Sami people living in northern Sweden who are engaged in reindeer herding claim they are under existential threat from iron ore mines. The mines are described as essential to the European Union's transition to environmentally friendly management.
Approximately 120 Sami who herd reindeer in the Gabna Sameby area of northern Sweden are experiencing the disappearance of traditions thousands of years old alongside mass tourism. Furthermore, the iron ore mines of the state-owned company LKAB near the town of Kiruna continue to expand.
The Swedish state-owned company LKAB manages the world's largest iron ore mine. Both the European Commission and Sweden, as the country holding the EU presidency, have described these mines and the rare earth minerals recently discovered there (it should be stressed that these mines contain a quarter of the phosphorus needed by Europe) with “glowing terms”. They are the world's largest underground iron ore mines, reaching a depth of approximately 1,300 metres.
However, for the Sami living in the Gabna Sameby area – a vast strip of land stretching to the mountainous Norwegian border in the west – the industrialisation of once-pristine environments is a major hindrance and is having a devastating impact on both wildlife and reindeer herding.
One of the protesters is 36-year-old Sami reindeer herder Tomas Kuhmunen. He spoke to EUObserver.
“It is everything I am. It is what I have brought into this world – taking care of reindeer, taking care of the next generations,” said the herder.
T. Kuhmunen believes that the LKAB mines, as well as mass tourism, pose an existential threat, noting that the landscape has changed drastically over the decades. This also includes the clear-felling of trees in the late 1950s. Since then, natural forests have been replaced by monocultures, the herder emphasised.
Rare earth minerals
Currently, the LKAB mines are expanding, forcing approximately six thousand residents of the nearby town of Kiruna to relocate three kilometres to the east. Last week, LKAB reported the discovery of rare earth oxides, a very important raw material needed to manufacture everything from car batteries to wind turbines. However, while LKAB promises to extract these minerals without the use of fossil fuels, as part of the EU's Green Deal, the Sami people remain cautious about its wider impact.
“They [LKAB] don't see the whole landscape the way we do when we are herding our reindeer. And that, of course, is a big problem,” said T. Kuhmunen. “They see it as an island in a vast ocean of nothingness. They see it fragmentarily,” he said.
The main source of winter food for reindeer is lichen
Reindeer herder T. Kuhmunen says that due to the decline in biodiversity, the amount of lichen in some areas has decreased by 70% over the last 70 years.
The LKAB mines and Kiruna are a bottleneck for the reindeer, forcing them to pass nearby during the early morning hours when there is less noise in order to reach meadows and pasture on the eastern side.
Until 1948, reindeer used to pass through Kiruna along a path that T. Kuhmunen described as a “blood-relative path to the pastures”. This path was closed due to the mines and other infrastructure, including an airfield, the herder pointed out.
As the mines and the town expand, this further narrows the already thin strip where reindeer can move and graze freely.
“If I had to define an ‘impact zone’ around the mines, it would be 10 km due to noise, seismic activity and falling dust,” T. Kuhmunen said. It is impossible to bypass the narrow spots with herds because two adjacent areas do not allow reindeer to graze on their land.
The problem is further compounded by the Kiruna wastewater treatment plant, which pumps warm water into a nearby stream. This means that in winter the stream does not freeze, making it difficult for the herds to cross.
Tourism companies specialising in providing snowmobile and dog sledding entertainment rides are making the situation even worse, explains T. Kuhmunen.
The herder said that this year’s quota of 6,500 reindeer would not be met because the cumulative impact of tourism, infrastructure and mines is very great. “Every year we lose a couple of hundred reindeer because they are negatively affected by the railway and infrastructure,” he said. T. Kuhmunen emphasised that these concerns have had an impact on the mental health of the Sami, on relationships within families, the community and friendships between neighbouring districts.
“The source of all evil”
Similar comments were made by the press spokesperson for Gabna Sameby, Karin Kvarfordt Niia. “LKAB is the source of all evil,” she said. “That is why we have the town of Kiruna, that is why we have roads, that is why Kiruna had to relocate. It is easy to come here and visit, and the flow of tourists, of course, expanded,” she said. K. K. Niia, who has three young children, said that there is a possibility that in the future they will no longer be able to herd reindeer.
The Sami Parliament, which has 31 deputies, may start seeking answers from European institutions in Brussels. “We want to be a partner to the Swedish government, and we also want to create our own platform, a Sami Parliament platform in Brussels,” said Stefan Mikaelsson, Deputy Chairman of the Parliament's executive board.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the state-owned company LKAB was quoted in the press as saying that negotiations are underway with the Sami to find solutions.