Political debates about the future of forests in Sweden and the EU are reaching an impasse. Producing more wood comes at the expense of nature and the storage of carbon within trees and soils. Conserving and restoring more forests may limit commercial wood production.

But it is important for both economists and conservationists to recognise how these forests support reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus). This species evolved in conjunction with the natural dynamics of boreal forest ecosystems in northern Fennoscandia – an area covering the Scandinavian peninsula, mainland Finland, Karelia and the Kola peninsula.

Boreal forests are coniferous woodlands that encompass most of the northern regions of the planet. These cold regions tend to be scarcely populated.

In northern Sweden, boreal forests play a critical role in the livelihoods and cultural practices of the Indigenous Sámi people, especially reindeer pastoralism. Sámi reindeer-herding communities hold grazing, customary and Indigenous rights to these forests and other areas.

Reindeer herders and their herds are usually divided into winter groups to graze with their herds as efficiently as possible. While each Sámi reindeer herding community has its own ecological conditions and decision-making processes, intact boreal forest ecosystems........

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