Pastoral decision‐making – evolutionary and game‐theoretical
approaches
Marius Warg Næss, PhD
CICERO ‐ Center for International Climate and Environmental Research, Fram Centre,
N‐9296
Tromsø, Norway. E‐Mail: m.w.nass@cicero.uio.no.
ABSTRACT
Differences in observed behaviours may reflect alternative strategies dependent on varying
socioeconomic circumstances aimed at achieving similar objectives. For pastoralists, for
example, it is rather self‐evident that a herder with 400 animals have different options (and
possibilities) available than one with 4. Strategies are, however, also characterised by
interdependency since the outcome of a given strategy is also dependent on the strategies
selected by others. This study investigated to what degree slaughter strategies in the Saami
reindeer husbandry are influenced by wealth differences (herd size) and what other herders are
doing. The main findings in this study were that: (1) the probability; (2) the amount; and (3) the
type of animal slaughtered were influenced by both individual herders’ herd size and the
number of animals slaughtered by neighbouring herders. Moreover, this study also found that
kinship represents a coordinating principle since the degree of genealogical relatedness had a
positive effect on the slaughtering strategies adopted by herders.