”Då är det inte renskötsel” - Konsekvenser av en gruvetablering i Laver, Älvsbyn, för Semisjaur Njarg sameby

The report argues that the proposed Laver mine would effectively make traditional Sami reindeer herding impossible in the area by destroying critical winter grazing lands. Through scenario analysis, the authors demonstrate that the mine would force herders into either unsustainable 'reindeer farming' via supplementary feeding or the total abandonment of the area, both of which threaten the intergenerational transfer of traditional knowledge and the survival of the Pite Sami language. The document also highlights a systemic failure in Swedish mining permit processes, which often ignore cumulative impacts and indigenous rights in favor of a presumed 'coexistence' between mining and herding.

• The proposed mine in Laver is located on winter grazing pastures, which are described as the "bottleneck" for reindeer herding.
• If the mine is established, traditional Sami reindeer herding based on free grazing on natural pastures would be impossible in the Laver area.
• One potential outcome of the mine is a shift to 'reindeer farming,' where animals are fed artificially, which the community asserts is not traditional reindeer herding.
• The report identifies a 'domino effect' where the loss of grazing land leads to an unsustainable workload and economic pressure, forcing herders to quit and hindering intergenerational succession.
• The report applies a 10 km disturbance zone around the proposed mine, noting that most of the herd will avoid this area due to noise and traffic.
• Case study evidence from the Aitik mine shows that disruptions from infrastructure, such as roads and power lines, can be significantly larger than initially assumed in impact assessments.
• The report argues that Swedish mining permit processes are fragmented and fail to account for the cumulative effects of multiple encroachments.
• There is a systemic assumption by Swedish authorities and mining companies that reindeer herding and mining can coexist, often relying on technical fixes like supplementary feeding.
• The proposed mine would likely result in significant breaches of the community's property rights and individual herders' right to culture.

APA

Lawrence, R., & Larsen, R. K. (2016). ”Då är det inte renskötsel” - Konsekvenser av en gruvetablering i Laver, Älvsbyn, för Semisjaur Njarg sameby. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-PR-2016-sami-mining-swedish.pdf

Chicago

Lawrence, Rebecca, and Rasmus Kløcker Larsen. ”Då är det inte renskötsel” - Konsekvenser av en gruvetablering i Laver, Älvsbyn, för Semisjaur Njarg sameby. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2016. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-PR-2016-sami-mining-swedish.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lawrence |first1=Rebecca |last2=Larsen |first2=Rasmus Kløcker |title=”Då är det inte renskötsel” - Konsekvenser av en gruvetablering i Laver, Älvsbyn, för Semisjaur Njarg sameby |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2016 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-PR-2016-sami-mining-swedish.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lawrence2016det, author = {Lawrence, Rebecca and Larsen, Rasmus Kløcker}, title = {{”Då är det inte renskötsel” - Konsekvenser av en gruvetablering i Laver, Älvsbyn, för Semisjaur Njarg sameby}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2016}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-PR-2016-sami-mining-swedish.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }