HUMANOR

HUMan-ANimal Relations Under Climate Change in NORthern Eurasia

Call 2013Societal transformation

The HUMANOR project examines both climatic and non-climate drivers of societal transformations in nomadic pastoralist social-ecological systems across Northern Eurasia. Across diverse geographic scales it focuses on retrospective partitioning of: (1) socioeconomic & political from climate drivers over decadal scales; and (2) human-animal agency from climate drivers over centennial scales. It involves indigenous people from
herding societies in all phases of the research. We demonstrate that both ancient and modern pastoralism have been constantly undergoing shifts in terms of feedbacks between humans, animals and the environment. Modern herders have important knowledge to contribute to the co-production of knowledge to facilitate resilience.

About

Our stakeholder-driven research addresses highly applied topics to develop a more complete and nuanced understanding of highly complex social-ecological systems in the Eurasian North. By taking both non-climatic and climate drivers into account, our findings can contribute to the formulation of policies that aim for adaptive forms of governance in the study regions. Through working directly with science exhibitions in e.g. Finland, Sweden and Russia, HUMANOR is contributing to improve public perceptions of modern nomadism and get beyond simplistic and overtly negative narratives, such as “overgrazing”.

Bruce Forbes

Professor of Global Change, PhD McGill University

I am Bruce Forbes (Professor of Global Change, PhD McGill University), a geographer living north of the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland studying complex social-ecological systems. My approach is strongly interdisciplinary and participatory, aiming for the co-production of knowledge, particularly concerning local and regional stakeholder-driven research questions. My motivation for the project came from a desire to directly involve indigenous pastoralists in international, interdisciplinary research with like-minded colleagues that would otherwise have been impossible to support with national funding.

Project consortium

Arctic Centre
University of Aberdeen
University of Eastern Finland
Norwegian University of Life Sciences
Sámi Mountain & Science Museum
The Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research

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The Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Finland, is leading HUMANOR and is responsible for overall project coordination and output. University of Aberdeen, Scotland, led HUMANOR’s palaeoecological research, with fieldwork in Scotland, Sweden, eastern and western Siberia and also studied transitioning gender roles in NW Siberia. Sámi Mountain & Science Museum, Jokkmokk led HUMANOR’s environmental archaeological research and fieldwork at various sites in Sweden and palaeoecological research and fieldwork at various sites in Sweden, Finland and Russia. Norwegian Univ. of Life Sciences conducted environmental history research at various sites in Mongolia. The Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research conducted Participatory Geographic Information Systems (PGIS) research at various historic Sámi reindeer herding sites in northernmost Norway. The Arctic
Centre, University of Lapland, Finland, conducted extensive social anthropological
fieldwork among the Yamal tundra Nenets of West Siberia, building an oral history of their
responses to extreme weather events (rain-on-snow, heat waves) associated with a
warming Arctic climate. University of Eastern, Finland together with the Arctic Centre,
University of Lapland, conducted extensive fieldwork on remote sensing of reindeer
habitats in Northern Fennoscandia and Russia, and on dendroclimatology

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Parent programme

Call 2013

Joint Call for Transnational Collaborative Research Projects

This JPI Climate Joint Call for Transnational Collaborative Research Projects provided support for top-quality research projects on topics that are of high societal relevance in Europe and globally, recognising that such challenges require joint efforts through multinational approaches. JPI Climate is seeking proposals from consortia consisting of partners from the participating European countries as well as others. Consortia brought together different scientific disciplines to address the issues within the scope of the described call topics. The projects displayed clear links to decision-makers and users of climate knowledge as well as potential change agents in society.

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