Impact Assessments and Sámi Self-determination in the Násávárre case: a right or a privilege?

Abstract

In 2004 the Chinese company Elkem proposed the construction of a quartz quarry on Násávárre in Rana Municipality, Norway. Their proposition entails severe implications for Norwegian and Swedish Sámi reindeer herding communities, who use the area of the mountain throughout the year. The conflicting interests required an evaluation of said implications. Commissioned by Elkem, Sweco Norway AS conducted an Impact Assessment, which was criticised after its publication in 2013 for its lack of Sámi involvement. A second Impact Analysis of 2019 attempted to compensate for these shortcomings by requesting information on use of the area from the reindeer herding communities. This thesis explores Impact Assessments as practise to predict implications which Indigenous communities could face caused by natural resource extraction, using the example of the Násávárre case. Although Impact Assessments are used globally, their “practice has historically been little aligned or even contradictory to Indigenous Peoples’ rights to self-determination” (Larsen, 2018, p. 208). Through the analysis of the Impact Assessments from 2013 and 2019 as well as conducted interviews with authorities, right holders, and impacted communities this discrepancy shall be explored. The focus is put on the degree of Sámi reindeer herders’ participation in the process and examines Larsen’s (2018) assertion that Indigenous participation in Impact Assessment processes is oftentimes treated as a privilege rather than a right. By shedding light on Sámi influence in the decision-making processes of the Násávárre case, this thesis aims to depict the concrete implementation of Indigenous participation in Impact Assessments and its potential and limits for Indigenous self-determination.