Circumpolar Musings: Nordic Region

'Protect reindeer' say Sweden’s indigenous Sami

Amanda Graham — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 02:58:33 GMT

(Radio Sweden via Eye on the Arctic, 11 March 2013) -- The Sami, an indigenous people living in northern Sweden, want higher compensation for their reindeer that are killed by other animals, reports Swedish Radio news. More than 5,000 bear, lynx, wolverine, and wolves are found in Sweden today. That's double the number of predatory wildlife from the time the reindeer compensation system was put in place in the mid-1990s. Most predatory animals live in reindeer areas. The Swedish National Sami Association says many of the 51 Sami reindeer herding communities are having a tough time. The association wants to reduce the numbers of predatory animals in their areas and get more in compensation for reindeer losses. Lena Ek, Sweden's Environmental Minister, says the issue will be taken up this fall when the government presents its plan for predatory wildlife. Sweden needs to be prepared to pay if it wants to continue to protect such animals, she says.

Instant Arctic know-how

Amanda Graham — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 17:52:51 GMT

(Barents Observer, 21 March 2012) -- The Fram Center in Tromsø, Northern Norway, has launched a new blog – Fram Shorts, where scientists from some 20 different institutions will inform about research to an international audience. Through short videos Fram Center staff will present their work on research and surveillance of environment and climate in the Arctic. Fram Shorts is launched as a blog and on You Tube, Facebook and Twitter. www.framshorts.com The Fram Centre is the short name for FRAM – High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment. The Fram Centre is based in Tromsø, and consists of about 500 scientists from 20 institutions involved in interdisciplinary research in the fields of natural science, technology and social sciences. Read also: Free access to research documents on the High North

New report: Megatrends in the Arctic

Amanda Graham — Thu, 12 May 2011 23:43:46 GMT

(Norden, 12 May 2011) -- A new report from the Nordic Council of Ministers looks at the long term development in the Arctic region. The report focuses on the current and the likely future situation in the Arctic by going through the challenges and tendencies at work in the region. The current pace of global change has already had a decisive impact on the Arctic. To understand the current and likely future situation in the Arctic it is important to acknowledge the pre-conditions, challenges and tendencies at work in the region. Some of these developments should be characterized as megatrends because they overarch and impact on everything else. They are trends deemed so powerful that they have the potential to transform society across social categories and at all levels, from individuals and local-level players to global structures, and eventually to change our ways of living and thinking. The report Megatrends in the Arctic looks at the development in the Arctic through this lens and presents a long-term perspective on this crucial region.

Duma ratifies Norwegian boundary treaty

Amanda Graham — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 19:05:42 GMT

(Moscow Times, 28 March 2011) -- Norway welcomed a Russian State Duma vote ratifying a treaty to divide the Barents Sea into clear Norwegian and Russian zones, bringing Norway closer to a new oil and gas drive in the Arctic. "The action in the Duma is gratifying and is a big step toward implementing the agreement," Norwegian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Kjetil Elsebutangen said Saturday, a day after Russia's lower house of parliament ratified the deal. Earlier this month, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said Norway would begin a formal study into offshore oil and gas exploration along the newly delineated boundary in the Barents Sea soon after Russia ratifies the treaty. Approval by Russia's upper house, or Federation Council, is considered a formality as it regularly rubber stamps initiatives from President Dmitry Medvedev, who helped negotiate the Barents treaty in Oslo and signed off on its terms last September. Norway's parliament ratified it Feb. 8. Elsebutangen said the line, running between Norwegian and Russian archipelagos most of the way to the North Pole, will become law 30 days after Medvedev signs it and the two countries formally "exchange documents." "We hope that won't take long," he said, adding that the deal "will open the way for new rules on new opportunities to exploit resources." The area to be divided after 40 years of dispute is about half the size of Germany.

Swedish icebreakers gear up for Arctic role

Amanda Graham — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 07:08:16 GMT

(Radio Sweden via Eye on the Arctic, 9 November 2010) -- With growing international interest in Arctic oil and gas reserves, Sweden's icebreaker fleet is set to play a bigger role in shipping, prospecting, and research expeditions in the region. While the main task of the icebreaker fleet is to keep shipping lanes open in the Baltic Sea in the winter, there are increasing opportunities in the Arctic during the summer, said Thomas Årnell, head of ship management at the Swedish Maritime Administration. "Research activity has been growing in the region for some time. But in recent years there's been more and more sea bed mapping by countries who want to assert their rights over the territory as well as prospecting for oil," he said. Sweden is one of just a half dozen countries operating icebreakers. Its fleet of five state-owned ships, originally owned by the navy, is the world's third largest, behind Russia and Finland. The fleet's flagship, the Oden, was the world's first non-nuclear icebreaker to make it to the North Pole in the early nineties. It is now entirely devoted to polar research and commercial expeditions. The ship, equipped with state of the art sea bed imaging equipment, recently returned from a controversial mapping exercise off the coast of Greenland, where it was leased out to a US oil prospecting company. It's now en route to the Antarctic, where a crew of Swedish and American researcher will carry out polar research on board. "Almost all the research they will do down there is related to climate change — such as mapping large scale ocean currents around the Antarctic and measuring carbon dioxide levels," explained Björn Dahlbäck, director of the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, who was part of the research team on the first ever Swedish icebreaker expedition to the Arctic in 1980. "There are only a couple of other ships in the world able to go into thick ice and do Arctic research. So there is quite a high demand from other countries to use it.”

Swedish military approves wind power in Lapland

Amanda Graham — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 19:48:16 GMT

(BarentsObserver, 2 August 2010) -- Defence authorities have approved plans for a new wind power plant in Malå, northern Sweden. Defence officials long believed that the 22-windmill park would hamper flight activities in the area. Defence experts now conclude that the wind park does not threaten air traffic in the area, Norran.se reports. The wind park in one of several, which are under planning in northern Sweden. Among them is the Markbygdens Wind Power project outside Pitaå, which includes 1100 windmills and will produce up to 12 TWh. According to Norran.no, new wind power projects with generating capabilities of 16 TWh is currently under planning in Sweden. The authorities intend to boost wind capacity to at least 30 TWh.

EU, Russia, Norway and Iceland embark on closer cultural partnership

Amanda Graham — Wed, 19 May 2010 23:37:32 GMT

(Nordic Council News, 18 May 2010) -- The EU member states, Russia, Norway and Iceland are to work more closely together on cultural issues after the joint International Forum for the establishment of new tools for cultural co-operation in Northern Europe. High-level officials from the countries will sign a Memorandum of Understanding in Saint Petersburg, 20-21 May. The Forum in St. Petersburg brings together individuals involved in the cultural sphere, creative enterprises, cultural institutions and officials from 11 countries to look at ways of boosting the creative economy in the area covered by the Northern Dimension. All of the European countries are currently discussing how to adopt these concepts and develop the potential for a creative economy, a growth sector capable of creating jobs and prosperity but which lacks funding and investment tools. The Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture (NDPC) is a new initiative for Northern Europe scheduled to be up and running in 2011. Its main objective is to facilitate access to funding for long-term projects and for enterprises capable of generating jobs and becoming self-sustainable. The NDPC will complement existing national and international organisations and institutions working on cultural co-operation and exchange, providing an extra platform to facilitate and promote dialogue and the exchange of best practices in the cultural sphere.

Renewed speculation about Nordic federal state

Amanda Graham — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:19:38 GMT

(Norden News, 16 March 2010) -- The Swedish historian Gunnar Wetterberg has been commissioned to expand upon his vision of a new Nordic federal state in the Nordic Council of Ministers' and Nordic Council's Yearbook 2010, which will be published in the autumn. Wetterberg published two articles about a new Nordic union in the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter last autumn. They caused such a stir and attracted so much attention that he has now been asked to elaborate upon his thinking in the yearbook. On Friday 19 March, the historian will take part in a debate staged in the Danish parliament, where he will account for his ’realistic utopia’ of a Nordic federal state in relation to the Øresund Region. The meeting is being arranged by the Öresund Committee and the Nordic Region in Focus to mark the 10th anniversary of the Øresund Bridge and the Øresund Region. He will be joined by Cristina Husmark Pehrsson, the Swedish Minister for Nordic Co-operation, and several other politicians and business representatives from the Øresund Region.

Large NATO exercise starts in Northern Norway

Amanda Graham — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:28:37 GMT

(BarentsObserver, 18 February 2010) -- Near 9,000 soldiers from 14 countries participates when the exercise Cold Response 2010 started in Northern Norway this week. This year is the first time such NATO exercise also includes Swedish territory. The exercise involves land forces, air forces and naval forces. The portal of the Norwegian Armed Forces reports that some 1,000 Special Forces soldiers will participate. Largest part of the activity will be in the northern part of Nordland County and the southern part of Troms County. The exercise Cold Response 2010 is said to be the highest priority for the Norwegian military this year. Cold Response 2010 has some 1,500 more soldiers than the exercise Cold Response 2009. The soldiers are not only from NATO member countries. Swedish soldiers participate and for the first time NATO’s Cold Response exercise includes military activity within Swedish territory. The territory in question is the area from Riksgrensen to Abisko in the municipality of Kiruna. Swedish Sami Radio reports that the Sami reindeer herders in the area are opposing the exercise claiming the military activity happens without first consulting the reindeer herders. Some 1,000 Swedish soldiers participate in Cold Response 2010. Sweden is cooperating with NATO through the Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme, but the background for Sweden’s participation in the exercise is the framework agreement for the Nordic Defence Cooperation, according to the portal of the Swedish Armed Forces. United Kingdom participates in the exercise with their largest warship, HMS Ocean. The vessel with its crew of 1.000 persons is operating in the region as part of the UK's Amphibious Task Group, according to the portal of the Royal Navy. Other forces include U.S. Marines, soldiers that see such exercise in Norway’s harsh Arctic winter environment as a realistic combat training opportunity, reports the portal of the US Marines. The last time U.S. Marines participated in such NATO exercise in Northern Norway was in 2005. All soldiers from the 14 participating countries will during the exercise focus on cold weather maritime/amphibious operations, interoperability of expeditionary forces, and special and conventional ground operations. Cold Response 2010 will go on until March 4th. Till now, the such NATO exercise in Northern Norway has been annually, but according to the portal of the Norwegian Armed Forces the larger NATO exercises will from now on be held each second year.

Critical shortage of Sami language teachers

Amanda Graham — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 02:04:56 GMT

(YLE, 18 February 2010) -- A severe lack of teachers could threaten the future of the languages of the indigenous Sami people in Finland. The critical nature of the shortage of teachers came to light in a study carried out for the Giellagas Institute at the University of Oulu which surveyed the educational needs in Finland related to Sami language and culture. The Sami are an indigenous people that live traditionally in Finnish Lapland, the Kola peninsula and central and northern parts of Sweden and Norway. About 6,400 Sami live in Finland. The report notes that an investment is needed in training Sami language teachers and other educators who speak the language. It suggests that teacher training be organized at one of the universities in the north of the country and in Sami-speaking areas. It calls for special attention to be given to the future of the languages spoken by the Inari Sami and the Skolt Sami.

Sami people celebrate National Day

Amanda Graham — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 21:48:48 GMT

(IceNews, 14 February 2010) -- Last week saw the Sami people of the Nordic nations and their Russian counterparts come together to observe Sami People’s Day. February 6th commemorates the date in 1917 where the first joint Sami congress was held in Trondheim, Norway. This congress represented the first time that both Norwegian and Swedish Sami had come together across their borders to work together in finding solutions for common problems. The resolution for the 6th of February celebrations was officially passed in 1992 in Helsinki at the 15th Sami congress. Since 1993 Sweden, Norway and Finland have all recognized this date as Sami National Day with cross-border cooperation continuing to this day.

Arctic temperatures far above average

Amanda Graham — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 04:48:40 GMT

(NRK via Barents Observer, 4 January 2010) -- Air temperatures in the Arctic were in November and December between 5 and 9 degrees above the average, Norwegian meteorologist Vidar Eng confirms. The measurements, which have been made at Norwegian meteorologist stations in the Arctic in the last two months of 2009, showed a major increase compared with average figures from the period. Mr. Eng from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute in Tromsø believes the high temperatures could come from combined number of reasons, and first of all from the less amounts of ice in the area and the higher temperatures in the sea water. For all of 2009, the average temperature was three degrees higher than normal, NRK reports.

Bags lost, thousands of tourists freezing in Lapland

Amanda Graham — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:04:41 GMT

(YLE, 30/31 December 2009) -- Over the past couple of weeks, around 20,000 visitors arrived in Lapland without their bags. Often the luggage has shown up just as they were leaving. "We've had to take care of customers' lost luggage issues the whole time. It's natural that they would turn to us for help," says receptionist Arja Haapakorva from Rovaniemi's City Hotel. "Thankfully Rovaniemi's tour operators came to the rescue, and provided warm overalls to our freezing customers." Temperatures in Lapland have dropped below -20 degrees Celsius while the luggage fiasco has been going on at Helsinki-Vantaa airport. Sports outfitters in Lapland have made a killing selling shivering visitors complete kit, from long underwear to parkas and everything in between. "When you have nothing, it's understandable that you buy everything," says Hanna Uusitalo, a salesperson at City Sport in Rovaniemi. For other visitors, the lost luggage is even more serious that being literally caught out in the cold. ... At the beginning of the week, around 4,000 bags were orphaned at the airport. There are still 100-200 bags stranded at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, but these should be delivered by the end of the week. Finnair blames the baggage pileup on the snowy conditions. However, luggage-handling union representatives point the finger at staff shortages due to layoffs. At the beginning of the week, around 4,000 bags were orphaned at the airport. There are still 100-200 bags stranded at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, but these should be delivered by the end of the week. Finnair blames the baggage pileup on the snowy conditions. However, luggage-handling union representatives point the finger at staff shortages due to layoffs.

Power distribution resumes in Norway's Arctic region

Amanda Graham — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:26:27 GMT

(AFP, 29 December 2009) -- OSLO -- Power distribution in Norway's Arctic Lofoten archipelago resumed midday Tuesday after an outage deprived 30,000 residents of electricity for several hours, the local provider said.

Power outage hits 25,000 in Norway's Arctic region

Amanda Graham — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:25:11 GMT

(AFP, 29 December 2009) -- Around 25,000 residents of the Arctic Norwegian Lofoten archipelago were deprived of electricity by a power outage Tuesday, electricity provider Lofotkraft said. Temperatures in the region at this time of year vary from minus 10 to minus seven degrees Celsius (19.4 to 14 degrees Fahrenheit) and there are only a few hours of sunlight per day. "The power failure has been located and repairs have started," Lofotkraft said in a statement. "We think that electricity distribution will resume before the end of the day," it added.

Repairman's vacation keeps Swedish town off the internet

Amanda Graham — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 09:41:02 GMT

(David Landes/The Local, 29 December 2009) -- An internet technician’s holiday travels have left a remote mountain village in northern Sweden cut off from the internet, causing a dent in the town’s winter tourism bookings. The roughly 160 residents of Ammarnäs in Sweden’s far north have been without internet services since before Christmas Eve. And they won’t likely be able to get back online until January 11th when the town’s only repairman returns from vacation. The disruption in internet service has frustrated many local tourist operators, who, along with reindeer herders, represent the lifeblood of the area economy. “Several hunters from abroad have called and asked why they can’t book spots in Ammarnäs,” tour operator Anne Kathrine Ödegård told the Västerbottens-Kuriren newspaper. She and several other business owners have both their telephone and booking systems connected to the internet and are concerned about not being able to maintain contact with their clients. Municipal officials said on Monday that they have entered into negotiations with Telia in order to connect the town to the telecom operator’s network. Ammarnäs town head Göran Wikström promised on Monday that residents would be connected to the internet “as soon as practically possible”.

Web resource: BorderZone portal from BarentsObserver

Amanda Graham — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 19:18:48 GMT

(BarentsObserver, 12 December 2009) -- Are you curious about the Norwegian-Russian borderland? BarentsObserver now launches its BorderZone project, a web portal with comprehensive news, contact data and practical information from the two neighboring municipalities of Sør-Varanger and Pechenga. The new portal offers extensive contact information to shops, offices, business, organizations, media, schools, culture organization, places to eat, hotels and much more. It is also offers a comprehensive introduction to cross-border travelling, visa issues and transport, and keeps you updated with news information from the area. The BorderZone website is located at the address:www.barentsobserver.com/borderzone The two municipalities of Sør-Varanger and Pechenga are neighbors across the 196-km-long Norwegian-Russian border. For decades, Cold War tensions made cross-border contact between people in the area almost impossible. The 1990s saw a major increase in cross-border travelling. Still, contacts between Sør-Varanger and Pechenga even today remains at a modest level. The new portal is made to facilitate cross-border knowledge and contacts between people living in the borderland area. It is however also a useful tool for other people interested in the area, be it business people, officials, researchers or other. The BorderZone website is established with project support from the Norwegian Barents Secretariat.

Space tourism to take off in Kiruna

Amanda Graham — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:08:27 GMT

(The Local, 12 December 2009) -- If all goes to plan, billionaire Richard Branson’s spaceships will take off with tourists on board in 2012 – from Kiruna in the far north of Sweden. “Space tourism sounds like science fiction, but we are talking about only a number of years into the future,” Johanna Bergström-Roos, from the Esrange space centre in Kiruna, told the newspaper Dagens Nyheter. Earlier last week, billionaire Richard Branson paraded his company Virgin Galactic’s specially designed tourist ship ‘SpaceShipTwo’, which will take tourists out into space. Virgin Galactic, has selected two 'spaceports', from where tourists will be able to launch into space. One of the spaceports is in New Mexico, while the other is the Sweden Spaceport, in Kiruna. If all goes according to plan, space tourists may be flocking to Kiruna within several years. “Virgin Galactic has its spaceport in America and will commence their first flights there in 2011. When they have been operating for half a year, it will then be time for the European market, and they’ll then come to us,” Bergström-Roos told Dagens Nyheter. In an earlier interview with TV4, Branson said that space journeys from Kiruna could be a reality by 2012. “We would love to send up people in a rocket so that they get to experience the northern lights from space. Sweden has been very welcoming and very enthusiastic about this project, so I am hopeful that fairly soon after we start our space programme from New Mexico we can start up in the north of Sweden.”

50,000 seed samples sent to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Amanda Graham — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:13:50 GMT

(Nordic Council News, 11 December 2009) -- Sunday, December 13, a large shipment of seed samples reaches the airport of Longyearbyen, Svalbard. More than 50,000 seed samples have finally arrived at their destination—the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. The shipment contains seeds from crops adapted to dry climates. Among them is sorghum, a high energy crop, known for its wide adaptability and resistance to drought. This "camel among crops" could be a key to agricultural development in areas affected by aridity and saline soils. Among the depositors are two major agricultural research centers, both working with adaptation of plants to dryer areas: ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas) and ICRISAT (International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics).

Mystery of giant light spiral in Arctic solved

Amanda Graham — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:11:52 GMT

Getty

The unusual light phenomenon above the Norwegian city of Skjeroy worried residents and baffled astronomers

(Tom Peck/The Independent, 11 December 2009) -- When the people of Tromso in Norway's northern reaches awoke to the sight of a giant blue and white spiral of light hanging in the still dark sky above them, they were understandably shocked. It didn't look like the northern lights. Was it a meteor? A UFO? Calls flooded in to radio stations and air-traffic control towers. Astronomers were baffled. Extra-terrestrial enthusiasts got on their blogs. "It looked like a rocket that spun around and around and then went diagonally across the heavens," said Totto Eriksen, who saw the display while driving his daughter to school. And when an explanation finally came, he wasn't far wrong. It turned out to be a failed Russian nuclear-capable missile test launch. The new Bulava missile was fired from the submarine Dmitry Danskoi, the Russian defence ministry confirmed. The White Sea, close to Norway's Arctic region, is Russia's standard missile-testing site. This one failed at the third stage. Eyewitnesses described a blue light that seemed to soar up from behind a mountain in the north of the country. Others said it in stopped mid-air, then began to move in circles. Within seconds a giant spiral had covered the entire sky. Then a green-blue beam of light shot out from its centre, lasting for 10 to 12 minutes before disappearing. The missile is a key part of Russia's plan to rebuild its ageing weapons arsenal. But it has been beset by problems which have caused increasing embarrassment. Yesterday was the seventh time in at least 12 test launches that the missile has failed.

Gender impact of climate change: Survival harder for Inuit hunters in Greenland

Amanda Graham — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:10:17 GMT

(Nordic Council News, 7 December 2009) -- In the run-up to the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen, the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Nordic Region in Focus co-hosted a panel discussion on how climate change affects women and men in different ways, and forces them to make changes in their ways of life. Norwegian journalist and author Åsne Seierstad chaired the event. The Council of Ministers in Copenhagen also inaugurated an exhibition about how men in the north and women in the south are affected by climate change. Malin Jennings is the founder of the Arctic ICCE (Indigenous Climate Change Ethnographies). For years, she has followed the lives of the small Inuit communities in Greenland. In these societies, the men were hunters while the women took care of the animals, made food from the meat and sewed garments from the hides. But the warmer climate has made hunting more difficult. "The ice freezes later and is thinner than before," Jennings explains. "The men can't hunt on ice thinner than six centimetres.

Saami presidents to COP 15

Amanda Graham — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:29:19 GMT

(NRK Sámi Radio via Barents Indigenous People, 30 November 2009) -- Sara Larsson, the President of the Saami Parliament in Sweden, and Egil Olli, President of the Saami Parliament in Norway, are both included in the respective state delegations to the United Nations Climate Change Conference, taking place in Copenhagen on December 5th and 6th 2009. Norway decided earlier to include the political leader of the Saami Parliament in their delegation, whereas there has been a discussion regarding the participation of the political level of the Saami Parliament in Sweden. The question regarding political participation of the Saami Parliament in Finland in the official Finnish delegation is not yet solved, NRK Sámi Radio reports. Indigenous peoples from the entire world are expected to Copenhagen, both as official delegates, but also as NGOs. Climate change is among the main concerns of indigenous peoples, as indigenous peoples most often experience the consequences in their livelihood. Climate change was the topic at the seventh session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in 2008, and information can be found at http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/climate_change.html

Hundreds of migrating reindeer drown as Arctic ice collapses beneath them

Amanda Graham — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:15:04 GMT

(Daily Mail, 14 November 2009) -- Hundreds of reindeer on their annual migration across a frozen lake above Sweden's Arctic Circle have drowned as ice collapsed beneath them. The herd of around 3,000 reindeer were being moved by their Sami herders from the western shore of the frozen lake Kutjaure to their winter grazing grounds in the east. Suddenly, some reindeer at the front turned back, causing the ice to crack and several hundreds to drown. 'In the ensuing commotion the whole herd moved in circles, adding great pressure and weight on the ice,' said Erik Gustavsson, a manager at the County Administrative Board of Norrbotten. The reindeer crashed through the ice and then trampled on each other as they tried to climb out of the water, he said. The indigenous Sami population live year-round in the harsh conditions of northern Sweden, Norway and Finland and are highly dependent on the reindeer for their livelihood. There are some 20,000 Swedish Sami who herd reindeer. Bertil Kielatis, chairman of the Sirges Sami village that owns the reindeer,said he had never seen anything similar in his lifetime and that there was no clear explanation as to why the herd hesistated to move forward. 'Probably, they were fightened by something or felt worried,' said Kielatis. Video on the website of Sweden's television channel, SVT, showed hundreds of carcasses lining the muddy shore of lake Kutjaure, which has been used for decades to transport the reindeer from their summer grazing fields to the 'winterland', where they spend the winter months. On Friday, two helicopters assisted the herders with dragging the dead reindeer from the lake. Kielatis said because of the herd's special breeding value, the economic loss could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. As it is too expensive to bury or transport the dead, their bodies will most likely be scattered in the surrounding wilderness, he said. [See also "Reindeer herd drowns in icy Lapland waters" at The Local: Sweden's News in English, 13 November 2009.]

Global warming hits reindeer of Norway hard

Amanda Graham — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:48:19 GMT

(RedOrbit, 13 November 2009) -- The penalty of the global climate change has hit Norway’s reindeer populace as warming temperatures harm food stocks and industry expansion gobbles up grazing land for the creatures. "Over the past three years, I've had to give some hay to my 800 reindeer during the coldest months. It's more expensive and it gives me more work," Jan Egil Trasti, a Norwegian reindeer herder, told AFP. This occurs because the lichen the animals feed on is becoming scarce as winter temperatures warm up. Grazing land is also vanishing as construction, pipelines, and roads cover pastures. Trasti's nomadic relatives have herded these creatures for centuries. "I have it in my blood. I hope one of my sons will take over," Trasti said. This month the snow has not yet covered the flowers in the North. Temperatures in this area are usually meek. In the past, when the snows have fallen, it drifts upon dry ground, but now it will land on lichen bloated with water. In September, an investigation in the journal Science detailed the remarkable effects on animals in the Arctic due to the gradual warming that has occurred in the past 150 years. Jonathan Colman, an authority on "reindeer ecology" at the University of Oslo, stated that occasionally "there's wet ice in the lichen. It gets into their stomachs and they can't digest the food."

Old forests in Finnish Lapland preserved

Amanda Graham — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:13:30 GMT

(Barents Observer, 11 November 2009) -- An agreement between a Finnish state-owned forestry company and the environmental organization Greenpeace has led to the preservation of large areas of old forest in Northern Finland. After reaching an agreement with a state-owned forestry company on preservation of old forests in Lapland, Greenpeace Nordic has decided to withdraw from Finnish Lapland and move its target area to Indonesia. According to the website Forest.fi, a longstanding dispute between state-owned forestry company Metsähallitus and Greenpeace concerning old-growth forests in Central, or Forest Lapland was over when an agreement was reached in the end of October. The agreement covers some 44,200 hectares of forest land. Of them, 6,600 hectares will remain available for normal multiple-use forestry. 2,700 hectares remain in restricted forestry use, and 35,000 hectares are excluded from forestry operations. The solution prevents future felling of 1.7 million cubic meters of wood. The final agreement was reached in a steering group which consists of, in addition to Metsähallitus and Greenpeace, the Regional Council of Lapland, Lapland Regional Environment Centre, Finnish Reindeer Owners’ Association, and representatives from the forest industry and the Sámi Parliament.

UArctic Swedish members meet in Abisko

Amanda Graham — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:33:59 GMT

(UArctic News, 2 November 2009) -- UArctic member organizations in Sweden gather in Abisko, Sweden, for two days of meetings to discuss participation in UArctic's programs and coordination of fundraising activities in Sweden. Christer Jonasson from Abisko hosts the meeting. Lars Kullerud, President of UArctic, also participates in the meeting. "We look forward to increased engagement in UArctic from all Swedish members. Also, as currently we don't have a UArctic Office in Sweden, we look forward to Swedish members to come forward to take a leadership role in a UArctic activity."

Travel: Slice through miles of remote snowscape on Sweden's Kings' Trail

Amanda Graham — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:40:21 GMT

(Eliza Wilmerding/Dallas Morning News, 1 November 2009) -- ABISKO MOUNTAIN STATION, Sweden - Twelve miles into Sweden's King's Trail, we find our rhythm and tune in to the arctic snow. This singing powder is so dry you could swim in it and not get wet. There's no chance of it sticking to your skis – or to itself. (My snowball looked like a mass of sparkling confetti.) And in a few days, thanks to a drop in air temperature, we'll ski through reflective ice crystals tumbling out of the clear blue sky.We'd found our frozen world. It was everything that we could ask for.When my fiancé was offered a job in southern Sweden weeks before our fall wedding, we jumped at it. I'd read of Swedes lacing up their skates and carving down frozen canals or ski touring across the countryside outside their doors. We could live like that.Reality struck when we flew into perpetually spitting rain, then winter darkness and more rain. Searching for rubber boots in a Gothenburg shoe store, I met a fellow American. She asked if I'd be around through the winter. I nodded."You poor dear," she said. "Last year, we went crazy and had to go south for a break."For most people, it's a no-brainer to head to the tropics for winter vacation. We're wired differently. We like snow more than sand or saltwater. We went north to find a frozen world.

Greenland Premier on the climate challenge

Amanda Graham — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:06:16 GMT

(Nordic Council News, 28 October 2009) -- "The Arctic isn't just all ice, polar bears and glaciers. People live there too. And they need development opportunities. The issue of a new global climate agreement concerns us all, and it should be based on the principles of mutual respect for each other's circumstances, social and developmental justice and the willingness to take global responsibility," Kleist told the conference. He also stressed that it is much easier to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from a high starting point than from a low one. "I hope therefore that a new climate agreement will allow less developed countries to establish new industries, despite the higher emissions they will cause, and that the rest of the world will help them to do so on a sustainable basis," he added. Kleist is a member of the Nordic Council Left-wing Socialist and Green Group (VSG).

Prime ministers reject Nordic Union

Amanda Graham — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:11:56 GMT

(Nordic Council News, 27 October 2009) -- The Nordic prime ministers have rejected a controversial proposal for political union with Queen Margrethe II of Denmark as the head of state. The proposal to revive the Kalmar Union (1397–1523) was published in the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter today to coincide with the annual Session of the Nordic Council, which is being held in Stockholm. It is the brainchild of leading Swedish historian Gunnar Wetterberg. The respected social commentator believes that a federal Nordic state would make a greater international impact because the combined economy of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland would make it the 10th biggest in the world.At a news conference at the Nordic Council Session, the prime ministers made it clear that they think the existing form of partnership is sufficiently close, robust and capable of coping with the global challenges of the future, including climate change, the environment and energy, and distanced themselves from the proposal, which has caused quite a stir in the Nordic media.

Norway to spend more in the north

Amanda Graham — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:57:47 GMT

(BarentsObserver, 13 October 2009) -- In the Government’s budget proposal for 2010, a record increase in funding of about NOK 530 million (Euro 64 million) has been proposed for a range of measures in the High North. The budget proposal includes a significantly increase in the funding for a number of areas, particularly value creation, knowledge-building and the environment. It includes an increase of NOK 112 million for emergency tugboat services in the north, NOK 50 million for onshore value creation, NOK 19 million for marine bioprospecting, NOK 17 million for the establishment of a centre for climate and environmental research in Tromsø and NOK 126 million for space-related activities. The Government proposes to allocate NOK 55 million to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Barents 2020 programme for knowledge-building in the north. This is an increase of NOK 20 million compared with 2009, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs writes in a press-release. "This is a project with a time horizon of generations. Since 2006 we have increased funding for our efforts in the High North by more than NOK 1.5 billion, and with these allocations we have made substantial progress," Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre commented. The Foreign Minister added: "We are now seeing that a number of countries are directing their attention towards the north, not least because of the opportunities and challenges related to energy, maritime transport and climate change. Norway will continue to play a leading role in the High North in cooperation with our neighbours and allies in the north." The 2010 budget proposal aims to further strengthen these efforts. "Under the Barents 2020 programme, the Government is creating arenas for cooperation between Norwegian and foreign centres of expertise with a view to increasing our knowledge about the High North," Mr Støre continued.

Sami reindeer herders to be given more freedom under new proposal

Amanda Graham — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 06:23:25 GMT

(IceNews, 29 September 2009) -- A government appointed work group has declared that the indigenous Sami population of Sweden should be granted further freedom to undertake activities other than their traditional reindeer herding, as reported in The Local last week. Current legislation stipulates that the Sami herders are forbidden from partaking in activities other than reindeer herding, which was found to be antiquated by the working group. The group declared that in modern society it had become more difficult for Sami to support themselves through the solitary practice of herding and that the rules governing the people and the practice were in need of updating. There are approximately 20,000 Sami in Sweden, mostly located in the country's north, where their traditions have brought them increasingly under fire from animal rights activists. The working group’s proposal allows for those Sami who are not involved in herding to become a member of the sameby or ‘Sami village’ scheme. At present there are 51 samebys in Sweden. Samebys are the financial and administrative collectives that have sole reindeer herding rights. These collectives comprise of roughly 10 percent of the Sami population and also control fishing and hunting rights within their zone. The head of the governing board of the Sami Parliament Sara Larsson voiced both praise and disappointment at the proposal: “There are some good things there, but we had hoped for greater reforms which take into account the land and water rights of all Sami”. Larsson also criticised the group for not requesting that Sweden join the International Labour Organisation’s Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention. She did however praise efforts to encourage samebys to pursue activities outside of reindeer herding.

60 years later there are some things to celebrate

Amanda Graham — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:27:38 GMT

(Siku Circumpolar News, 2 September 2009) -- Skolt Saami celebrated the 60th anniversary of their resettlement in northern Finland this past weekend with church service, music, party and visitors... Nearly 1,000 Saami from all over the world and from various parts of Finland had gathered in a festival tent in the yard of the 60-year-old school of Sevettijärvi, in order to exchange the latest information about the Skolts’ way of life. ... The efforts were crowned by an important event. Tarja Halonen, Finland's president arrived at the festival, expressing her support for the revival of Skolt Saami and Skolt culture. Today, the number of Skolts in Finland is approximately 600, with about 250 of them living in Sevettijärvi. The Skolt Saami or Skolts are a prominent Orthodox ethnic group in Finnish Lapland. During the Winter War (1939) and the Continuation War (1941-1944), the Skolt Saami were evacuated twice from their original homelands close to Petsamo (nowadays Pechenga) to other parts of Finland. After leaving behind burned villages, slaughtered reindeer, and facing deportations conducted by the Red Army, the Skolt Saami eventually settled in the villages of Nellim and Sevettijärvi in the municipality of Inari, in the far north of Finnish Lapland. Today, Skolt Saami are celebrating and looking forward to the future. ... In honour of the jubilee year, a new Skolt Sámi grammar was published. While a new spelling book is being waited for, teachers who are skilled in Skolt Saami are also being sought.

Ban on ice, or maybe not: The Arctic is melting

Amanda Graham — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:07:20 GMT

(ENS, 1 September 2009) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon traveled above the Arctic Circle today to experience for himself the impact of climate change on the fragile region. "I will try to deliver a clear strong message from my visit to the North Pole," Ban told reporters yesterday in Oslo. Secretary-General Ban wants to deliver that message to two important climate meetings before year's end. First, the meeting of government leaders that he will convene at UN Headquarters in New York on September 22, a time when heads of state and government will be there for the opening of the General Assembly. And, the make-it or break-it meeting December 7-18 in Copenhagen where a global agreement on limiting greenhouse gas emissions will be finalized to take effect after the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period expires at the end of 2012. Ban clearly feels the pressure of time. He repeats that only 15 days of negotiations remain before the start of December's climate change conference "Now is the time for decision-making," the Secretary-General stressed once again as he has many times this summer to a wide variety of audiences. "We must seal a deal in Copenhagen for a global, equitable and comprehensive deal for the future of humanity and the future of Planet Earth."

UN chief to visit Norway’s Arctic region

Amanda Graham — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:35:45 GMT

(New Europe, Issue 849, 30 August 2009) -- United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to be in Norway’s Svalbard this week for a first-hand look at the damage caused by global warming to the Arctic Ocean, a UN spokeswoman said on August 24. Ban’s visit to Norway and the expected talks with government leaders has been overshadowed by sharp criticism from Norway’s UN Ambassador Mona Juul that the UN chief has been ineffective in carrying out his responsibilities. Oslo has played down Juul’s criticism, outlined in a letter she sent to her government and published in Oslo’s daily Aftenposten last week. The UN has refused to enter the debate, referring to it as an internal matter for Norwegians. “At the time when the need for the United Nations and for multinational solutions to global crises is greater than ever, Ban and the UN are conspicuous in their absence,” Aftenposten quoted the letter as saying. The letter said Ban was a “passive observer” in Myanmar’s imprisonment of political prisoners and he was “helpless” in stopping the ethnic war in Sri Lanka. Ban will meet with Norway’s prime minister and foreign minister August 31 and will travel to the Arctic region the following day.

Nautical studies in Vardø

Amanda Graham — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:08:54 GMT

(BarentsObserver, 31 August 2009) -- The Norwegian government has allocated money for the establishment of nautical studies in Vardø, home of the Vessel Traffic Centre for North Norway. The Norwegian Coastal Administration’s Vessel Traffic Centre (VTS) is responsible for monitoring and guiding of shipping traffic along the coast of Northern Norway. The vessel traffic centre plays a key role in Norway’s maritime safety cooperation with Russia. The Vardø VTS has since its opening in 2007 mainly been operated by commuters from other parts of Norway, and it has been difficult to recruit people with the right education among the 2600 local inhabitants. To improve the situation, Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Helga Pedersen has allocated 104.000 EUR for the establishment of a two year program in nautical studies in Vardø, Kystverket reports. The Vardø VTS is one of several measures promoted by the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs to improve maritime safety in northern areas and to meet the challenges that follow from the increase in oil-related traffic in the north. Vardø VTS is also intended to play a key role in expanded cooperation with Russia in the areas of maritime safety and contingency planning for combating oil spills. Norway and Russia have concluded an agreement to establish a joint Norwegian-Russian vessel traffic management information system, Barents VTMIS. As BarentsObserver reported, more than 15 million tons of oil will be shipped through the Barents Sea in 2009. In 2015 oil shipments in the area could amount to more than 100 million tons.

Record breaking Svalbard school intake

Amanda Graham — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:00:24 GMT

(IceNews, 18 August 2009) -- The Svalbard archipelago off northern Norway is far above the Arctic Circle and famous for its new international seed vault and for Longyearbyen, the northernmost town in the world with over 1,000 inhabitants. The islanders make most of their money from mining and come form all over the world due to the Spitsbergen Treaty which was signed shortly after the First World War. Under the treaty, Svalbard was ceded to Norway after centuries of claims and counter claims, including some bloodshed. The treaty stipulated though, that people of all signing nations have equal rights to settle and work in Svalbard—there are currently over 40 signatory nations. While people are forbidden to die in Svalbard due to the permafrost preserving corpses in their graves indefinitely, people are permitted to grow up there. In fact school has just reconvened with 241 students—28 more than this time last year, including 30 in the youngest year group. There are 1,821 residents in Longyearbyen, a town which holds a number of interesting records: “Longyearbyen is the world’s most northern easily accessible settlement, with Svalbard Airport just outside town offering regular flights to and from Tromsø and Oslo, Norway. The airport served 120,000 passengers in 2007. It is also the northernmost town over 1000 inhabitants; it houses a large number of northernmost places and objects of interest: the northernmost church, university campus, Rotary club, bank, automated teller machine, hospital, kindergarten, public library, night club, pub, school, supermarket, tourist office, permanent airport with scheduled flights, bus station, commercial sea port, taxi station, art gallery, cinema, climbing wall, squash court, swimming hall, and indoor target range,” according to Wikipedia.

Historic losses for LKAB

Amanda Graham — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:29:01 GMT

(BarentsObserver, 17 August 2009) -- The Swedish state-owned mining company LKAB in the second quarter of 2009 had a loss of 558 million SEK (54.7 mill EUR). That is one of the worst results ever for the mining major in northern Sweden. "The second quarter of the year has been one of the most dramatic in the history of the plant," the company admits in its quarterly report. LKAB in the second quarter had a 72 percent drop in turnover to 1.72 billion SEK and deliveries shrunk 38 percent. At the same time, iron prices dropped significantly in the period. The reason is first of all the lower domestic and international demand on iron. The company does however expect an improvement of the situation in the second half of the year. Thanks to Chinese and Middle East customers, the number of deliveries will increase in the months ahead, the company report reads. The LKAB is mining iron ore in mines at Kiruna and at Malmberget in northern Sweden. The company which was established in 1890, is 100 percent state-owned since the 1950s. The iron ore is processed to pellets and fines, and transported by train to the harbours at Narvik and Luleå and to the steelmill at Luleå (SSAB).

Finland seeks new connections with Murmansk

Amanda Graham — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 05:56:48 GMT

(BarentsObserver, 11 August 2009) -- It is now very important to develop transport infrastructure in the North – between Murmansk Oblast and the province of Lapland, Finnish Transport Minister Anu Vehviläinen stressed during her visit to the Russian Arctic city last week. "We have actively developing transport connections between Helsinki and Moscow and Sankt Petersburg, but now it is very important to develop transport infrastructure also in the North, between Murmansk Oblast and the Province of Lapland," the minister said, according to a press release from the Murmansk regional administration. Minister Vehviläinen for the first time visited Murmansk, the site for major planned infrastructure investments over the next years. “The visit of the minister shows that the whole world including Finland is following the development of the Murmansk Transport Hub, the Shtokman project and the trans-border cooperation”, the press release from the regional administration reads.

Sami Parliament against new mining projects in Finnmark

Amanda Graham — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 23:28:48 GMT

(The Barents Observer via IceNews, 10 August 2009) -- The Sami parliament (Samediggi) governing the indigenous Sami people in Norway, decided not to approve the new mining law which Norwegian legislators passed earlier this year, according to the Sami news source, The Barents Observer. Egil Olli, President of the Sami parliament, stated that the assembly strongly opposes any application for mineral exploration in the Finnmark region. The Sami Parliament demands that any resources and mineral exploration should benefit mainly the local Sami communities and population, which brings up the controversial ongoing debates regarding indigenous land rights in the region. Egil Olli continues to state that any mining projects will be rejected by the Sami Parliament in the Finnmark area.

Norway moves military north

Amanda Graham — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 10:11:34 GMT

(Siku Circumpolar News, 5 August 2009) -- Norway has moved the headquarters of its armed forces from Oslo to the northern town of Bardufoss, part of a general strengthening of the country’s military capacities in its Arctic region, reports the Barents Observer. The moving comes as practically all key parts of the Norway's armed forces are moved to the northern parts of the country. The head command will operate from Reitan, a defense centre outside Bodø. Norway is also strengthening its military capacities in the region, with new modern frigates and the new fleet of fighter jets. The move, which was officially completed on August 3, is part of a major reform of the armed forces, Mil.ru says. This includes developing a slimmer, but more efficient military structure, the army leaders say.

IKEA looks to Tromsø or Narvik for a new store

Amanda Graham — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:39:10 GMT

(Siku Circumpolar News, 21 July 2009) -- IKEA reps have confirmed that the company it's thinking about building a a new store in northern Norway, the Barents Observer reports. The city of Tromsø says it has shown several site to IKEA. People in northern Norway have been calling on IKEA to establish a warehouse in the region. In 2004, a group of IKEA fans there started a web site to urge IKEA to come north. Since then more than 30,000 people have signed the web site's petition. "I hope IKEA has noted the interest," Kim Hauglid, the web site's promoter, says. Tromsø and Narvik are believed to be the main competitors for the new store. Both city mayors confirm that IKEA has shown interest. Tromsø's mayor Arild Hausberg said IKEA showed “great interest” in one of the site locations presented by the city. A warehouse in Tromsø or Narvik would be the northernmost one for IKEA. IKEA has one store in Haparanda on the border between Sweden and Finland, which attracts a many customers from northern Norway.

Sami Parliament will not approve new mining

Amanda Graham — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:24:31 GMT

(BarentsObserver, 22 July 2009) -- The Sami Parliament will not approve new mining projects in the northernmost Norwegian county of Finnmark, parliament speaker Egil Olli says. The Sami Parliament has strongly opposed the Norwegian national mineral law which was adopted by Norwegian legislators earlier this year. The parliament was unable to get its positions included in the law and has since threatened with a boycott of the new legislation. The Sami Parliament will not accept any mineral exploration in the region and will turn down all applications from interested companies, Olli stresse [sic] says to ABC Nyheter. "The Sami Parliament in May decided that it can not accept the mineral industry which the law is supposed to regulate," he adds. As reported previously by BarentsObserver, the Sami Parliament demands that local Sami communities get more benefits from regional industrial activities and that mining companies pay special fees for the indigenous people.

Northern Sweden hit by earthquake

Amanda Graham — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:56:14 GMT

(Radio Sweden, 22 July 2009) -- An earthquake shook northern Sweden at 10:15 on Wednesday morning. The epicentre was located northwest of Kalix in the county of Norrbotten. The quake reached 3 on the Richter scale and could be felt in all the neighbouring municipalities and even as far out as in the northern archipelago. The broadcasting house in Luleå on the north eastern coast shuddered noticeably and many people from the area have reported that the windows rattled and that the earth shook. Earthquakes are unusual in Sweden and according to seismologist Reynir Bödvarsson at the Uppsala University this was a relatively powerful one.

Wind power for Arctic Norway

Amanda Graham — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:05:56 GMT

(BarentsObserver, 22 July 2009) -- The energy company Troms Kraft is investing 700 million NOK in the construction of a new windmill park at Vannøya, northern Norway. Planned expansions of the park could give power to all of northern Norway, the company says. The first phase of the project will give power to 9000 households in the region. However a planned phase two and phase three could give energy to all of northern Norway, CEO of Troms Kraft Oddbjørn Schei says to newspaper Nordlys. "This is a historic day, it could not have been better," representative of the Norwegian Ministry of Oil and Petroleum Jarand Felland said at an project ceremony in early July. The first project phase includes up to 20 wind generators. They are to start power generation in 2012. As reported previously by BarentsObserver, a government decision to expand the power transmission grid in northern Norway could open a new era industrial initiatives in the region.

Northern aboriginal suicide rate lower in Norway: researcher

Amanda Graham — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:57:41 GMT

(CBC News, 15 July 2009) -- Research suggests suicide rates among the Sami, the indigenous peoples of Norway, are lower than among other northern aboriginal groups. Anne Silviken, a psychologist with the Center for Sami Health Research in Norway, found the suicide rate among the Sami is about 19 per 100,000. By comparison, Silviken said Greenland Inuit have a rate of about 100 per 100,000. "The socio-economic status among Sami, they're not big differences between the Sami and the [general] population, so that could be one reason for the low suicide rates," Silviken said Tuesday at the International Congress on Circumpolar Health, being held in Yellowknife. "The Sami has been in an ongoing cultural revitalization process during the [past] three and four decades, so they have seen more cultural equality." Silviken said such factors mean the Sami are not as disadvantaged as some other indigenous groups around the circumpolar world. At the same time, she said, the Sami share a similar history, such as having experienced residential schools. Silviken said she hopes the health congress will help northern peoples learn from each other, as well as empower northern communities to help deal with suicide and other social problems.

Ready for Riddu Riđđu 2009

Amanda Graham — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:35:35 GMT

(Christina Henriksen/Barents Indigenous People, 13 July 2009) -- Buffy Sainte-Marie is performing at Riddu Riddu this very Friday, July 17 2009. Riddu Riddu is an international indigenous peoples' festival arranged annually by the local Saami in Gáivuotna/Kåfjord, who has dreamed about having Buffy Sainte-Marie on stage since the first festival in 1991. The world-known Saami artist Mari Boine is performing on Saturday, and among the other artists at this year's festival are Adjágas (Sapmi), Namgar (Buryatia), Alit Boazu (Sápmi), Yerboli (China) and The BlackSheeps (Sápmi). The Nisga'a people visits Riddu Riddu this year, and a traditional Nisga'a long-house is built for the occasion. It will be an addition to the collection of indigenous peoples' housing, which already includes a Nenets choom and a Siberian yurta, as well as others. Saturday is dedicated to the Nisga'a people, as they are this year's people of the North. Indigenous youth gather for workshops in East Saami handicraft, Nisga'a singing and dancing, as well as South Saami yoik, and the results can be seen on the main stage on Saturday evening. Anders Sunna from Pajala is this year's young artist, and his exhibition is located to the Ája Gallery. Check out the program and further information at www.riddu.no

Nordic nations need a strong voice in European co-operation

Amanda Graham — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:15:18 GMT

(Iceland Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release, 15 June 2009) -- At a meeting of Nordic Prime Ministers held in Egilsstaðir, East Iceland, on 14 June, Icelandic PM Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir reported that the Icelandic parliament Althingi was currently dealing with a parliamentary resolution on application by Iceland for EU accession. The resolution provides for a referendum to be held on the proposed accession treaty following conclusion of accession negotiations. The PM said she hoped the resolution would be adopted and requested the support and helpful advice of Nordic EU member states during the ensuing accession process. The Nordic Prime Ministers endorsed these plans and welcomed Iceland’s move towards closer European integration. Furthermore, Swedish PM Fredrik Reinfeldt gave an account of the principal Swedish emphases planned for Sweden’s leadership of the EU during the latter half of this year, commencing on 1 July. He confirmed that Sweden would seek to facilitate Iceland’s accession and accelerate the process to the extent possible. The Prime Ministers of Denmark and Finland also expressed their readiness to assist. PM Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir pointed out that the meeting of the Nordic ministers reflected the fact that European co-operation is not intended to replace Nordic co-operation. Nordic nations have a strong voice in the European Union; they stand together on matters of joint interest and policy, such as North Atlantic and circumpolar issues.

Reindeer herds in global decline

Amanda Graham — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:41:41 GMT

(Matt Walker/ Earth News, BBC News, 11 June 2009) -- Reindeer and caribou numbers are plummeting around the world. The first global review of their status has found that populations are declining almost everywhere they live, from Alaska and Canada, to Greenland, Scandinavia and Russia. The iconic deer is vital to indigenous peoples around the circumpolar north. Yet it is increasingly difficult for the deer to survive in a world warmed by climate change and altered by industrial development, say scientists. Reindeer and caribou belong to the same species, Rangifer tarandus. Caribou live in Canada, Alaska and Greenland; while reindeer live in Russia, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Worldwide, seven sub-species are recognised. Each are genetically, morphologically and behaviourally a little different, though capable of interbreeding with one another. These differences between sub-species dictate how each is affected by human impacts. For example, it has been known for a while that populations of woodland caribou in Canada have declined as human disturbance has increased, caused by logging, oil and gas exploration, and road building, says Liv Vors of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. But then reports started coming in that the numbers of other herds were also falling. "When we discovered that many herds of reindeer also were declining we decided to compile a comprehensive survey to see if this indeed was a global pattern," says Vors. Vors and Mark Boyce at the University of Alberta contacted other researchers and scoured the published literature and government databases for all the information they could find about reindeer and caribou numbers. They compiled data on 58 major herds around the Northern Hemisphere. The scientists were shocked to discover that 34 of the herds were declining, while no data existed for 16 more. Only eight herds were increasing in number. Many herds had been declining for a decade or more. "We were surprised at the ubiquity of the decline," says Vors. ... Unless something is urgently done, all seven sub-species of Rangifer face a bleak future, says Vors. "The concern is that their habitat and the climate are changing too quickly for them to adapt." The annual treks of migratory caribou form one of the last remaining large-scale ungulate migrations in the northern hemisphere. Different sub-species also provide a cornerstone to many indigenous cultures around the circumpolar north, from subsistence hunting of caribou by Aboriginal peoples in Canada, Greenland and Alaska to reindeer husbandry by numerous cultures across Scandinavia and Siberia.

Demonstrations against NATO drill in Sweden

Amanda Graham — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:31:04 GMT

(BarentsObserver, 8 June 2009) -- The NATO-led air force drill Loyal Arrow started in Northern Sweden today. At the end of last week the first foreign airplanes landed, and the British aircraft carrier “HMS Illustrious” reached the Bothnia Bay. The exercise has been met with demonstrations in Sweden. 50 airplanes and 2000 persons, aircraft carrier personnel included, from ten countries will take part in what will be the biggest air force drill ever in the Finnish-Swedish Bothnia Bay. As BarentsObserver earlier reported, the F21 base outside Luleå, Northern Sweden, will serve as centre for the exercises, but air force bases in Finland and Norway will also be used. The event has been met with demonstrations in Sweden. NATO has earlier conducted navy exercises on Swedish territory, but this is the first air force drill to be held in the neutral country. An organization called “NATO out of Sweden” has been established In Luleå and has organized demonstrations againt NATO’s use of Norrbotten County as training ground, Swedish Television reports. ‘This [exercise] can be perceived as very provocative, says Anna-Karin Gudmundson from “NATO out of Sweden”. The Barents region with its proximity to the Arctic makes it a sensitive area. With all the talk about melting ice and fight over natural resources this can look like a demonstration of power from NATO’s side,’ Gudmundsons says according to Sveriges Radio. Swedish Minister of Defence Sten Tolgfors refuses that the drill is an approach to NATO: ‘This is an exercise in crisis management on a UN mandate. The aim is to train on international operations together with other nations, and has nothing to do with Swedish NATO membership,’ Tolgfors says. The main indigenous people of Northern Sweden, the Sami, are discontented with the fact that the “enemy nation” in the exercise’s scenario is called “Lapistan” and have joined the protesters against NATO in the demonstrations. The name is invented by NATO and resembles the derogatory term on Sami people, “Lapps”.

A plan to change the skyline of Kirkenes

Amanda Graham — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:23:50 GMT

(Siku Circumpolar News, 5 June 2009) -- Norway's Barents Secretariat wants to build the tallest wooden building ever constructed in the region right in the heart of downtown Kirkenes. In a news release, the Norwegian Barents Secretariat said the time was ripe to build for a physical symbol of the positive developments in Norway's arctic region. "The new Barents House must be of such significance that people would want to go there from afar to experience the house. It must be an attraction and a landmark which is beyond any other similar building. As important is the ambition of making the building a centre for knowledge development, especially about the High North and Norwegian-Russian relations, and a place for the gathering and assembly of international High North interests," said Secretary General Rune Rafaelsen at the Norwegian Barents Secretariat. The Oslo-based architectural firm Reiulf Ramstad Architects has designed the plans for the building, which would have 16 to 17 floors. "The idea is to construct a building which will be CO2-neutral, where the concept of the cycles of nature will be preserved. The innovative solutions on modern wooden constructions will stand as a token of the level of competence in the region," said architect Reiulf Ramstad The building woul go up in downtown Kirkenes, dramatically changing the city's skyline. "The new Barents House will function as a lighthouse for the development of the Barents Region and the regional border cooperation in the North," Rafaelsen said. The building's design includes a library, a theatre and a space for artists, researchers, students and other institutions, says the Barents Observer. The Norwegian Barents Secretariat, the International Barents Secretariat and the Barents Institute would also have their offices in the building.