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Do voluntary corporate actions improve cumulative effects assessment? Mining companies' performance on Sami lands
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Physical Geography.
Number of Authors: 32018 (English)In: The Extractive Industries and Society, ISSN 2214-790X, E-ISSN 2214-7918, Vol. 5, no 3, p. 375-383Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Cumulative effects assessment (CEA) remains an Achilles heel in the licensing of mining projects on indigenous lands globally, but especially in the European North. Yet, rather than legislating on indigenous rights and CEA failures, governments tend to rely on companies to mitigate cumulative impacts through new corporate social responsibility actions. This paper considers if these voluntary actions improve companies' CEA performance and so provide grounds for indigenous communities and decision makers to trust the industry more. Findings are presented from a systematic review of corporate impact assessments for 56 mining concession permit applications on Sami lands in Sweden. We show how companies that adopt additional voluntary measures provide somewhat richer assessments. Overall, however, the performance remains poor also for 'frontrunners', with persistent lack of clarity on methods and limited analysis of consequences, social and cultural impacts and interactions with other (past, present or future) projects. We conclude that progress in voluntary actions in regard to assessing cumulative impacts has only led to cosmetic improvements in CEA performance. We therefore argue for stronger regulatory role of government and recognition of the right of indigenous communities to lead or co-manage impact assessments on their own lands.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2018. Vol. 5, no 3, p. 375-383
Keywords [en]
Cumulative effects, Corporate social responsibility, Mining, Sami, Sweden
National Category
Social and Economic Geography
Research subject
Physical Geography
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-159147DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2018.04.003ISI: 000438129100019OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-159147DiVA, id: diva2:1242580
Available from: 2018-08-28 Created: 2018-08-28 Last updated: 2022-02-26Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Nature conservation, landscape change and indigenous rights: The role of Sámi reindeer herding for environmental objectives in the Swedish mountain landscape
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Nature conservation, landscape change and indigenous rights: The role of Sámi reindeer herding for environmental objectives in the Swedish mountain landscape
2020 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

The 14th Swedish national environmental objective, ‘a Magnificent Mountain Landscape’, requires a mountain landscape characterized by reindeer grazing. The Swedish mountains landscape, part of the Scandes, has been shaped by traditional indigenous Sámi reindeer herding and its grazed environments are dependent on reindeer. In spite of this, the mountain region is often referred to as the last wilderness in Europe. Twenty years since its adoption the aims of this environmental objective for the Swedish mountains is still not achieved. Sweden is internationally often seen as a frontrunner for environmental ambitions, but formal indigenous rights remain relatively weak. In the case of the Magnificent Mountain Landscape objective, the environmental ambitions are dependent on the continuation of a traditional indigenous livelihood and land use based on reindeer herding. While the mountain objective explicitly focus on the mountain area the attainment of the objective is dependent on developments in the whole reindeer grazing area that encompasses vast areas outside the Scandes. Reindeer herding is, however, under increasing pressure from multiple anthropogenic pressures like climate change and encroachments from various types of natural resource extraction on traditional grazing grounds. Land use planning that ensure the continuation of a viable reindeer herding in the whole reindeer herding landscape, not only the mountain areas proper, is therefore essential if the Magnificent Mountains Landscape objective is to be achieved. The thesis is guided by three main research questions: 1/ how have multiple pressures developed in the reindeer herding area in northern Sweden, 2/ how has Sámi participation in land use planning unfolded in northern Sweden, and 3/ what possibilities/conditions are there in place to maintain/sustain the environmental state in the Swedish mountain region given current multiple pressures and planning processes? Based on a transdisciplinary systems approach as well as on quantitative and qualitative methods the results show that stressing weather events have increased in the reindeer herding area, alongside with rapid and significant increase in industrial land use for natural resource extraction. The actual process of rapidly increasing, as well as cumulative, industrial land use also reduce the ability for Sámi reindeer herding communities to influece land use planning. Meanwhile the cumulative effects assesssments for proposed industrial projects poorly describe cumulative effects on reindeer herding. Protected areas in the mountain region that should be requesting the ecosystem services of reindeer grazing also unsufficiently do so because of a too dominant view of its nature as a wilderness, with the implication that reindeer herding is less valued in nature conservation management. If the ambitious environmental objectives for the Swedish mountain range are to be reached it also means that the continuation of traditional Sámi reindeer herding needs to be safeguarded in the whole reindeer herding area, also outside the mountains.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University, 2020. p. 50
Series
Dissertations in Physical Geography, ISSN 2003-2358 ; 10
Keywords
Land use planning, Cumulative Effects, Reindeer herding, Natural resource extraction, Environmental Management
National Category
Physical Geography
Research subject
Physical Geography
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-184776 (URN)978-91-7797-805-3 (ISBN)978-91-7797-806-0 (ISBN)
Public defence
2020-10-23, De Geersalen, Geovetenskapens hus, Svante Arrhenius väg 14 and digitally via Zoom: https://stockholmuniversity.zoom.us/j/65793078875, Stockholm, 13:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2020-09-30 Created: 2020-09-09 Last updated: 2022-02-25Bibliographically approved

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