The Sámi people want Sweden to protect its reindeer. Here’s why

Sweden’s Indigenous Sámi people are calling for greater protection for reindeer, which are being killed in their thousands on the country’s roads.

Over the past five years, more than 10,000 reindeer have been struck and killed by vehicles on Sweden's roads, according to police statistics. The reindeer are often drawn to the roads to lick the salt used to improve safety and traction.

The Sámi Parliament is urging the construction of more wildlife fences and nature passages to enable safer road crossing by the reindeer.

Curved roads and moorlands are a particular issue, says Sámi Parliament reindeer husbandry committee chairman Jan Rannerud, and while wildlife passages have helped, they are quite costly to build, he says.

The Sámi were the first Indigenous people of Northern Europe and Scandinavia, with Norway and Sweden being home to the biggest populations. They have a rich cultural heritage linked to reindeer herding, often leading a semi-nomadic lifestyle due to reindeer migration.

Reindeer are not endangered, but populations in some areas have been hit heavily by factors such as hunting, disease, a lack of food and the climate crisis.

The role of Indigenous communities such as the Sámi in protecting and restoring wildlife and ecosystems is increasingly being recognized. A third of Earth’s territories are home to Indigenous peoples and local community lands. Over 90% of these areas are in good or fair ecological condition, according to research by the World Economic Forum, which is a testament to the effectiveness of long-term Indigenous stewardship in managing complex natural environments.

Embedding this traditional ecological knowledge and empowering Indigenous people to become involved in nature-based solutions is a key part of our ability to restore and conserve nature.

The Forum’s report – titled Embedding Indigenous Knowledge in the Conservation and Restoration of Landscapes – puts forward a set of principles to help inform how investors can best engage Indigenous peoples and use their knowledge in the conservation and restoration of landscapes.