--- title: Sweden's Reindeer Are Under Threat, say Indigenous Herders description: Sweden's reindeer need old-growth trees to survive. But scientists say logging is pushing these forests to the brink of extinction. canonical: https://time.com/6899748/deforestation-sweden-reindeer-sami-herders/ author: Mélissa Godin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-03-12T11:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T07:40:32.974Z article:section: Climate og:title: Sweden's Reindeer Are Under Threat, say Indigenous Herders og:description: Reindeer rely on old-growth trees. But scientists say logging is pushing these forests to the brink of extinction. og:url: https://time.com/6899748/deforestation-sweden-reindeer-sami-herders/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c5b4cf08c0238f7/698a494fdb2987129926a4da/sami-reindeer-herd-climate-change.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Sweden reindeer og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Sweden's Reindeer Are Under Threat, say Indigenous Herders twitter:description: Reindeer rely on old-growth trees. But scientists say logging is pushing these forests to the brink of extinction. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c5b4cf08c0238f7/698a494fdb2987129926a4da/sami-reindeer-herd-climate-change.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Deforestation Poses 'Existential' Threat to Sweden's Reindeer, Warn Indigenous Herders > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. 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Sweden's Indigenous Sami people are fighting against logging practices which threaten biodiversity and the survival of the reindeer population that eats lichen in the forests._ by [Mélissa Godin](https://time.com/author/melissa-godin/) ## Mélissa Godin Mar 12, 2024 11:00 AM UTC Sweden's Indigenous Sami people are fighting against logging practices which threaten biodiversity and the survival of the reindeer population that eats lichen in the forests. by [Mélissa Godin](https://time.com/author/melissa-godin/) ## Mélissa Godin Mar 12, 2024 11:00 AM UTC On an early morning in northern Sweden, Nila Jannok, a local Sámi [reindeer](https://time.com/4616848/reindeer-arctic-climate-change-global-warming/) herder, was out walking through one of the country’s last remaining old-growth forests when he stumbled upon something alarming. Towering above him stood a thousand year old tree that had been wrapped in a yellow plastic tag that read “Sveaskog”—the name of the state-owned forestry company. “This one will be cut down,” he said, fiddling with the plastic tag. “They all will actually.” Sweden has long been celebrated for being an environmentally progressive country. The Swedish Forestry Model, promoted by the government and the forestry industry, claims to be the most sustainable logging model in the world. Yet scientists say current logging practices are pushing Sweden’s old-growth forests to the brink of extinction. Across the country, large swaths of ancient forests are being felled and replaced by tree-plantations of spruce and pine, leading to a devastating loss in biodiversity. These old forests—which are currently a valuable carbon sink and source of biodiversity—are now on the verge of collapse. But for Jannok and the Sámi Indigenous people of Sweden, logging does not simply present a risk to their environment, it is also an existential threat to their way of life. **Read more:** [_Conserving Forests Is the Fastest, Most Effective Way to Stabilize Our Climate_](https://time.com/6158948/conserving-forests-stabilize-our-climate/) The Sámi people’s traditional livelihood revolves around reindeer herding. Their entire cultural, spiritual, and psychological worldview is built around their connection to the reindeers—a keystone species in northern Sweden. The reindeers depend on lichen to survive. But the lichen only grows in old forests. If the ancient forest disappears, so too, Jannok fears, will the reindeer and by extension, the Sámi people. “Reindeers have survived here since the ice age,” he said. “But only sixty years of clear-cutting have put them on the verge of starvation.” The Sámi people have been resisting felling by the forestry industry for decades. And while they have been successful in pushing out forestry companies in some areas, the country's forests have nevertheless disappeared at alarming rates. A [2022 study](https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2022EF003221) published by the journal _Earth's Future_ found that almost a quarter of Sweden's last unprotected old-growth forest was logged between 2003 and 2019, equivalent to a loss of 1.4% per year. If current logging rates continue, Sweden's old-growth forests—some of the last in Europe—will be lost [in fifty years](https://se.fsc.org/sites/default/files/2023-12/Swedish%20Old%20Growth%20Forests%20Investigation%20Report%5Ffinalized%5F20231204.pdf). "As long as history goes, governments have discovered natural resources here on Sámi land," said Jannok. "Step by step, the state has taken land away." He adds: "But what happens when there is nothing left to take?" ## Transcript [00:01] I would like to chase have almost 200 words for snow but no one [00:06] for war and I think that's the point of the story your face. [00:11] One of the most Forest areas in the world and Sweden is no exception [00:15] in this case the majority of the biodiversity no space no time [00:19] to survive. It's all means that the reindeer Stars. [00:24] My name is Juliet in study. [00:26] I'm 27 years old and I throw the stuff from talked of stuff [00:31] me this ring the Hardin Community Atascocita people are indigenous [00:36] people of Europe and one of our traditional like livelihood [00:40] surrender Harding and reindeer husbandry. [00:45] It's four states that have colonized Stockman. [00:47] That's his tweet in the way to England and Russia. [00:50] So we are leaving it on four different partners. [00:54] We have been there for like a week and remember. [01:01] Due to the colonization and we have no access to the same lands [01:06] before so the lamps are growing smaller. [01:11] As long as a history goes by governments have discovered [01:16] natural resources. So step-by-step. [01:19] The states has taken away park space. [01:31] The Colony station is sweet, and it's not over yet. [01:34] They're still taking our lands with new forms. [01:39] Tourist visa extension is 3 cm extension of colonialism. [01:46] Yes, we don't have the reputation of being a very Progressive [01:50] and human rights and protecting her vitamin. [01:53] And so I'm so but the reality may vary. [01:58] That black and oranges and grapes calories. [02:04] Is Sweden at the forestry admits the more carbon than any other [02:08] industry every year is huge swaths of forces are clear-cut. [02:14] The life cycle of the Swedish Pine is around 5,000 years, [02:19] but since we're schools forestry, it's only around 80. [02:26] Ford Ranger has been living here. [02:27] Since the Ice Age 46 years old here cutting has put them on the [02:31] verge of starvation reindeers need like and in order to survive, [02:35] but I can only grows in the forest the Swedish Forest compressor [02:41] clear-cutting of forest on a daily basis. [02:44] This means it's like another importance of biodiversity [02:47] can't grow which means that the reminder starts [02:54] I would like to say logging how it is today. [02:57] It's an existential threat or a reminder to survive. [03:00] It's also a threat to the planet. [03:05] I need those brown Forest to store carbon dioxide to mitigate [03:08] climate change to the Sammy way of life. [03:21] The rain there today is like the protector of the land and our [03:24] culture because the rain there is like the last Warrior and it [03:29] hasn't been broken due to the colonization than the simulation [03:33] the reindeer stainless depending and relying on the land if the [03:37] reindeer can survive I needed don't think we can survive [03:40] so the future is relying on depending on the reindeers. [03:46] For me the rain there is a symbol of how the whole ecosystem [03:50] in the whole time it is doing and now we see that the birds [03:54] are being quieter and quieter the rain, [03:56] they're secured and locked us in good health before so we can [04:00] see the echo system stay. [04:09] For several years have been being in the meetings with Facebook [04:15] and they have a full rehearsal up for the Academy Awards. [04:20] And now is that Glade? [04:23] And that's not the only school I don't care. [04:28] So we looked on the other way. [04:30] So how to stop this and by doing this petition and going out [04:36] that social media and several channels lot of people realized [04:41] what's going on. [04:50] They probably step down. [04:53] From doing what they were intended to do because of our social [04:56] media strategy that opinion turned against them. [04:59] We put Arena on this play everything with that went out in public. [05:05] So everyone knew what was going on. [05:08] They couldn't handle that. [05:18] They're not decreasing because of anything that we have been [05:27] fighting for that increasing the login, right because they don't [05:30] have anything left to cut and lay blame the Sami people for it. [05:35] Like the communication don't have to take the same Titus we do [05:46] today. [05:56] And no, I don't feel hopeful about the future. 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