem with rising temperatures is that insect attacks could get worse. Autumn weights of calves have dropped after exceptionally warm summers. Warmer summers may also lead to the expansion of parasitic insects northwards.

Read more: Reindeer and climate change, https://www.luke.fi/en/natural-resources/agriculture/reindeer-husbandry/reindeer-and-climate-change/
Contact: Jouko Kumpula, 

Winterfeeding of reindeer (Sweden)

In reindeer husbandry, winter-feeding has increased due to competing land use activities and climate change. This may be beneficial in the short-term, but may risk the animals’ future ability to make use of the natural forage resource and reduce the opportunity to utilise natural pastures.

The project Reinfeed aims to gain knowledge of best practice for winter-feeding of reindeer and other animals to avoid possible deterioration of foraging performance on natural pastures.

Read more: REINFEED, https://www.slu.se/en/faculties/vh/research/forskningsprojekt/ren/reinfeed/
Contact: Anna Skarin,

Forestry and reindeer husbandry (Finland)

Reindeer husbandry and forestry overlap in northern Finland, and there have been disputes between those involved in the two forms of land use for over a hundred years. A study from the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi has examined the different perspectives of practitioners of reindeer herding and forestry. The study showed that a number of conventional forestry measures decrease either the number, surface area or quality of the reindeer pastures. The impacts of reindeer husbandry on commercial forests are mostly marginal. Consultation procedures have improved relations between the state forestry and reindeer husbandry practitioners. Corresponding procedures are also being sought for private forest owners. Actions that forestry can take include ensuring uneven-aged forest structure, saving old-growth trees, harvesting logging residue on lichen-rich sites, using light soil preparation and natural regeneration.

Read more: Turunen, M. T., Rasmus, S., Järvenpää, J., Kivinen, S. 2020. Relations between forestry and reindeer husbandry in northern Finland – Perspectives of science and practice. Forest Ecology and Management vol 457, 117677.

Impacts of wind power (Sweden)

A large part of the wind power in Sweden is developed in the northern part, and thus ends up in the reindeer herding area. The knowledge of how wind power affects reindeer has increased, but there are still uncertainties of how the wind power affect the winter grazing area in the forest in Sweden. Wind power involves cumulative effects from roads, power lines and also disturbance from the wind turbines and rotors.

Read more: About Vindval, https://www.slu.se/en/faculties/vh/research/avslutade-forskningsprojekt/ren/wind-power-in-operation-and-impacts-on-reindeer-and-reindeer-herding/
Contact: Anna Skarin,