The annual NBR NRL meeting is now over and Nils Henrik Sara from Guovdageaidnu has been reelected as leader. He has a lot of serious issues to preside over - two that were in the media this weekend were the enormous increase in wind power development plans and another being the gender balance on the board.

Arvid Jåma, a reindeer herder in the southern Sami area of Fosen, Trondelag, where NVE plan to develop an enormous wind park supplying 4038 MW, said

I see no option but to quit reindeer herding if Fosen is developed into a windmill park.

Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) is subordinated to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, and is responsible for the administration of Norway´s water and energy resources. Jåma’s attorney was clear in his criticism of the Norwegian state,

The state is pretty good at granting funds to the Sami for cultural, education and language. At the same time, they are completely absent when it comes to preventing major intervention in the pastures of the reindeer herding Sami.  The state is eager for as much development as possible.

Haugen demanded that all development plans be halted, funding be provided to Sami in order that they may properly be represented and that optons for new pasture lands not be counted out.

In another story, Elinor Guttorm Utsi was disappointed that only 2 out of 9 new board members of NBR NRL were women, which signified, she said that the organisation did not take gender equality seriously, despite criticisms.

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