SAMI REINDEER
PASTURES AT RISK
In the far north of Norway, some 20
percent of the indigenous Sami people in
Troms county still herd reindeer. Today
however, the reindeer's winter pastures are
at stake due to the approval by the
Norwegian parliament of a military field in
the heart of this area. The military field,
Mauken-Blatind, will be an even greater
encroachment into Sami livelihoods than was
the catastrophic Alta dam, built in 1981
despite the largest civil disobedience
campaign in modern Norwegian history.
As the Norwegian constitution states
that the Sami people and their livelihoods
must be protected, the parliament granted
approval for the Mauken-Blatind military
field in 1997 only on the condition that
Sami reindeer herders would survive. Strong
opposition by environmentalists, reindeer
herding experts and the Sami parliament
made no difference. Two years later, the
youth branch of FoE Norway accidentally
stumbled upon a document from the Ministry
of Agriculture's archives revealing that
the parliament had been deceived. In fact,
the so-called 'protective' measures
guaranteeing the livelihood of the Sami
people had been orchestrated by the Troms
County Army, and no reindeer experts were
ever consulted as the military had
claimed.
The military field will be used for
exercises, mainly grenade launching, target
shooting and tank manoeuvres. By the
military's own estimates, tanks will drive
some 460,000 kilometres per year in the
Mauken-Blatind area. The result will be the
destruction of 30 percent of the nomadic
Sami people's winter pastures. As earlier
military intrusions have already destroyed
half of their herding areas, experts
believe that the remaining pastures will
not be enough to support the reindeer.
Overall, the country's military
installations are located predominantly in
Sami areas in what is a clear case of
environmental injustice.
The establishment of the military field
contradicts both International Labour
Organization (ILO) Convention 169 as well
as Article 27 of the 1966 UN Convention on
Civil and Political Rights. Norway has
ratified both treaties, and is thus legally
bound to respect the natural resources of
indigenous peoples.
A coalition formed by the youth branch
of FoE Norway, the Mauken reindeer herding
unit directly affected by the plan and a
Sami youth organization are working
together to prevent the establishment of
the military field. Although we appear
likely to succeed in convincing the Prime
Minister and the Minister of Agriculture to
withdraw their support from the plan, the
Norwegian Defence Minister intends to
proceed nonetheless in July 2000 based on
the parliament's original favourable
decision.
International support is crucial if the
government's permission to implement these
fatal plans is to be refused. The
pro-reindeer coalition is emphasizing the
fact that the Norwegian government
frequently boasts internationally about its
record in protecting and fighting for
indigenous rights. As Norway was the first
country to ratify ILO Convention 169 on
indigenous rights, the outcome of this case
will create an international precedent for
either the intrusion into or the protection
of the livelihoods of indigenous
peoples.
Kristian E. Torheim, Youth Branch of
FoE Norway
Please lend your name or the
name of your organization to this campaign
by faxing your signature to FoE Norway's
northern branch: 47 776 11 069, or e-mail
it to
<kristian@nu.no>.
