Climate variability and change is a growing threat to both caribou and wild and semi-domesticated reindeer. However, predicting the impacts of climate change on individual herds is complex given they have each evolved to a unique and highly varied set of environmental conditions11

. For caribou in North America, some

sub-species appear to be more susceptible to climate variability than others. North America’s Peary Caribou populations in the high Arctic islands are especially vulnerable to short-term, severe weather conditions. For reindeer herders in Eurasia, the ability to find suitable grazing for herds under such conditions of climate change will depend on the extent to which reindeer can move freely across the landscape. The encroachment of infrastructure on rangeland is a key factor in herders’ ability to adapt4

.

Conflict between wild and domestic herds can also be a problem, particularly in Russia. The mixing of herds can lead to transfer of disease and loss of semi-domesticated individuals by being led away by wild reindeer. New opportunities for hunting wild reindeer may undermine Indigenous livelihoods by attracting non-Indigenous Peoples to the new economic opportunity13

.

Management challenges and opportunities The conservation and management of caribou and wild reindeer is normally the responsibility of ministries or departments of wildlife at the regional or national level7

.

Multilateral environmental agreements that exist for the conservation of wild Rangifer include: the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats in EU/EEA countries; the EU Habitats Directive in Finland; and the Agreement between the Governments of Canada and the United States on the Conservation of the Porcupine Caribou Herd in North America.

In North America, responsibility for wild reindeer management occurs at the provincial, territorial and state levels6

. Given

that large reindeer herds can occupy many jurisdictions, co- ordination and communication in the management of shared herds can be a problem6

. An important development over the

last two decades in Canada, and to a lesser extent in Alaska, has been the establishment of co-management regimes

(a form of decentralized decision-making over a resource) between Indigenous communities and state agencies, following several decades of “top-down” state management, which resulted in the erosion of trust between Indigenous Peoples and the state6

.

In Russia, responsibility for management of wild reindeer falls under the Game Resource Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, with a focus on the protection of small herds and sustainable use of larger herds. Although more local control of wild herds is slowly recognized, decision-making still lies overwhelmingly with the state13

. The informed management

of wild reindeer in Russia is hampered by the lack of effective monitoring systems, leading to large knowledge gaps in the spatial distribution and population dynamics of many wild herds13

. Scandinavia’s population of wild reindeer is listed

under Annex III of the Bern Convention, which requires Norway, Sweden and Finland to regulate exploitation of the species to keep the population out of danger19

. The Finnish

forest reindeer R.t. fennisus is also strictly protected under Annex II of the EU’s Habitats and Species Directive20

.

Re-introduction of the traditional siida system in Norway

The siida represents the basic organizational unit around which reindeer herding has traditionally been organized. However, not until the Reindeer Husbandry Act of 2007 was the siida legally recognized as a central entity of reindeer herding in Norway. It was introduced with a desire to monitor reindeer numbers22

.

Under the Act, the siida comprises one or several groups of reindeer herders within a district engaged to work together within a given area. The siida unit comprises an individual or family within a district, and who forms part of a siida. The leader of a siida may determine ownership within the unit. The maximum number of reindeer is determined in the light of the reindeer district’s land-use plans22

. RELEVANCE OF MULTI-LATERAL ENVIRONMENTAL AGREEMENTS 53 II

I