IPY EALÁT Reindeer Herding, Traditional Knowledge and Adaptation to Climate Change and Loss of Pastures Project (2007 – 2011)
        In 2009, the UArctic Board of Governors approved the establishment of the UArctic Institute of Circumpolar Reindeer Husbandry (UArctic EALÁT Institute) to maintain networks established in the Circumpolar North during the International Polar Year and to increase the cooperation related to information exchange, research and education in the circumpolar reindeer husbandry coordinated by ICR. The UArctic EALÁT Institute contribute to the building of local competence by expanding and enhancing local understanding of the challenges facing local communities who depend on traditional livelihoods as a result of climate change and other factors related to globalization, such as loss pastures, a key concern for reindeer herding societies.
The EALÁT project developed a Bachelor’s “Learning by Herding” program in reindeer husbandry with a focus on human-coupled ecosystems, a MOOC for the Sámi Reindeer Herders, an online Master’s level course “Adaptation to Globalization in the Arctic: the Case of Reindeer Husbandry”, and organized two teacher training courses on sustainable reindeer husbandry, traditional knowledge and climate change.
The Project was endorsed by the Arctic Council and supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norwegian Ministry of Government Administration, Reform and Church Affairs, Norwegian Research Council, Nordic Council of Ministers, and others.

EALLIN Reindeer Herding Youth Project (2012 – 2015)
The EALLIN Project was built on the successes and methodologies of the IPY EALÁT Project. EALLIN was an Arctic Council project of the Russian Federation and Norway in partnership with the Sámi Council, UArctic and other partnerd. Led and implemented by the Association of World Reindeer Herders (WRH) in cooperation with the International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry and the UArctic EALÁT Institute, the Project brought together over 160 youth from different reindeer herding peoples in 12 community-based workshops across the Arctic.
The EALLIN Project involved young herders, scientists and experts in the field of traditional knowledge, natural resources and environment, Indigenous peoples, the executive and legislative authorities, NGOs and the media; it became a platform for the synergy between science and traditional knowledge giving an in depth understanding of the complex human-ecological relationships in reindeer husbandry, and expanding the co-production of knowledge about adaptation.
The Project was endorsed by the Arctic Council and supported by the Prince Albert of Monaco Foundation, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norwegian Barents Secretariat, Sámi Parliament, and others.

EALLU I: Indigenous Youth, Arctic Change and Food Culture Project (2015 – 2019)
The Arctic Council EALLU Project was managed by WRH and ICR and co-led by Canada, Denmark/Greenland, Norway, Russia, USA, the Aleut International Association and the Sámi Council. It was co-managed by Indigenous youth, as a capacity building effort for addressing the Arctic change. The project documented, systematized, and enhanced the traditional knowledge of food cultures of Arctic indigenous and reindeer herding peoples; worked towards knowledge building and experience exchange in and between Indigenous reindeer herding societies in the Arctic. The Project resulted in a series of 53 separate EALLU youth seminars, community-based workshops, student events, science seminars, business gatherings, food exhibitions and so on, held by the Project throughout the circumpolar north in 2015-2019.
One of its key outcomes became the cookbook “EALLU – Indigenous Youth, Food Knowledge & Arctic Change“ produced by the group of pan-Arctic Indigenous youth. It was a deliverable for the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Fairbanks (2017). At the 23rd International Gourmand Awards in Yantai, China (2018) the EALLU book was awarded the Best Food Book of the World, Across All Categories in competition with 1,372 other books from over 70 national states.

RIEVDAN Rapid Change Project (2015 – 2022)
The Rievdan Rapid Change Project is led by the Sámi University of Applied Sciences (SUAS) and co-led by Svein D. Mathiesen responsible for the Work Package 3 and partially Work Package 4. The overarching goal of the Rievdan Project is to build up a master program in reindeer herding with ICR focusing on the traditional knowledge of food culture, sustainability, and development of two ways of knowing research and methodology framework. As a multidisciplinary project, Rievdan provides valuable research-based knowledge that resulted in multiple publications of the peer-reviewed papers in international journals (see Annex 1), and a two-volume book entitled “Reindeer Husbandry: Adaptation to the Changing Arctic, Volume 1” and “Reindeer Husbandry: Resilience in the Changing Arctic, Volume 2”.

Horizon 2020 – INTERACT Project (2016 – 2020)
As an ICR employee, Svein D. Mathiesen was responsible for developing Work Package 9 Project No. 730938 D9.1 – INTERACT Guide for Local Adaptation to Environmental Change. The aim of this work was to develop a guide for INTERACT research stations and indigenous and local communities to facilitate and strengthen cooperation on adaptation research related to Arctic change and integrated local observation systems. ICR developed “INTERACT guide for facilitating local adaptation to environmental change”, a guide on how to manage cooperation between local communities and scientists and how to consider and respect the ethical considerations in co-production of knowledge.

Training of Arctic Indigenous Youth for Arctic Change (2018 – 2020)
By focusing on capacity building of Sámi youth in Norway, the Project aims to support the Nordic Governments’ ambition to reach the targets of the Aichi Protocol and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in particular related to Arctic Indigenous peoples food systems, i.e., awareness raising, Indigenous participation, sustainable management of terrestrial ecosystems, and inclusive societies for sustainable development.
ICR as the Project leader supported by WRH in cooperation with Nord University in Bodø refined the concept of Food Innovation Leadership, responding directly to the Arctic Council Fairbanks Declaration of 2017, developed a Bachelor-level 7,5 ECTS study credit in the Nord Business School, and organized two pilot training program for Arctic Indigenous youth on food innovation and business development, based on traditional Indigenous knowledge. The Project also developed and implemented a practical course focusing on creative processes identifying business ideas and development of new businesses, with Nord University (Norway) and North-Eastern Federal University (Russian Federation).

EALLU II: Arctic Indigenous Youth: Traditional Knowledge and Food Culture Project (2019 – 2022)
The EALLU II Project is an Arctic Council project led by ICR. Legacy of the EALÁT, EALLIN and EALLU I, this Project is made by and for Indigenous youth with the purpose to document and enhance Indigenous peoples’ food culture and traditional knowledge for food security and sovereignty, economic development, resilience and adaptation in the face of Arctic change.
The project involves a series of community-based youth workshops as a part of the education program Food Innovation Leadership in collaboration with universities in Norway, Russia and North America. The Project also contributes in the Arctic Council to the development of methods for participatory environmental observations in collaboration with actors in Alaska. Endorsed by the Arctic Council and supported by the Arctic Council Permanent Participants organizations, Nordic Council of Ministers, and others.


Training of Future Arctic Indigenous Leaders International Course Program (2020 – present)
In collaboration with Harvard University, UArctic EALÁT Institute at ICR is developing a separate international course program Training of Future Arctic Indigenous Leaders. Participation in the program will provide indigenous youth with expertise in leadership, resilience, climate adaptation and crisis management. Project organizers are committed to empowering Reindeer Herding and Indigenous youth to be leaders in their communities, learn about and share common experiences and differences in about impacts of climate change on Arctic communities and ecosystems with particular attention to food systems, permafrost thaw, social-ecological resilience and gain skills in communications and crisis management.

EU-PolarNet 2 Project (2020 – 2024)
EU-PolarNet brings together the world’s largest consortium of expertise and infrastructure for polar research, connecting science and society and aims to improve co-ordination between EU member polar research institutions and all the partner organizations.
ICR is research partner in Work Package 2: Stakeholder Involvement & Research Prioritisation. Svein D. Mathiesen’s activities in the Project led to the development of Research Priorities, Strategies and Tools document (Task 2.1) that further sustain ongoing dialogue and co-operation with polar stakeholders through meaningful interaction in the future research, information exchange and joint involvement.

NordForsk Feasibility Study (2020 – 2021)
The Project was aimed at testing a methodology for knowledge co-production between researchers and local indigenous when designing research projects to support Arctic Indigenous communities and livelihoods with case studies in reindeer husbandry in Finland and Eastern Siberia; and consequently developing recommendations for enhancing reindeer herding communities’ ability to adapt to climate change.
ICR and WRH are responsible project partners. The Project was conducted in collaboration with North-Eastern Federal University, University of Oulu, The Association of Indigenous Peoples of North of Republic Sakha (Yakutia), and Finish Sámi Reindeer Herders Association.

WAGE Project: From Reindeer to Pork – Arctic Meat Change in Indigenous Communities (2021 – present)
The WAGE Project on Arctic Economy and Social Transitions is hosted by the Université Laval, Canada and supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. ICR is a WAGE science partner with an aim to describe current inequalities and associated factors and practices related to meat consumption in Indigenous reindeer herding communities.

Global UNEP-GEF Reindeer Herding and Resilience (2022 – present)
Reindeer Herding and Resilience is a global GEF-UNEP project to address land degradation and peatland deterioration by building a base of reindeer herders’ knowledge and developing reindeer herding youth. The project aims to create a sustainable future for reindeer herding communities, ensuring their traditional Indigenous practices are preserved and integrated into modern land management strategies.