Coping with Difficult Weather and Snow Conditions : Reindeer herders’ views on climate change impacts and coping strategies

摘要

Winter is a critical season for reindeer herding, with the amount and quality of snow beingamong the most important factors determining the condition of reindeer and the annualsuccess of the livelihood. Our first aim was to model the future (2035–2064) snow conditionsin northern Finland, especially the quantities related to ground ice and/or ice layerswithin the snow pack, exceptionally deep snow and late snow melt. Secondly, we studiedthe strategies by which herders cope with the impacts of difficult weather and snow conditionson herding by interviewing 21 herders. SNOWPACK simulations indicate that snowcover formation will be delayed by an average of 19 days and snow will melt 16 daysearlier during the period 2035–2064 when compared to 1980–2009. There will be morefrequent occurrence of ground ice that persists through the winter and the ice layers inopen environments will be thicker in the future. The snow cover will be 26–40% thinnerand snow in open environments will be denser. Variability between winters will grow.In interviews, herders indicated that a longer snowless season and thin snow cover wouldbe advantageous for herding due to increased availability of forage, but more frequent icingconditions would cause problems. The most immediate reaction of reindeer to thedecreased availability of forage caused by difficult snow conditions is to disperse. Thiseffect is intensified when the lichen biomass on the pastures is low. To cope with theimpacts of adverse climatic conditions, herders increase control over their herds, intensifythe use of pasture diversity, take reindeer into enclosures and/or start or intensify supplementaryfeeding. The research also reveals that predators, competing land uses and thehigh prices of supplementary feed and fuel were the major threats to the herders’ copingcapacity. Coping capacity was facilitated by, among other factors, the herders’experience-based traditional knowledge (TK) and skills, a diversity of pasture environmentsand the use of seasonal pasture rotation. More often than before, herders combinetheir TK and skills with technical applications, which greatly facilitates herding. We conclude that the coping capacity of herders could be facilitated in the future not only byreorganizing the management systems and herding practices for sustainable use ofpastures, but also by diversifying the livelihood, increasing its profitability and mitigatingthe adverse effects of climate change, predators and competing land uses.