Wind power operators and reindeer herding district working with maps – Uusiutuvat magazine highlights the more targeted collaboration

Since 2019, stakeholders in the reindeer herding and wind power sectors have been learning from one another, building collaboration, and defining best practices for coordinating reindeer herding and wind power projects hosted by Akordi, the Reindeer Herders’ Association, and Renewables Finland.

Over the past year, this joint effort has evolved into a more targeted model, with all parties satisfied with the results. Discussions have focused particularly on the cumulative impacts of various projects.

The joint meeting in January between the Western reindeer herding district and wind power operators active in the area was the first time that project developers operating in the same area came together to meet with the reindeer herding cooperatives. Discussions continued in two additional meetings involving the Palojärvi and Lohijärvi reindeer herding cooperatives, which face the greatest project pressure.

It was precisely this reindeer herding district-level approach that was found to be useful in terms of cumulative impacts, and the model is recommended for other regions as well.

“It has been helpful and nice to see that as people have gotten to know each other, it has naturally made working together easier. There is now mutual understanding on both sides. It’s definitely worth refining the concept in other regions. It’s also been fun in a way—we’ve taken big steps in a positive sense. If a new project or something like that comes up, it’ll be much easier for both sides to get started,” says Tapio Vuolo, reindeer herder for the Palojärvi reindeer herding cooperative.

Read more in the article by Jonna Kangasoja and Emma Luoma: Uusiutuvat magazine 1/2026

Read more about building a long-term cooperation forum in the project description: Building a Collaborative Platform for Reindeer Husbandry and Wind Power