A Competing Harvester, Stakeholder, and Environmental Threat: Positioning Reindeer in Metla Forestry Research

Abstract

What kind of positions have reindeer been given in Finnish forestry science by research institution, Metsäntutkimuslaitos (Metla)? Because of overlapping zones of utiliza- tion, reindeer for the most part appeared as a threat to national wealth and a prob- lem to harvesting, as well as spoiling ecosystem productivity. They were perceived as a harmful species that destroyed and “killed” saplings and decreased the forest areal. Closer to the present day, the positions of reindeer have become more versatile, and reindeer receive more positive characterizations, even that of stakeholders, or the ones enjoying the outcomes of better-managed pastures. However, the breakthrough in environmental discourse from the 1980s onwards has led to the marginalization and demonization of the reindeer. The position of reindeer in their ecosystem has become unstable and is defined anew as a risk.