Arctic studies at Dartmouth takes lead in bringing native leaders and scientists together to study caribou and reindeer systems

Posted 02/22/99

Dartmouth's Institute of Arctic Studies and the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland hosted a conference this month to map an international plan for research on managing and protecting reindeer and caribou -- the most important land-based species for people living in the Arctic. The conference in Rovaniemi, Finland, February 10-14 brought together 80 indigenous reindeer herders and caribou hunters, native leaders, scientists and policy makers from twelve countries.

"Almost 2.5 million domesticated reindeer exist worldwide and over 3 million migratory caribou range freely in North America. These animals are central to the cultures of many indigenous peoples," says Gail Osherenko, a Senior Fellow of the Institute of Arctic Studies at Dartmouth and co-chair of the conference. "The goal of our meeting was for scientists and native people together to develop a research plan for the next decade that responds to the real needs and concerns of local people and that helps them to address conflicts such as oil, gas, and mineral development."

The workshop was the outgrowth of a major Arctic research planning conference held at Dartmouth in 1995 under the auspices of The International Arctic Science Committee, which represents national science organizations with Arctic research programs in 17 countries. After the 1995 meeting, IASC adopted the issue of Arctic grazing systems as a focus for future research. "The working group on the topic retitled the program to emphasize the importance of reindeer, caribou and people rather than the vegetation upon which they depend," Osherenko says.

Caribou and reindeer are a single species (scientifically known as Rangifer tarandus) that play a crucial role in human habitation of the Arctic by providing food, shelter, and transportation. The animals are central to the cultures of many indigenous peoples, including the Chukchi, Cree, Dene, Even, Evenki, Gwich'in, Innu, Inuit, Metis, Naskapi, Nenets, Saami, Sakha (Yakut), Yukagir, and Yupiit.

Changes in caribou and reindeer systems that may adversely impact these and other Arctic residents include: reductions in grazing land and resources as a result of large-scale development by mining and hydrocarbon industries, habitat alteration due to global warming and pollution, and shifts from subsistence hunting and herding to more intensive commercial herding. Fundamental changes in economic, political, and legal structures also affect indigenous peoples and their use of natural resources.

"The effects of these changes on caribou and reindeer systems and their relationship to indigenous peoples are potentially extreme, but have received little scientific study," says Osherenko, whose own research focuses on native peoples of Siberia. "Conflicts between a traditional reindeer economy and an expanding globally oriented industrial system are particularly pronounced in the Russian North."

Nicholas Flanders, Associate Director of the Institute of Arctic Studies says that, "North American caribou herds are relatively unmanaged compared to the semi-domestic reindeer herds of the Eurasian North. This difference presents a unique opportunity for understanding the interplay between global changes and management in a single, and vitally important, species."

Scientists are currently investigating ecosystem relationships of caribou and reindeer -- their cultural, social, and economic importance -- and the human connections to these animals. Researchers are also learning more about the effectiveness of different management systems and the impact of political and legal issues on land use. This research is extremely valuable to specific areas and communities, though scientists often conduct such research in the absence of meaningful consultation with user groups. The result is a critical need for a broad initiative that is comprehensive in scope, covers the entire Arctic region, and represents all relevant resident and scientific communities.

The workshop concluded that the following tests should be kept in mind by those formulating and funding research on reindeer and caribou systems. Research proposals should:

-- Employ holistic approaches to create common knowledge systems.

-- Enable Arctic residents to understand what is happening to them, identify problems, frame research questions, conduct research, participate in research exchanges, and develop their own responses to problems.

-- Deal with the complexity of reindeer and caribou systems, question standard theories and assumptions, and reframe concepts and questions in accord with this complexity and from the perspective of the users (hunters and herders).

-- Establish a good baseline of information using indigenous knowledge and science-based research to determine what went before and assessing current conditions "letting the herders and hunters speak and identify needs."

-- Evaluate the effectiveness of institutions: systems of rights, roles, norms, duties, and rules governing resource use and management.

-- Conduct comparative and rigorous systematic review of caribou and reindeer regions.

-- Examine social and economic responses to changes in the physical and biological landscapes as well as to new economic structures.

The Institute of Arctic Studies maintains a website that includes relevant information on the conference, including speaker abstracts and profiles, and will carry the draft research plan for comment before it is finalized.