Framing Adaptation to Rapid Change in the Arctic

Abstract A safe operating space for Indigenous reindeer herders in the Circumpolar North must be the main priority for the governance of the Arctic and sub-Arctic territories in times of rapid changes on reindeer pastures. It also includes establishing reindeer herders’ adaptive capacity to these changes. Anthropogenic impact on the earth system has reached a scale where it is no longer possible to exclude abrupt global environmental change. Indigenous reindeer herders’ sustainability implies adaptive capacity that allows reindeer herders to operate safely. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change highlights that the protection of grazing lands represents the most important adaptive strategy for reindeer herders under climate change. While the Arctic is rapidly integrating into the global economy, reindeer herders must face multiple socio-economic conditions and effects of assimilation past and present. This chapter addresses adaptation perspectives important for the future of reindeer husbandry and frames adaptation to rapid change for reindeer husbandry via Indigenous perspectives, insights, and knowledge.