The case in summary • Reindeer Máhtte Niillas Gaup and many reindeer herding Sami in Norway experience stress and unrest due to wind power plans, mineral exploration and new power lines.• Senior doctor and subject leader for Sami health research, Ann Ragnhild Broderstad, believes that health should be part of impact assessments in connection with nature interventions .• A report from the Protect Sápmi foundation concludes that health conditions must be included in assessments of the impact of land encroachment.• Svein Morten Eilertsen at the Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy (Nibio) agrees that the health consequences for reindeer husbandry should be part of impact assessments. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – I ask myself almost daily if this is something I can bear to expose my family to. I am most worried about the health of our children, both their mental and physical health, says the reindeer owner from Kautokeino. Wind power, mineral exploration and new power lines are planned in connection with the green shift. This is something the 42-year-old and many reindeer herders in Norway have to deal with. Senior doctor Ann Ragnhild Broderstad believes that health also forms part of the assessments that must be made in connection with planned nature interventions. Health researcher: – Very strange – Health is our whole life, and how we feel. Health depends on us feeling good in life, she says to news. Both cultural monuments and the cultural environment are examined in connection with plans that involve major natural interventions. – But it is very strange that the health of people affected by various measures is not investigated. I don’t think this has been thought through at all. People have not understood the connection between developing wind power or mining and what this has to do with health, says Broderstad. Ann Ragnhild Broderstad is senior physician at UNN and head of Sami health research. Photo: Eilif Aslaksen / news The senior doctor at UNN says the reindeer owner’s experience with continuous stress is not unique. – There is really a danger of developing chronic lifestyle diseases. Not least this affects the blood pressure, pulse and heart. You can get cardiovascular disease, and this can mean, for example, a stroke. This is well known from health research, says Broderstad. A survey shows that people in the primary industries worry about whether life is ready for the next generation. Among other things, these point to the green shift as a reason. The survey was carried out in connection with the health project Saminor 3. This is Saminor Saminor is a large population-based health and living conditions survey and one of the most important sources of knowledge about health and living conditions in the Sami and northern Norwegian district population. Two health and living conditions surveys have been carried out, Saminor 1 from 2003 to 2004, and Saminor 2 from 2012 to 2014. Saminor 3 started in October 2023 in central and northern Norway and will continue until autumn 2025. The aim is to promote good health, contribute to the prevention of disorders, and improve the provision of health services for all. More about Saminor (external link): Will not expose children to pressure Reineier Máhtte Niillas Gaup says that most of the plans for wind power, mineral exploration and power developments are referred to as the green shift. – Climate change makes it tough for us. In 2020, we experienced yet another grazing disaster which meant that we had to feed the reindeer around the clock through the winter. In the end I couldn’t take it anymore, my body said stop, he says. At the same time as the climate changes, the industry is experiencing that more and more players want to enter the areas where their animals will live. – Every time we are told that we cannot stop mineral exploration and power developments because this is necessary for the green shift. And then it is said that we slow down development. – All this affects me. It grinds in your head all the time. As a father, I have responsibility for my children, and therefore I think whether it is right to expose the children to this pressure, says Gaup to news. Máhtte Niillas Gaup says all the plans for nature intervention affect him. He wonders if reindeer herding will continue in 20–30 years. Photo: Johan Ánte Utsi / news – Health must be included in the assessments In a recent report from the Protect Sápmi foundation, it appears that public health has so far been little assessed. – Based on this, we believe that health conditions must be considered when natural interventions are planned. It must happen as soon as possible, says Per Olaf Persen to news. He is the general manager of the company Gávcci AS, and who prepared the chapter on public health in the report. Persen is pleased that the survey from central and northern Norway will provide research data that will enable one to analyze the health impact of measures planned during the green shift. – Based on this data, it can already be established today that people’s health is negatively affected by intervention plans, he says. Per Olaf Persen on inspection. Photo: Raggo Drone Hasn’t been a topic Svein Morten Eilertsen at the Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy (Nibio) is among the researchers in Norway who have produced the most impact assessments. Since 2005, he has produced between 30 and 40 studies to find out how various interventions in nature affect reindeer and the farm. Health consequences for reindeer herders have never been a topic in the studies he has been asked to produce. Senior researcher Svein Morten Eilertsen at the Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy. Photo: Eilif Aslaksen / news – It is clear that the focus until today has mainly been on the reindeer, access to the pastures and reindeer husbandry as a culture carrier in the impact assessments – and not health, says Eilertsen. He agrees with Protect Sápmi that health conditions must be included in the assessments in land encroachment cases as soon as possible. – When it comes to negative health consequences as a result of the psychological burden of knowing that there are constantly new plans for interventions that “eat” the district’s borders “bit by bit”, it will perhaps in the future be natural to draw this part under “the overall effects” in the investigation, says the Nibio researcher. New investigation requirements State Secretary Elisabeth Sæther in the Ministry of Energy replies in an e-mail to news that the health aspects of new wind power projects are thoroughly investigated. – The health-related aspects of wind power have largely been covered by the topics investigated in connection with noise, shadow casting and outdoor activities, writes Sæther. State Secretary Elisabeth Sæther. Photo: Even Bjøringsøy Johnsen / news The response to the state secretary paints a different picture than the Nibio researcher Eilertsen paints. In his studies, the health conditions have not been a topic. The ministry answers this to the question on what basis the state secretary can say that the public health aspects are “thoroughly investigated”: – We have nothing more to add, and again refers to our answer about the new assessment requirement on public health that NVE uses today, which leads to the overall health effects of wind power now being a separate part of the investigations. Published 12.09.2024, at 22.32
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Consequence assessments for natural interventions should include health, says researcher – news Sápmi
