Climate Justice in Sapmi: Frontline truths from Europe’s Far North

The indigenous Saami live in the Arctic regions of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia, at the frontlines of climate change. 

In this video, Jonas Vannar shares his experience as a traditional Saami reindeer herder. The changing climate poses a huge threat to reindeer that struggle to find enough food when thaw and freeze cover the ground under layers of ice. Recent years have seen mass starvation among reindeer. These problems are exacerbated by the forestry industry and big infrastructure like wind parks or hydropower that cut off reindeer herding routes and pastures. Mining and mass renewable energy infrastructure expand heavily in Sápmi despite their severe impacts on Saami livelihoods.

This is part of a video series by 350.org in which Saami people speak their truths about what climate justice means to them. Hear more at https://350.org/saami-climate-justice/