WINHEC AGM, Kautokeino 2010 Sustainable development and Climate Change Ellen Inga Turi

1. WINHEC AGM, Kautokeino 2010 Sustainable development and Climate Change Ellen Inga Turi The Social Organisation of Reindeer Pastoralism as a Framework for Resilience Building

2. Social-Ecological systems Reindeer pastoralism is a closely coupled social ecological system where humanity and nature are inseparable, i.e. it is neither purely a social system nor an ecological system, and viewing them as either type in isolation will at best be produce limited conclusions, and at worst produce entirely wrong conclusions (Turi 2008, Folke 2006)

3. Resilience is the key to long-term sustainability “A resilient social-ecological system has a greater capacity to avoid unwelcome surprises, i.e. systemic regime shifts, and so has a greater capacity to continue to produce good and services that support our quality of life” (Walker et. al 2006)

4. Traditional Ecological Knowledge Traditional Ecological Knowledge is important in maintaining and developing resilience as it represents a “library of information” on how to cope with change. (Gunderson et al 1997) Reindeer herder with herd, Yamal Photo: EI Turi, July 2009

5. Results: Building resilience through flexibility Flexibility in internal decision-making and response structures Flexibility in siida/brigade constellations Reindeer herders on duty observing the herd, Finnmark Photo: SD Mathiesen

6. Results:Building resilience through diversification -Diversity in social capital -Diversity in economic and subsistence activities -Ecological diversity Young reindeer girl harnessing castrated bull, Yamal Photo: EI Turi, April 2007

7. Results:Building resilience through mobility The nomadic strategy = adaptation to the biology of reindeer and climate conditions of pasture areas Mobility is a source of temporal and spatial flexibility Mobility is a way to secure pasture diversity Women harnessing bulls for daily migration, Yamal, April 2007

8. Social organisation and resilience The social organisation of reindeer pastoralism enables herders to apply strategies for building and maintaining resilience by incorporating flexibility, preserving diversity, and applying mobility. The social organisation is thus an important framework for maintaining and building resilience in reindeer pastoralism

9. Limitations on resilience building • ”Although the Norwegian social contract currently focuses on autonomy and rights, it fails to recognize the factors and knowledge that underlie the livelihoods of Saami reindeer herders, such as the importance of maintaining diversity in reindeer herds. The state-assumed responsibility for regulating reindeer production undermines the resilience of reindeer pastoralists by insisting on the use of equilibrium-based management tools such as carrying capacity” • O'Brien, K., B. Hayward, and F. Berkes (2009:8)

10. Giitu! Ellen Inga Turi Sámi University College/ Umeå University Phone: +47 92220117 Email: eituri@gmail.com