Cumulative Impact Assessments and Sámi Indigenous Rights

The document argues that current impact assessment processes in Sweden and Finland fail to account for the cumulative effects of industrial land use, leading to violations of Sámi Indigenous rights. It emphasizes the necessity of treating Indigenous peoples as rights-holders rather than stakeholders and advocates for the implementation of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) supported by robust cumulative impact data to ensure a just green transition.

• Current regulatory frameworks in Sweden and Finland are insufficient because they lack procedures for assessing cumulative effects, which prevents new project proposals from being properly evaluated against existing land uses and contributes to the violation of Sámi rights.
• To protect Indigenous rights, governments and project proponents must treat Indigenous peoples as rights-holders rather than stakeholders, ensuring their right to give or withhold Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) based on adequate information regarding cumulative impacts.
• Traditional Sámi land usage is under pressure from the combined effects of multiple industrial activities, including mining, wind farms, hydro power, forestry, and infrastructure development.

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} }