Working Together: Reflections on a Transdisciplinary Effort of Co-producing Knowledge on Supplementary Feeding in Reindeer Husbandry Across Fennoscandia

Combining different knowledge systems by collaborative processes is widely recognized within environmental governance. In the context of co-management of natural resources, the benefits of integrating different knowledge systems are seen as leading to both an increased empowerment of local communities, as well as a way to identify and clarify the potential impact of policies or management on local livelihoods. In reindeer husbandry all over Fennoscandia, supplementary feeding has become increasingly necessary to buffer shortages in grazing resources, or to react to other rapid and profound social, economic, and environmental changes now taking place within the region. As experiences with supplementary feeding differ widely within and between countries of the region, we endeavoured to create an arena for reindeer herders and researchers from Finland, Norway and Sweden that would allow them to share experiences, knowledge and perspectives on supplementary feeding, and to discuss the potential challenges and opportunities associated with it.