on these and other arctic residents include reductions in grazing land and resources as a result of large-scale development by mining and hydrocarbon industries, habitat alteration due to global warming and pollution, and shifts from subsistence hunting and herding to more intensive commercial herding.

Fundamental changes in economic, political, and legal structures also affect indigenous peoples and their use of natural resources. The effects of these changes on caribou and reindeer systems and their relationship to indigenous peoples are potentially extreme, but have received little scientific study. Conflicts between a traditional reindeer economy and an expanding globally oriented industrial system are particularly pronounced in the Russian North.

Around the circumpolar Arctic, scientists are currently investigating ecosystem relationships of caribou and reindeer and the human connections to arctic grazing systems, including their cultural, social and economic importance. They are expanding knowledge of the effectiveness of different management systems and the impact of political and legal issues on land use. These initiatives, while valuable, are specific to particular areas and communities.

Scientists often conduct such research in the absence of meaningful consultation with user groups. Thus, there is a critical need for a broad initiative that is comprehensive in scope, covers the entire arctic region and represents all relevant resident and scientific communities. This workshop will therefore draw on a pool of knowledge from caribou and reindeer users, in addition to past and ongoing studies by the science community.

Unlike previous meetings, this workshop will be an open forum in which debate and consensus is encouraged during the formulation of a strategy for future scientific research. Representatives of the press are invited to attend and observe the workshop according to th
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Contact: Raija Kivlahti
rkivilah@eurova.fi
358-16-3412778
Dartmouth College
5-Feb-1999

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