For fifteen days now, locals and young activists, led by Young Friends of the Earth Norway, have been peacefully occupying machinery to prevent test drilling at a mining site near Førde fjord, west Norway.
A set of new activists have been climbing the mountain daily to chain themselves to the mining company’s machinery, only to be arrested by police, fined €1000 EUR each and given an exclusion order not to come near the mountain site. Each day a new set of young climate campaigners climbs the mountain again to take their place.
And they plan to continue their actions all week, culminating in a demonstration at the mining site on Saturday 20th February. They have asked for international support.
To #Norway‘s PM @erna_solberg: Don’t dump toxic mining waste in Norway’s pristine fjords! #keepitintheground pic.twitter.com/AAoUu5Lie4
— 350.org Europe (@350Europe) February 16, 2016
In April last year, the Norwegian government doomed another of its world famous fjords, Førde fjord, by granting permission to Nordic Mining to mine Engebø mountain for rutile ore, and for the waste to be dumped into the nearby pristine fjord. Up to 250 million tonnes of toxic waste, including large amounts of heavy metals, could be deposited into Førde fjord over the next 50 years if the project, currently in its test phase, goes ahead. The fjord is a spawning site for cod and other important fish stocks like the threatened Atlantic salmon, and lined on the bottom with coral – this week orca wales and sea eagles were spotted.
Lenkeøyeblikk gjennom 11 dager
Video Posted by Natur og Ungdom on Thursday, February 11, 2016
Ingrid Skjoldvær, chair of Young Friends of the Earth Norway said: “
This mining project is insane, and must never be allowed to happen. Local people, marine researchers and environmentalists have protested for years that toxic dumping will be the death of the Førde fjord. We feel this is a crime against the Norwegian natural environment, as well as our biodiversity, including crucial fish stocks. We cannot stand by whilst the machines move in, and we will continue to block mining on Engebø mountain and the dumping of toxic waste in the Førde fjord.”
You can help by sending a message to Norway’s Prime Minister like the one below:
We stand with the activists fighting to save Norway’s pristine fjords! #savethefjords @erna_solberg @VidarHelgesen pic.twitter.com/qghxEUFqeh
— 350 dot org (@350) February 16, 2016