Saami Council strengthens work on environmental issues

The Saami Council has recruited Julius Mihkkal Lindi from Kárášjohka - Karasjok as a project advisor in the Arctic and Environmental Unit of the Saami Council. Julius will fill the position as Head of Delegation to the Arctic Council’s Working Group, Arctic Contaminants Action Program (ACAP), and co-chair in the Indigenous Peoples' Contaminant Action Program (IPCAP) Expert Group.

 His responsibility will, among other things, be to increase Sámi peoples' participation in the newly continued Solid Waste Management project of the Arctic Council.

He has since 2020 been active in the nationwide Sámi Youth organization in Norway, Noereh, currently holding the position of vice-chair on the board. He grew up in Karasjok, Norway, and has recently been taking a Master of Science in Applied Physics and Mathematics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim.

– We are very excited to have recruited Julius with his unique competence from his STEM education. This will strengthen our overall work on environmental issues and give us a new perspective on the work in ACAP and IPCAP, says Áile Javo, Secretary General of the Saami Council.

Saami Council's earlier work on Waste Management has been carried out in the Kola peninsula, during the Kola Waste Project. Its goal was to "map local sources of possible pollution (waste dumpsites), clean up previously mapped abandoned and unauthorized dumpsites, and, thus, contribute to a better environment for the Sámi communities of the Kola peninsula (Russian Federation)." Its work has been deemed highly welcome and successful by the Indigenous Sámis and the local people living in the affected communities.

– Solid Waste Management will serve as a natural follow-up to the Kola Waste project and extend the waste management work to the rest of Sápmi and the Arctic region. This expansion also opens up opportunities for collaborative initiatives with new partners and Permanent Participants of the Arctic Council, says Julius.

– With the resumption of Working Group level activities in the Arctic Council, I hope to bring fruitful contributions to the IPCAP Expert Group in the scope of Solid Waste Management and set up the stage for valuable projects in our communities where this sort of work is needed