Sara Larsson, the President of the Saami Parliament in Sweden, and Egil Olli, President of the Saami Parliament in Norway, are both included in the respective state delegations to the United Nations Climate Change Conference, taking place in Copenhagen on December 5th and 6th 2009. Norway decided earlier to include the political leader of the Saami Parliament in their delegation, whereas there has been a discussion regarding the participation of the political level of the Saami Parliament in Sweden.

The question regarding political participation of the Saami Parliament in Finland in the official Finnish delegation is not yet solved, NRK Sámi Radio reports.

Indigenous peoples from the entire world are expected to Copenhagen, both as official delegates, but also as NGOs. Climate change is among the main concerns of indigenous peoples, as indigenous peoples most often experience the consequences in their livelihood.

Climate change was the topic at the seventh session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in 2008, and information can be found at the address below.

  http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/climate_change.html

(Photo: Åse Pulk, NRK Sámi Radio)