A company by the name of Nordic Mining has received final approval from the Norwegian Government to go ahead and start an open-pit mine on a mountain called Engebø. This mining process intended to extract the mineral known as Rutile (used in pigment production) will remove the top of the mountain. The extraction process inevitably produces a large amount of waste, which the Norwegian government has given permission to dump in the fjord. 4 million tons of waste every year for the next 50 years have been approved, meaning that 11,000 tons of waste will be dumped straight into the fjord every day if this is not stopped.
In 2014 the Environmental Directorate of Norway did not approve this project as they assessment that the environmental consequences to the rich ecosystem in the fjord would be severe. However, just one year later, the Environmental Directorate changed their recommendation giving the go-ahead after being asked to assess the commercial benefits of the project. This blatant corruption must be exposed and stopped.
The approval of dumping toxic chemicals and heavy metals into a completely pristine fjord is an environmental crime, yet those who are protesting against it are the ones receiving fines. This fjord is the spawning grounds to a diverse ecosystem of fish, including the endangered national wild salmon. The dumping will severly impact all life in the fjord, leaving it polluted for a very long time. The contaminants will also spread out to the rest of the ocean.
The company Nordic Drilling has been stopped by performing preliminary tests for the last two weeks by groups of non-violent protesters who would not see their homes turned into a toxic waste-dump. Many have been fishing in the fjord since they were children and would like to continue to do so. These protesters have been issued severe civil service fines by Police forces. The Norwegian courts have overruled final appeals to stop this action so now appeals are being made to the EFTA court.
If this is not stopped it will result in the destruction of not only this fjord, but open up for future dumping in other fjords. Please sign the petition and help us save the beautiful fjords of Norway!
For more information and photographs of the protests please visit http://www.savethefjords.com/
