Wind power in the operational phase and effects on reindeer and reindeer herding
Project overview
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Short summary
The project was funded by the Swedish Energy Agency (Vindval) and primarily examined how wind power affects reindeer in winter grazing areas. It was a continuation of an earlier project on the effects of wind power, with a focus on summer grazing areas in forested landscapes.
Wind power is an important part of renewable energy production in Sweden. A large share of wind power development takes place in the northern part of the country and therefore falls within the reindeer herding area. Today, reindeer herding covers more than half (55%) of Sweden’s land area, and the number of conflicts and court proceedings between the state, project developers, and reindeer herding interests has increased significantly.
Knowledge about how wind power affects reindeer and reindeer herding has increased (see publications below), but there are still uncertainties regarding how reindeer and reindeer herding are affected in winter grazing areas in forested regions of Sweden. This knowledge is needed to assess potential negative impacts and risk-reducing measures. Such knowledge is necessary at an early stage in order to avoid controversial development alternatives and to facilitate an assessment of the actual consequences in environmental impact assessments.
The project group consisted of Anna Skarin (SLU, Project Leader), postdoctoral researcher Bernardo Brandao Niebuhr dos Santos, Per Sandström (SLU), and Moudud Alam (Dalarna University), together with the reindeer herding communities Malå Sami village (Storliden, Jokkmokksliden, Ytterberg and Åmliden wind power parks), Mittådalen Sami village (Glötesvålen wind power park), Tåssåsen Sami village (Mullberget wind power park), and Vilhelmina Norra Sami village (Gabrielsberget wind power park).
Together, they led the work to acquire new knowledge that is highly relevant for management and authorities, to be used already at an early stage in order to reduce or mitigate potential future conflicts.
This project was a continuation of earlier Vindval-funded projects, with the final reports "Renar och Vindkraft" (in Swedish) and "Renar och vindkraft II" (in Swedish).
Publications within the projects:
Scientific articles
Bernardo B. Niebuhr, Daniela Sant’Ana, Manuela Panzacchi Bram van Moorter, Per Sandström, Ronaldo G. Morato, Anna Skarin. 2022. Renewable energy infrastructure impacts biodiversity beyond the area it occupies. PNAS Vol. 119, No. 48.
Skarin A, Niebuhr B B, Sandström P and Tømmervik H 2022. Den ekologiska bevisföringen i Fosenmålet-Analys av renens användning av vinterbetesmarkerna och konsekvenser av vindkraftutbyggnad. Tidskriftet Utmark. (In Swedish)
Tømmervik H, Skarin A, Niebuhr B B and Sandström P 2022. Beregning av tapt beite etter utbygging av vindkraftverk samt kraftlinjer på Fosen. Tidskriftet Utmark. (In Norweigian)
Out of sight of wind turbines—Reindeer response to wind farms in operation. Skarin A, Sandström P, Alam M. Ecology and Evolution 2018;00:1–14. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4476
Reindeer habitat use in relation to two small wind farms, during preconstruction, construction, and operation. Skarin, A. & Alam, M. Ecology and Evolution. 2017; 00: 1–13. doi: 10.1002/ece3.2941
Wind Farm Construction Impacts Reindeer Migration and Movement Corridors. Skarin A, Nellemann C, Rönnegård L, Sandström P, & Lundqvist H, 2015. Landscape Ecology doi:10.1007/s10980-015-0210-8
Do human activity and infrastructure disturb domesticated reindeer? The need for the reindeers perspective. Skarin A & Åhman B, 2014, Polar Biology, doi: 10.1007/s00300-014-1499-5
Reports
Skarin, A., Sandström, P., Brandão Niebuhr, B., Alam, M., Adler, S., 2021. Renar, renskötsel och vindkraft: vinter- och barmarksbete (No. 7011), Vindval. Naturvårdsverket (Swedish Environmental Protection Agency), Stockholm. (In Swedish)
Vindkraft och renar. En kunskapssammanställning. Strand, O. m.fl. 2018. (In Swedish)
Vindkraft og reinsdyr – en kunnskapssyntese. Strand, O., Colman, J.E., Eftestøl, S., Sandström, P., Skarin, A. & Thomassen, J. 2017. - NINA Rapport 1305. 62 s. (In Norweigian)
Kumulativa effekter av exploateringar på renskötseln. Rapport från kunskapsprogrammet Vindval. Rasmus Kløcker Larsen. mf.l. 2016. (In Swedish)
Renar och vindkraft II - vindkraft i drift och effekter på renar och renskötsel. Skarin m.fl. 2016 (In Swedish)
Renar och Vindkraft. Skarin m.fl. 2013 (In Swedish)
Spillningsinventering. Anna Skarin och Maria Hörnell-Willebrand 2011 (In Norweigian)