The Greenland experience 6 MAGAZINE Wek'eezhii herd management 11 No. 1 Windmill power: green energy or 2011 The CirCle trampling traditional lifestyles? 19 reindeer and Caribou: herds and livelihoods in TransiTion PUBLISHED BY THE WWF GLoBaL aRCTIC PRoGRaMME The Circle 1.2011 Contents EDITORIAL MOnte HummeL Caribou: The Experience 3 In BRIEF 4 Jeff Kerby Global warming: Timing is everything 6 AnnE Gunn Fighting inertia to conserve caribou herds 8 Jody SnortlanD, Karin ClarK Balancing Expectations: The Wek’èezhìi example of herd management 11 Leonid Baskin, Tobias Kuemmerle, Volker C. Radeloff Protecting wild reindeer in Siberia 13 BRuce Forbes A lesson in global warming and gas exploitation 15 WIndmills V.S Sámi comMunities – Green colOnialism? 19–22 Lars-Anders Baer Windmill colonialism: A threat to Arctic Indigenous people 20 JOnas Lundmark Wind power – Europe’s shining star? 21 Niklas Labba Muohta with the threat of climate change 22 Philip Burgess Long distance learning 25 THE PICTuRE 28 What (herders) find harder to handle, and have little leverage to influence, is the progressive loss of traditional territories and resources they need to survive – grazing lands, campsites, sacred sites, fresh- water fish – to rapidly advancing gas development. “ Dr. Bruce Forbes, article page 15 ranGifers Photo: Jeff Kerby Photo: Jeff The Circle is published quarterly by Publisher: Editor in Chief: Clive Tesar, [email protected] CoVER: the WWF Global arctic Programme. WWF Global arctic Programme, Editor: Becky Rynor, [email protected] a young Nenets boy leads his Reproduction and quotation with appro- 30 Metcalfe Street reindeer team across the new priate credit are encouraged. articles by Suite 400 ottawa, oN, Design and produc ion: railway being built on Yamal non-affiliated sources do not necessarily CanadaK1P 5L4 Film & Form/Ketill Berger, Peninsula, West Siberia, Rus- reflect the views or policies of WWF. Tel: +1 613-232-8706 [email protected] sia. The ancient territory of the Send change of address and subscrip- Fax: +1 613-232-4181 Printed at Merkur-Trykk aS Indigenous Nenets nomads tion queries to the address on the right. hold some of the largest un- We reserve the right to edit letters for Internet: www.panda.org/arctic Date of publication: March, 2011. tapped natural gas deposits in publication, and assume no responsibility ISSN 2073-980X = The Circle (oslo) the world. for unsolicited material. Photo: Bruce Forbes, University of Lapland, Finland 2 The Circle 1.2011 editorial Caribou: The experience THIS SPECIAL EDITIOn of The Circle contains excellent migrating on ancient trails out of the mountains. They articles on the science, environmental threats, herd came right at us, down through the foothills, descend- management – or mismanagement – and conservation ing through a curtain of willows onto a coastal plain efforts for caribou and reindeer populations. But what to calve. They poured out of the landscape, emerging I found to be missing was the sense of what it is like to one after another seemingly without end. A tide of life experience these nomadic animals in the wild. For me, seeking renewal. the impressions are humbling and unforgettable. And how to describe that distinctive, From a cliff, I have observed some 10,000 animals lilting gait of the rangifer? Tireless and attempting to cross an Arctic river in spring flood, perfectly adapted to being on the move, being washed a kilometre or more downstream as they accompanied by the clicking of tendons struggled to reach that far shore. Imagine the pande- rubbing over foot bones as wide hooves monium – cows and calves calling for each other, little clack on shoreline stones. ones trying to keep up but often becoming separated, These are the sights and sounds sometimes on opposite sides of the river. Some turned we lose, if we lose caribou. And had I MOnte Hummel is Presi- back midstream, while the bulls powered ahead – a written this even a year ago, that loss dent Emeritus of WWF- successful passage always culminating with that tri- seemed like a real possibility for many Canada, and co-author umphant shower of spray as they stopped to shake off herds. Since then, as you will read, we with Dr. Justina C. Ray of after scrambling out of the current. have had more bad news. Surveys show Caribou and the North; A Another time I experienced an obviously large herd that some formerly abundant herds Shared Future, Dundurn Press, 2008 without ever seeing it, evidenced by the mats of cari- are now in steep decline. Some may bou hair everywhere. Further proof of its passing was have disappeared. But we also appear the muddy gravel churned into rubble by thousands of to have hit bottom with others whose approaching and exiting hooves. numbers have stabilized and may even be increasing. Through a spotting scope one afternoon, we watched These more hopeful trends likely reflect popula- with resignation as a grizzly bear inexorably honed in tion responses to emergency management measures on a newborn calf, “hidden” in a dip in the hillside by implemented during today’s declines, whether natural its mother. She could only forlorn- or human-caused. These actions ly pace back and forth as we all imaGine The peaCeful have taken collaboration and witnessed the inevitable. panorama of 5,000 outright sacrifice by many parties. I have heard the croupy sound They have tested not just our of a caribou infected by botflies, animals spread ouT commitment to caribou, but to its coughs rising above the rush of each other. rapids flowing over the gravel bar as far as The eye To be sure, some herds need where it stood alone, weakly stag- Can see, in ones and our help to recover. Now. But gering, and likely dying. in the long run, our goal should Then imagine the peaceful pano- twos on The GreeninG be to sufficiently protect their rama of 5,000 animals spread out Tundra, Calmly environment so that popula- as far as the eye can see, in ones tions can fluctuate under natural and twos on the greening tundra, feedinG or resTinG conditions. That way, there may calmly feeding or resting and and ruminaTinG in The be many animals in some years, ruminating in the midsummer sun. fewer in others. But at least there I was privileged to witness the midsummer sun will always be the experience of magnificent spectacle of caribou caribou. The Circle 1.2011 3 in brief cumarctic is off limits to oil and gas exploration while the Canadian government con- sults on boundaries for a new national marine conservation area. Lancaster Sound in the Canadian High Arctic has long been considered a prime candidate for conservation, hosting populations of nar- whal, beluga and bowhead whales, walrus, polar bear, ringed, bearded and harp seals and migratory birds. http://www.panda.org/arctic/ news/lancaster WWf scores environmental Photo:WWF Murmansk coup in lofoten Russia's Kamenny gorod, or "Stone Town," gets protected status. and vesteralen a spawning place for many industry has to stop giving WWF Norway has applauded stone town gets fish such as salmon, bulltrout the impression that oil recov- the Norwegian govern- and arctic char, and boasts ery equipment can protect ments decision to support special status 78 species of birds, such as vulnerable resources in harsh a petroleum-free future for lesser white-fronted goose and weather,” he says. The cargo one of the most significant THE ARKHAnGELSK regional bewick swans, white-tailed ship spilled roughly 500 coastal areas in the country, government in Russia has eagle, peregrine falcon and tons of fuel oil into the icy namely Lofoten, Vesterålen approved the creation a new gyrfalcon. The new ‘Kamen- fjord when it ran aground in and Senja. National Protected Area of nyi gorod’ protected area will February. It has been a long political approximately 5000 hectares. also help preserve dwindling http://wwf.panda.org/arctic/news/ fight to keep the oil-industry “WWF has been working with reindeer habitats and grazing oilspill out of this unique global ma- the regional government on ranges. rine area and it will now not this for nearly three years,” be opened up for oil and gas, says Oleg Sutkaitis, head of important arctic at least if the current govern- WWF Barents Sea Regional spill proves ment remains in office. Office. “We supported the area off limits WWF Norway is still deeply environmental assessment vulnerability concerned, however, about of Kamenny gorod, or Stone the government opening up Town, which is a biologically WWF –Norway CEO Rasmus to oil companies for more petroleum activities and historically rich area. It is Hansson says an oil spill off in the northernmost areas also a popular tourist attrac- the coast of Oslo, Norway is for now and new areas in the Barents tion with its unique, ancient further proof that oil cannot sea as a compromise. stone formations.” The area be effectively cleaned up in OnE OF THE MOST productive The Norwegian govern- around the Belaya River is also ice covered waters. “The oil marine ecosystems in the cir- ment has decided not to 4 The Circle 1.2011 undertake an environmental ues the concept of particu- impact assessment in the sea larly valuable and vulnerable areas outside the Lofoten areas as a management tool, archipelago, which in reality and this is an important step would have been a precursor towards better ecosystem- to oil/gas activities. The deci- based management. sion shows that the govern- WWF hopes this is also ment in some areas puts the the start of a stronger focus value of nature in front of the for a renewable Norway, development of oil and shows and future green jobs.