Menneskelig påvirkning på alle villreinområder i Norge. Et nytt Dashbord som leverer kart og statistiske estimater til støtte for forvaltningsprosesser

The Norwegian government has recently introduced a ‘Quality norm’ to classify the status of the 24 wild reindeer management areas with reference to three parameters, one of which is human impact on habitats: Target 3 (Rolandsen et al. 2022). Further processes must assess the main anthropogenic drivers in each area, to support the development of action plans to achieve the quality targets. The process is currently based on expert assessments. Independently of this process, statistical models combined reindeer GPS‐data with data on vegetation, climate, topography, human activity and infrastructure (roads, cabins, hydropower etc.). These provided statistical estimates of the cumulative impact of human activities on habitat quality at fine scale (100 m) in all areas. Panzacchi et al. (2022b) shows that the results are robust with respect to available reindeer data (GPS and citizen science), are comparable across areas, and match fairly well with local knowledge. Models can also predict the effect of mitigation measures (or new infrastructure) through scenario analyses, and are currently used to support the development of action plans in Rondane (Niebuhr et al. 2023b). The report presents a new Dashboard (https://www.nina.no/apps/villrein.habitattap) that shows: 1) statistical estimates of habitat loss; 2) estimates of human impact and its drivers; 3) ranks all
wild reindeer areas based on habitat loss. The Dashboard has been developed on behalf of the Norwegian Environment Agency to make statistical results available in the form of high‐resolution maps and user‐friendly tables and diagrams, to support management processes. The report first summarizes the number or length of infrastructure within each wild reindeer area. It then provides estimates of their cumulative effects on reindeer grazing areas, based on the importance and zone of influence of different types of infrastructure. Note that the Dashboard focuses on habitat loss (Target 3A), although estimates for fragmentation and corridors are also available (https://www.nina.no/Naturmangfold/Hjortedyr/reindeermapsnorway). The results show a significant number of infrastructures in the wild reindeer areas: 24,291 private cabins, 220 tourist cabins, 4,085 buildings, 9,543 km of marked trails, 3,598 km of ski tracks, 2,605 power lines, 1,028 km2 of water reservoirs, 42 km of railways, 6,649 km of private roads, and 1,194 km of public roads. Rondane has the largest amount of private cabins (7,397) and private roads (1,921 km), Hardangervidda the largest amount of trails (2,051 km), Setesdal Ryfylke the largest amount of hydropower (345 km2) and power lines (616 km). The Dashboard then presents estimates of the cumulative effects of these infrastructures. In summer, only 21% of reindeer habitat is estimated to be both suitable and undisturbed; 42% also provides
suitable natural resources, but is also disturbed (human footprint). The human footprint is smallest in winter (20%), and largest during the calving period (48%). Some of the smallest reindeer areas, e.g. Norefjell‐Reinsjøfjell, and Rondane, among the largest, are estimated to suffer the greatest habitat loss. The most important drivers of habitat loss in winter are cabins and buildings; roads, cabins and ski slopes exert the strongest effects during the calving period, while buildings, grazing animals, hiking trails and roads have the greatest impact in summer. Areas with a high density of infrastructure affect habitat quality most strongly, and over larger areas. Tourism mainly affects the central parts of the reindeer areas, while ‘transportation and buildings’ affects the peripheral areas, although the effect
may penetrate inside the reindeer areas. In general, the largest reindeer areas provide more preferred habitat than the smaller, isolated areas, which are often bounded by roads that enable hikers, fishermen, hunters etc to access to the core reindeer areas. The results have been developed from a research perspective, and local knowledge was only integrated in a few areas. The potential for improvement is therefore great and can be achieved by ensuring a robust anchoring in both scientific literature and local knowledge.