2022-03-29

JOKKMOKK - Sweden is trying at all costs to switch to renewable energy by 2040. But this is coming up against fierce protests from environmentalists and members of the local Sami reindeer communities who oppose the colonisation of Sapmi - the land of the Sami.

Heavy investment in mining, wind power and hydroelectricity in Sweden is having a negative impact on the culture of the Sami, Europe's only indigenous people living in Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia. Development projects threaten traditional reindeer herding, a crucial activity for the preservation of the Sami identity. 

Photo: Hydroelectric power station between the town of Jokkmokk and the area where a new iron mine may be built.
©Marek Kowalczyk

 

Ula Idzikowska

Ula Idzikowska is a Polish freelance journalist and reporter based in Czech Republic.