Revising and re-structuring the renewable energy system in Norway while preserving long-term wild reindeer habitat functionality

Informations

Funding country

Norway

Acronym

-

URL

-

Start date

1/1/2015

End date

12/31/2021

Budget

1,156,200 EUR

Fundings

Abstract

RenewableReindeer: Revising and re-structuring the renewable energy system in Norway while preserving long-term wild reindeer habitat functionality Hydropower developed extensively during the last century in Norway, and the resulting network of infrastructures has changed mountain landscapes dramatically. Most hydropower concessions are (or will be) subjected to a relicensing process aimed at increasing focus on sustainability. In these same mountains, Norway hosts the last remaining population of European wild mountain reindeer, and has national and international responsibility for the conservation of this vulnerable species, highly sensitive to human disturbance. Norway is now faced with the challenge of revising, re-structuring and expanding the renewable energy system while ensuring long-term reindeer conservation. This project has produced scientific knowledge, innovations and tools needed to tackle this challenge from an ecological and socio-political perspective. RenewableReindeer has integrated innovations from movement ecology, niche modelling, island biogeography, network science, mathematics and computer science to produce a comprehensive, network-based, spatially-explicit analytical framework to quantify species? habitat functionality and movement corridors, taking into account cumulative impacts from human activities. This approach has been applied, first, to estimate habitat suitability and permeability to movements, using GPS data for 10 of the largest wild reindeer herds in Norway. These maps and estimates allowed to quantify the habitat loss and fragmentation caused by each infrastructure separately. Houses, roads, tourist cabins, private cabins, trails, ski tracks, powerlines, railways and reservoirs were all responsible for habitat loss and fragmentation, with effect size depending on the type of infrastructure and its intensity of use, and with zones of influence ranging from a few hundred meters to 10 km. Second, we used network models to infer the cumulative impact of all infrastructure and human activities in three focal reindeer management areas: Snøhetta, Nordfjella and Setesdal Ryfylke. Thus, we could identify the remaining functional habitat (i.e. good quality and well connected habitat) and movement corridors, after accounting for the combination of natural and anthropogenic barriers to movements. Last, we developed simulation tools, and used them to estimate the impact of mitigation measures proposed to compensate for the habitat loss and fragmentation caused by hydropower. Boards of local experts and stakeholders conducted a series of scoping processes and produced a list of 41 possible mitigation actions (e.g. removal/re-location of tourist infrastructures, roads, and the construction of land bridges over reservoir). Based on the results of simulations, we ranked the mitigation measures based upon expected gain in functional habitat and connectivity. For each mitigation, the expected gain in habitat functionality ranged between 0%, to a maximum of 10%. To understand the 'baseline conditions', we also made forecasts back in time, or 'back-casts'. The results show that in Setesdal Ryfylke the functionality of reindeer habitat declined by 47% as a consequence of the construction of all hydropower reservoirs after 1973, and declined by 1192% as a consequence of the development of all existing infrastructures and human activities. These results are currently used by the public administration to identify the most relevant measures to mitigate the impact of hydropower. RenewableReindeer developed through a large international collaboration of researchers and PhD students, to help Norway meeting this complex challenge form an ecological, technical and socio-political perspective. Local project partners and stakeholders have been iteratively involved through dialogues and scoping processes, thus ensuring relevance, and minimizing conflict potential. Political scientists conducted an in-depth examination of the regulatory framework and of the multilevel governance processes related to the implementation of mitigation measures in Norwegian reindeer areas, highlighting strengths, weaknesses, and recommending directions for improvements. The knowledge and tools produced in this project could set new standards for reindeer-oriented Environmental Impact Assessment, for the identification of cost-effective mitigation options, and for the development of sustainable land development strategies. Quantitative estimates and high-resolution maps of the cumulative impact of infrastructures can minimize the potential for societal disputes in land-planning processes, and maximize the likelihood to achieve ecological sustainability. Details: http://www.nina.no/english/Research/Projects/Renewable-Reindeer