Green light for the BOAZU research project !

BOAZU : A sameby-driven research project investigating the cumulative impacts of environmental and social change on reindeer herding and the future for Saami youth

Presented by the Jåkkåkaska Sameby in Sweden and Sylve Blangy at the CNRS in France

The BOAZU project had been submitted by Sylvie Blangy in 2017 and has just been approved by the French Polar Institute (IPEV) which is funding the research for 4 years. It is the logical pursuance of the relationships that have already been established between Sylvie Blangy, her master student Amélie Broage and the Jåkkåkaska Sameby members as well as the Saami School board of Jokkmok.

Saami schools, Sameby members and academics will join forces to develop an integrated, interdisciplinary, collaborative participatory-action research program to explore the issues and priorities and develop an action plan. This approach will bring together local expertise and scientific knowledge in order to better understand the magnitude of changes, to analyze their impacts, and to envision the scenarios for the future. The Saami of Sapmi seek an overall view of the changes taking place rather than dealing with one question at a time.