Abstract
An obligation to consider traditional knowledge (TK) in planning, resource, and land management, particularly in Sami areas, has been formalized through the Nature Diversity Act. However, current Norwegian legislation and guidelines contain few clarifications of what TK is, how to approach it, or how to appropriately include such data in assessment and planning processes. The Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research has incorporated TK about land and resource use in several impact assessments (IAs), building on a methodological approach applied for a number of review assignments for the Finnmark Commission. While the experiences from reviews for the Commission and IAs concerning Sami land and resource use may represent a step towards incorporating TK in Norwegian planning processes, the approach to documentation, methodology, and ethics in this field is open for debate. The same can be said of the formal frameworks for IA and the willingness to incorporate TK in planning programs, in general.(Published: 6 November 2015)Citation: E. Eyþo´rsson & A.E. Thuestad. ‘‘Incorporating Traditional Knowledge in Environmental Impact Assessment – How Can It Be Done?.’’ Arctic Review on Law and Politics, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2015, pp. 132–150. http://dx.doi.org/10.17585/arctic.v6.101
Highlights
In recent years, traditional knowledge (TK) has become increasingly recognized as a valuable source of information for planning and management of land and natural resources
We address methodological, practical, and ethical challenges of approaching, collecting, and processing TK within the framework of such processes, and discuss whether the practices developed by NIKU represent a way towards implementation of the Nature Diversity Act (NDA) Section 8, the Plan and Building Act (PBA) Section 3-1c and the Sami Parliament (SP) guidelines.[14]
We have substantiated that an obligation to include TK in planning processes, impact assessments (IAs) in particular, is currently a part of Norwegian legislation
Summary
Traditional knowledge (TK) has become increasingly recognized as a valuable source of information for planning and management of land and natural resources. Mapping TK concerning historical land and resource use as well as customary rights based on oral sources plays a significant role in the expert reviews[9] NIKU, in collaboration with other research institutes,[10] has carried out for the FC in Finnmark pertaining to: 1) the islands Seiland and Stjernøya, 2) the municipality of Nesseby, 3) the island Sørøya, and 4) the municipality of Karasjok These expert reviews have provided valuable experience and information from documentation and analysis of TK, which has been useful for the development of a methodological approach for incorporating TK in IAs. IA is a mandatory element of planning processes preceding large-scale industrial or infrastructural projects.[11] Article 1.1 of the SP’s Planning Guidelines states that the objective is ‘‘to facilitate that all plans, impact assessments and resolutions, in accordance with the Plan and Building Act, safeguard the natural foundation for Sami culture, industries, and society.’’12 This article corresponds to Section 3-1c in the PBA. We discuss experiences from NIKU’s attempts to integrate TK in IA assignments and ethical considerations related to them
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
