{"id":6251,"date":"2023-02-06T12:54:40","date_gmt":"2023-02-06T11:54:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/opinions\/?p=6251"},"modified":"2023-02-07T10:09:26","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T09:09:26","slug":"sami-climate-change-in-the-arctic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/opinions\/sami-climate-change-in-the-arctic\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cLand is life\u201d: climate change is destroying the Arctic and the S\u00e1mi way of life"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The indigenous S\u00e1mi<\/em> people living in the Arctic have a saying: \u201cEenn\u00e2m Lii Eellim\u201d. Land is life. These communities rely on the land and the wildlife living there for their survival and the preservation of their culture. But climate change is threatening the fragile balance of people and nature in the Arctic region. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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\"Julia<\/figure>
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Our trainee in the Greens\/EFA Group, Julia Kerkel\u00e4<\/a>, was born and raised above the Arctic Circle, and explores what is happening to the S\u00e1mi as different industries eye up traditional S\u00e1mi land.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>

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Recently, the largest source of rare minerals in Europe was found in the northern area of Kiruna, Sweden. Rare minerals are used to produce high-tech goods, like batteries for electric cars, electronic devices, and wind turbines. It might sound like good news for Europe, but the discovery has wreaked havoc on the indigenous community, the S\u00e1mi.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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For the S\u00e1mi, reindeer are vital to their way of life<\/a>. They provide for food, clothing, snow shoes, tools and even simple things like buttons. Reindeer are inextricably linked to the continued survival – and cultural heritage – of the S\u00e1mi, going back countless generations.\u00a0 We learned that the S\u00e1mi arrived in northern Scandinavia at the end of the last ice age. As the existing mine near Kiruna keeps expanding, reindeer herders in the area have to quit their traditions and livelihoods.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Unique wildlife is under attack in the Arctic<\/h4>\n<\/div>
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The Kiruna mine expansion is not only dangerous for the S\u00e1mi. The impact on the unique Arctic flora and fauna has been fatal. Arctic wildlife and landscapes are unique and irreplaceable. Global warming and industrial development are a serious risk for the sensitive biodiversity. This is because they render habitats uninhabitable for the wildlife that depend on them. Many species are unable to move further north due to global warming and melting ice caps. They\u2019re staring extinction in the face. Once you get to the northernmost tip of the world, there\u2019s literally nowhere else to go.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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In the fight for land in the Arctic, local communities seem to lose time after time. Mining, forestry and energy production play a significantly bigger role than the thriving Arctic culture when it comes to political decision-making at all levels. The EU should be a force for protecting the Arctic as a global heritage. But the S\u00e1mi in Kiruna say that the way the European Commission is approaching the green transition is threatening their way of life and their very existence. An EU strategy that was built to protect life on the earth should not seek success with the price of social and cultural harm.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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No climate justice without social justice – also in the Arctic<\/h4>\n<\/div>
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Don’t get me wrong \u2013 renewable energies are the solution to the climate crisis. But what we really need is a change of mindset. Everlasting growth in a renewable world will still put pressure on ecosystems and untouched lands as we continue to guzzle more energy and resources. No matter if it is oil, gas or rare ressources. Climate justice includes social justice, and especially the integrity of indigenous communities and their lands. Any violation towards this is not acceptable.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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But what is at stake in the Arctic? How do the S\u00e1mi live in precarious balance with the changing wildlife and climate? And how can we support the local communities in the Arctic who are preserving the biodiversity and scenery of the area, and by extension their culture?<\/p>\n<\/div>

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A fragile balance – how is climate change threatening the Arctic?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div>
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In the Arctic, climate change and the loss of biodiversity are more interlinked than anywhere else on Earth. Temperatures in the Arctic are rising four times as fast as the global average. We are already witnessing the changes \u2013 with melting sea ice, warming permafrost and the Arctic treeline accelerating towards the pole. What is happening in the Arctic is likely to provoke extreme temperature events in other areas of the world. The effects will be global – and not only environmental, but financial, cultural, and social.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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The Arctic is home to more than four million people. Approximately 10 percent of them are indigenous. The indigenous people of the Arctic hold significant cultural, social, and historical differences. But a common feature for most is the fact that they have already undergone substantial changes to their way of life. This is due to national policies, industrialisation and social change.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Globally, the lands inhabited by indigenous peoples contain 80% of the world\u2019s remaining biodiversity. Besides undergoing changes, what connects the indigenous peoples all around the world is their connection to the land that they live on.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Climate change is threatening the life of the S\u00e1mi people<\/h4>\n<\/div>
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In Northern Europe, the S\u00e1mi people inhabit the region of S\u00e1pmi. S\u00e1pmi covers large parts of northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Murmansk Oblast in Russia. Traditional S\u00e1mi livelihoods are reindeer herding, fishing, hunting, gathering and handicrafts. Climate change is threatening the continuity of these livelihoods and culture.I<\/p>\n<\/div>

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One example of this is how global warming has changed the weather conditions in the Arctic. Warmer global temperatures have meant that there is now more rain falling in the Arctic than snow. Rain creates a layer of ice on top of the snow when it freezes. This prevents animals like reindeer from getting to their food. This has devastating consequences on wildlife, but also on cultural practices, like reindeer herding.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Another example is that of ice roads, a typical form of transportation in the Arctic. The warming weather has caused changes in the river and lake ice. This is making it very dangerous – or impossible – to use ice roads as a way of transportation. Climate change is deeply affecting people in many communities. But in the case of the Arctic it\u2019s threatening the cultural survival of the indigenous population.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Indigenous people play a key role as protectors of nature.

We must listen to them, include them & their rights when discussing global issues like #ClimateChange<\/a> & #biodiversity<\/a> loss.

This is one of the points we defend at #COP15<\/a> in Montreal. Read more: https:\/\/t.co\/RSO9JYhxDG<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/AcA8JKYZn7<\/a><\/p>— Greens\/EFA in the EU Parliament \ud83c\udf0d (@GreensEFA) December 16, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>