Cumulative Impact Assessments and Sámi Indigenous Rights

This policy brief argues that cumulative impact assessments are essential for protecting Sámi Indigenous rights in Nordic countries, particularly regarding reindeer herding, and proposes 10 procedural principles to address regulatory failures in Sweden and Finland.

• Governments and project proponents must treat Indigenous people as rights-holders rather than stake-holders on Indigenous territory. Under international law, states are obligated to secure Indigenous peoples' rights to land and culture, and must ensure representatives can provide or withhold Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) regarding land use decisions.
• Cumulative impact assessments of past, present, and planned land uses are necessary to determine the significance of impacts on Indigenous rights, culture, and livelihoods. Such assessments are a prerequisite for informed consent and enable permit authorities to decide whether to grant project permissions.
• While the Sámi have legal status as Indigenous people in Nordic countries, their traditional land use is pressured by cumulative industrial activities including mining, wind farms, hydro power, forestry, and infrastructure development. Sweden and Finland specifically lack procedures for cumulative effects assessment, which the document identifies as a regulatory failure that violates Sámi rights and hinders a just green transition in the Northern region.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2023). Cumulative Impact Assessments and Sámi Indigenous Rights. https://www.sei.org/publications/cumulative-impact-assessments-and-sami-indigenous-rights/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Cumulative Impact Assessments and Sámi Indigenous Rights. 2023. https://www.sei.org/publications/cumulative-impact-assessments-and-sami-indigenous-rights/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Cumulative Impact Assessments and Sámi Indigenous Rights |date=9 November 2023 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/cumulative-impact-assessments-and-sami-indigenous-rights/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2023cumulative, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Cumulative Impact Assessments and Sámi Indigenous Rights}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2023}, month = nov, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/cumulative-impact-assessments-and-sami-indigenous-rights/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }