Nomadic Herders is an Arctic Council CAFF endorsed project led by University of the Arctic Institute for Circumpolar Reindeer husbandry (UArctic EALÁT Institute) in cooperation with GRID Arendal, about developing research methods and skills to conserve species, enhance biological diversity and reduce pasture degradation in reindeer herding regions globally, while sustaining resilience of ecosystems and the livelihoods of reindeer herding communities. In cooperation with Arctic Council ACAP CLEO and the Local Environmental Observer Network (LEO) which is an indigenous grassroots project aimed at raising awareness on environmental change based from a sense of place, we will provide a training for indigenous youth from Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Canada and USA. We hope this will give the youth insights in national and international biodiversity politics and decision-making processes.
The congress and joint side events will provide training of Sámi youth from the Nordic Countries on how to effectively participate in processes for biodiversity conservation in the Arctic and how to represent and communicate indigenous perspectives and knowledge for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity nationally and internationally. As such, an anticipated outcome of this project is an increased capacity of Sámi youth in ways of engaging in observation of environmental changes.
For the Joint Indigenous Youth Programme, see here.