Sustainable reindeer herding in mountain birch ecosystem.

Political and economical changes throughout the last 150 years have affected herding practices and thereby changed both the number of reindeer and their pasture quality in Finland, Sweden and Norway. In this chapter we aim to show how the interplay between ecological, historical and economical factors affects sustainability of reindeer herding in the mountain birch ecosystem. It seems that there is no unique way to put into practice socially and economically sustainable reindeer herding. In Chapter 11, the vulnerability of pasture components to reindeer grazing is discussed as well as the response on actual reindeer density. In this chapter, the history and cultural background of reindeer herding are discussed, including the social and economical factors involved. The chapter concludes with suggestions for sustainable reindeer herding.