From wcsbeau Sun Feb 27 00:51:16 1994 Return-Path: Received: from superior.YP.nobel (superior.ccs.carleton.ca) by alfred.ccs.carleton.ca (4.1/SMI-4.0) id AA22235; Sun, 27 Feb 94 00:51:14 EST From: wcsbeau (OPIRG) Received: by superior.YP.nobel (4.1/Sun-Client) id AA25604; Sun, 27 Feb 94 00:50:47 EST Date: Sun, 27 Feb 94 00:50:47 EST Message-Id: <9402270550.AA25604@superior.YP.nobel> Subject: VUOTOS- WHY and WHY NOT Apparently-To: wcsbeau@ccs.carleton.ca Status: O Date: 11 Jun 1993 19:57:53 U From: "Matti Pellinen" Subject: VUOTOS- WHY and WHY NOT?! ( To: "Matti Pellinen" VUOTOS: WHY and WHY NOT?! (35kt) <<<<<< Attached TEXT file follows >>>>>> For our international readers: Please, download these three articles, they are long but by reading them you'll know almost everything about this huge reservoir, 240 km2, that will cover a part of Finnish Lapland in Europe if it's built. International pressure can be of great help. It was asked already in 1992 when the government broke it's promise made in 1982. Nothing has changed. We need to spread information about this reservoir. These articles cover everything: 1. WHY VUOTOS Written by Kemijoki Oy hydropower company 2. THE VUOTOS RESERVOIR WILL POSE A THREAT TO LAPPISH NATURE Written by The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation 3. THE FIGHT AGAINST THE VUOTOS RESERVOIR IS NOT OVER Written by Lassi Karivalo, World Wildlife Fund Finland ARTICLE 1. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ATTENTION! The following information about VUOTOS-reservoir comes from the Kemijoki hydropower company. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- WHY VUOTOS... * Hydropower. Hydropower is an entirely domestic form of energy; it boosts employment in Finland and saves foreign currency. * Clean energy. Cleanly generated hydropower is easy on the environment. Its potential adverse effects, which are known and of limited scope, can be dealt with through joint action. * 5-10 per cent increase in the volume of regulation energy. Hydropower can be used to generate valuable regulation energy to replace expensive gas-turbine regulation energy, and to avoid the use of fossil fuels in general. Sulphur, nitrogen and carbon dioxide emissions can thus be avoided. * Capacity for storing the flood energy of the River Kemijoki for use in winter; decrease in wasteful diversion and flood risks. The Kemijoki watercourse has great variations in flow rates and only a few levelIing lake basins. * Permanent tax revenues for the municipalities of the area and employment for a ten-year period: for 300 people in Lapland, and for 200 people elsewhere in Finland. The present outlook for the economy of northern Finland is rather bleak, and the population cannot be guaranteed sufficient income. Building new hydropower will bring additional investment to northern Finland. * Limited social impact: only 20 individuals will have to move from the area. In spite of energy conservation efforts, more electricity must be generated, and with cleaner methods. Rivers in their natural state should be kept intact, but it is sensible to make use of rivers that have already been harnessed. Compensation procedures have been agreed with many of the people who will have to move. ALMOST A HUNDRED PEOPLE EMPLOYED TODAY The Vuotos project includes both the reservoir and a 37-megawatt power plant. The planned reservoir will cover an area of 23,800 hectares, which is less than 0.5 per cent of the total Kemijoki catchment area. In September 1992, Kemijoki Oy had acquired more than 9,100 hectares of land in the reservoir area, on the basis of land owners' offers. So far, this has resulted in payment of more than FIM 50 million to landowners, with more than 80 per cent of these compensation funds remaining in Lapland. The landowners have the right to compensation in the form of land or money. Fellings started in the area Kemijoki Oy started felling in the Vuotos area in August 1992, in accordance with the Act on private forests. The area includes some 10,000 hectares of productive forest land (annual growth 1 m3/hectare), most of which has been cut, ploughed or planted. Since 1982. the forest land has been used for forestry purposes, so it was no longer virgin wilderness. If all timber in the reservoir area were cut, there would be enough wood to operate the Kemijarvi pulp mill for four months. In autumn 1992, almost 100 people were working on the Vuotos project on a full-time basis, carrying out land surveys, investigations, planning and fellings. Kemijoki Oy will finance some 90 per cent of the reservoir project. The total cost estimate is FIM 1,000 million, and the lead time is 10 years. INLANDS MOST EXHAUSTIVELY STUDIED HYDROPOWER PROJECT The Vuotos reservoir project dates back to the 1970s. at which time it was known as the Kemihaara basin project. This project was abandoned at the beginning of the 1970s for environmental reasons, and the reservoir planned today covers the present Vuotos area. By 1974, when the general plan for the Vuotos reservoir was completed, 25 extensive surveys had been carried out on the project, and these surveys have been followed up by others. Almost 50 research projects have been undertaken to date, and research is continuing. Vuotos has been studied more thoroughly than any other hydropower project in Finland's history. KeVe model provides support The solid store of experience gained at the Lokka and Porttipahta reservoirs over a period of more than 20 years provides a firm basis for a reliable assessment of the environmental impact of Vuotos. Observations. supplementary research and the Kemijoki watercourse model (KeVe) can be used to predict the impact that Vuotos will have on the watercourse. Although the area's ecology and fishery may undergo considerable changes at first, they will be restored to normal within 10-15 years. Research has shown that the higher the humus content of the water, the higher the mercury level in predatory fish. Thanks to intensive fishing and rapid fish growth, since the early 1980s mercury levels in fish from the Lokka and Porttipahta reservoirs have been equal to or below those of fish from natural lakes with corresponding humus contents. To date, there has been no need to restrict sales of fish from these reservoirs. Progress through cooperation The Vuotos reservoir project is proceeding as planned. and the surveys carried out so far have revealed no surprises or points likely to prevent implementation of the project. Kemijoki Oy is continuing to conduct environmental surveys and is preparing an assessment of the environmental effects of the project. Together with the local authorities of the reservoir area, the provincial federation of Lapland and supplier companies, Kemijoki Oy has established a comprehensive system for monitoring the progress of the project. Profitability calculations, which take into account the overall economy, energy supplies and needs of society, will be reviewed by various interested parties. It is estimated that the project will produce energy worth almost FIM 100 million, which certainly proves that it meets the profitability targets. PROJECT MILESTONES 1960 It all started with the Kemihaara basin project. 1974 The Kemihaara basin project was abandoned. General plan for the Vuotos reservoir was completed. 1982 The Council of State decided to cancel the planning and building of the Vuotos reservoir. 1985 Changing attitudes in Lapland brought new support for the building of Vuotos. Various interested parties in the province insisted that the Vuotos project be reassessed. 1987 New building conditions were published for Vuotos, and official representatives of the provincial federation of Lapland voted on the project: 39 for, 5 against. 1990 Kemijoki Oy began to acquire land in the Vuotos area on the basis of sales offers from landowners. 1992 The Council of State issued a decision in principle initiating preparations and licensing of the Vuotos project. In September, Kemijoki Oy sought the Water Rights Court's approval for the building of the Vuotos reservoir and power plant, and for regulation of the watercourse. The interested parties will have a chance to voice their opinions and make claims at a hearing scheduled to review the regulation plan and to determine the impact of the project. The Water Rights Court will review the case and make a ruling on the application. Kemijoki Oy will be ordered to pay compensations for possible losses or damages. The Court can be expected to approve the project, if the benefits of the project are deemed considerably more significant than the losses. The project must be approved, if it is judged to be in the public interest. The decision of the Water Rights Court can be appealed. K E M I J O K I OY Valtakatu9-1 1,SF-96100 ROVANIEMI Finland Puh./Tel. +358-60-32511 Telefax +358-60-3252325 Malminkatu 16,SF00100 HELSINKI Finland Puh./Tel. 358-0-6090571 Telefax +358-0-6941846 ARTICLE 2. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ATTENTION! The following information about VUOTOS-reservoir comes from the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation ------------------------------------------------------------------------. The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation wishes to draw to the attention of environmentally conscious people and responsible citizens world-wide an affair in which the Finnish government has continually broken its promises. THE VUOTOS RESERVOIR WILL POSE A THREAT TO LAPPISH NATURE AND DESTROY PART OF IT The Finnish government is once again debating whether to permit the construction of a giant reservoir and hydro-electric power station in the Finnish part of Lapland. Covering at its maximum around 230 square kilometres, the reservoir would inundate one of Scandinavia's larger peatland areas which provides a home for many rare or endangered plants and birds. Dozens of families would also be evicted from their homesteads. The effect of the reservoir, which would be subject to radical water level regulation, would be felt for hundreds of kilometres along the water system connected to the reservoir, even as far downstream as the Baltic Sea. A battle has been raging over the construction of the Vuotos reservoir and its attendant hydro-power station for around 30 years. The plan is to site the artificial basin at the headwaters of the River Kemijoki, in eastern Lapland. Originally this watercourse was one of Europe's foremost salmon rivers. Local residents and nature conservationists have protested vociferously and constantly against the proposed reservoir. In the autumn of 1982 the Finnish government, having reached a decision, stated that no reservoir would be built and that the plan would be "relinquished indefinitely". The government at that time promised that this decision would be binding for future governments. Part of the consequence of the decision was that many families moved back into the region and resumed their farming. GOVERNMENT LOSES NO TIME IN BREAKING PROMISE The government's promise held good until the spring of 1991, when a centre party/ right wing coalition government came into power. Almost the first thing this new government did was to go back on the previous government's word, even though some of its ministers were among those who had quashed the plan. The purpose of the Vuotos reservoir would be to collect melt water draining in the spring into the River Kemijoki from the wilderness of eastern Lapland, and to release the water in appropriate amounts during the winter. The basin would occupy a place covered at the moment by mires and wilderness areas, its surface level varying annually, due to regulation, by at least eight metres. Because the artificial basin would lie on top of low-lying swampy ground and because of the water level regulation, the environmental impact would, it is feared, be extremely severe. In late winter the surface area of the reservoir would shrink to a fraction of its size with the water level at its upper, late spring, limit. Due to this marked oscillation, the bed and shores of the reservoir would be constantly subject to erosion. Large quantities of peat and humus would be freed from the swampy bottom, to be carried into Lake Kemijarvi and the River Kemijoki downstream of the reservoir, and thence into the upper part of the Baltic, the Bay of Bothnia. Mercury bound up in the bottom sediments would also be released in large amounts. In an activated form this element would enter the aquatic communities both in the reservoir and in the river lower down by way of fish and other organisms. As has happened previously in Lapland, the contaminated fish would be unfit for human consumption for a long time into the future. NO ATTEMPT TO CARRY OUT EIA ON SITE The Government promised last spring that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the Vuotos reservoir would be made before a final decision, which will possibly be heard later this year, was reached. Despite its written assurance, the Government has shown itself to be unable to keep even that promise. The National Coalition Party Minister of the Environment, Ms Sirpa Pietikainen, backed by left wing and green opposition groups, has demanded an EIA before the final decision is made. Against the bastion of the ruling Centre Party, which has aligned itself with the northern Finnish power utilities who most steadfastly support the Vuotos plan, this has had little effect, however. One of the most eager protagonists of the reservoir is the Centre Party's Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Kauko Juhantalo. Green party MPs last summer lodged an interpellation with the Government in respect of the Vuotos reservoir construction plan. After the Government went back on its word in the autumn, four green party MPs went on a hunger strike in protest against the Government's betrayal. The Social Democratic and People's Democratic Parties, as well as numerous citizens' organisations and influential private persons, have condemned the Government's conduct. The ranks of the other government party, the National Coalition Party, are split on the issue. MPs belonging to this party are now, however, like the opposition, demanding an EIA. FINLAND BREAKS INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS Finland has signed and ratified an ECE agreement obliging its government to carry out an EIA before embarking on a major project liable to have ecological consequences outside the country's own borders. It appears that even this undertaking means little to Finland's ruling parties. Due to the underhand manner in which the Vuotos affair has been handled, international faith in the Finnish government in connection with environmental issues is being sorely tried. If the Vuotos reservoir is indeed built, it will represent the third regulated artificial basin on the Kemijoki watercourse. The mouth of the river was dammed immediately after World War II, since when a number of hydro-power stations have sprung up along the river, as well as two of Europe's largest reservoirs, Lokka and Porttipahta. In 1970 Europe's largest and most ecologically valuable aapa mire was flooded by the 40,000 hectare Lokka Reservoir. Vuotos would result in many endangered European species losing their habitats or being drowned. Birds like the peregrine (Falco peregrinus) habitually nest in the area. The reservoir would also result in the destruction of valuable fish stocks in the as-yet undisturbed upper reaches of the river, in addition to inundating the traditional nesting grounds of birds like the bean goose, crane and whooper swan. Kokonaapa, one of Europe's largest and thus most valuable, aapa mires would also lie under water. Aapa mires are a kind of peatland adapted to the heavy rainfall of Northwest Europe; they are virtually treeless. Such mires are so rare in the world at large that the Finnish term for them 'aapa' is virtually international. The reservoir would also have an adverse effect on reindeer husbandry in the region. No less than three Reindeer herdsmen's Associations in the region would be affected. More directly, the drinking water of tens of thousands of people living in the Lake Kemijarvi region would be jeopardised, as the pure ground water supplying these people would be partially covered by the artificial lake. Along the Kemijoki waterway, only the River Ounasjoki, which is a tributary, and the main river's headwaters, remain unharnessed. The Ounasjoki was preserved in the 1980s as a result of pressure from private citizens. The headwaters constitute the area currently under threat. TO EVEN OUT CONSUMPTION PEAKS AT FIFTH NUCLEAR POWER STATION The Finnish state has a 90 percent holding in Kemijoki Oy, the company that owns the River Kemijoki power stations and which is the most eager protagonist of the Vuotos reservoir plan. However, in principle all the industrial interests in favour of the construction of Finland's fifth nuclear power plant also support the Vuotos project. The power station on the Vuotos reservoir dam would be only a minor, 35 megawatt, plant. At the same time the reservoir would bring an increase of 50-85 megawatts from power stations further down river, so that the overall benefit would be in the region of 85-135 megawatts - not much by power utility standards. Advocates of the reservoir hold that the power generated by the plant would enable electricity consumption peaks at the proposed fifth nuclear power station to be levelled out. Finnish environmentalists counteract this by pointing out that the energy produced could easily be conserved, for instance by altering the electricity tariff policy, and by investing in the efficient use of electricity and in energy-saving equipment and methods. It has been calculated that the cost of the Vuotos reservoir would be about FIM one billion (DMK 400 billion). The actual costs may rise well above this, despite the fact that there is no intention to harvest the enormous peat reserves in the area that would be covered by water. Moreover, the power company refuses to fell all the trees that would be inundated, unless the Finnish State undertakes to foot the bill for the work, totalling tens of millions of Finnmarks. Benefits to the local population would be limited to offers of jobs during the construction period. Even the Government's official survey team reached the conclusion that the number of permanent jobs lost in agriculture, forestry and reindeer husbandry would exceed the number of temporary construction jobs. We appeal for your help in saving the upper reaches of the River Kemijoki and Lake Kemijarvi! The Vuotos Movement For up-to-date news on the issue and forwarding of petitions, contact one of the coordinators: Pirjo-Riitta Oinaala The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation Peramiehenkatu 11 A 8, SF-O0150 Helsinki, Finland tel. +358-0-642881, fax. +358-0-6221815 email: oinaala@sll.fi (Internet) Liisa Kantola Regional Secretary Lapin luonnonsuojelupiiri Maakuntakatu 18, SF-96200 Rovaniemi, Finland tel. +358-60-311550, fax. +358-60-317705 ARTICLE 3. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ATTENTION! The following information comes from the WWF Baltic Bulletin ----------------------------------------------------------------------- THE FIGHT AGAINST THE VUOTOS RESERVOIR IS NOT OVER BY LASSI KARIVALO THE VUOTOS RESERVOIR WILL HAVE A SERIOUS NEGATIVE IMPACT NOT ONLY ON THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE VUOTOS REGION IN FINLAND, BUT ALSO ON A MUCH WIDER AREA REACHING EVEN THE NORTHERN PARTS OF THE GULF OF BOTHNIA. AND THE IRONY OF IT IS THAT THIS HUGE ENERGY-GENERATING CONSTRUCTION WILL NOT EVEN BE PROFITABLE. BUT THE RESERVOIR COULD STILL BE STOPPED. In June 1992 Finland's Council of State made a Decision-in-Principle not to build the Vuotos Reservoir (see WWF Baltic Bulletin 2/92, page 22). The Reservoir will be used for energy production and is part of the Finnish energy production programme and linked with the building of a fifth nuclear power station in Finland. The Finnish Environment Minister voted against the decision. Already in August the powerplant company Kemijoki Oy announced that the felling of trees in the area would start, and at the same time a group of Members of Parliament proposed a motion to the Parliament that the Vuotos area should be protected by Special Law. In September the Finnish Government Committee for the Environment decided to take the motion to debate. Now it is up to the Water Rights Appeal Court to decide. WWF Finland, Finnish Association for Nature Conservation and other nature conservation and environmental organizations in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Germany have previously criticized the Government's plans to build the Vuotos Reservoir and now the actual decision. In this article more detailed arguments are given for the opinion of WWF Finland that the Reservoir should not be built. YEARS BEFORE THE FINAL DECISION There are already two major water reservoirs - Porttipahta and Lokka - in the catchment area of Kemijoki in the Finnish Lapland. The first plans for a third reservoir, Vuotos, were made public in the 1950s and planning started in the 1960s. The damming-up of Ounasjoki River was prevented by Special Law. In 1982 the Government decided that the reservoir should, after all, not be built. The decision was decreed as binding to all future Finnish Governments. Funds for the development of the area were granted by the state and people felt safe to move back. But in 1987 Kemijoki Oy submitted new plans for the building of the reservoir, and soon after the Government decided that the 1982 decree would no longer be binding for the present Government. By the recent Decision-in-Principle the Government has granted the Kemijoki Oy the right to appeal to the Water Rights Appeal Court for a building permit. The decision has, in a way, cleared up the situation. Only after the coming legal proceedings will we know what will happen. At the moment the case is lost to neither party. The time lapse between the Decision-in-Principle and a legally binding decision of the Water Rights Appeal Court will be several years. The proceedings are also very likely to be characterized by severe disagreements and disputes. The Pro Vuotos Group and nature conservation organizations are poised for a delayed struggle to prevent the building of the Reservoir. SUBMERGED NATURE CONSERVATION SITES If the Vuotos Reservoir is built several sites still in their natural state, with considerable national and regional natural values, will be submerged. The water level will be raised enough to cover 240 km2 of forests and swamp land as well as large areas of riverine habitats. An extensive land, swamp and river ecosystem will be destroyed. The Rytivaara Palokangas ridge area, which is part of the Finnish National Ridge Protection Programme, would be included. Only the highest parts of the area will be above the water as detached islands and islets. The Reservoir will wipe out geologically interesting landscapes formed during the last Ice Age about 15,000 years ago. The Keminsaari Islands will disappear altogether. They were formed in an area where the Kemijoki River flows in several branches through a delta deposit which also dates back to the Ice Age. The vegetation of the islands includes valuable floodplain species. The area has been used as pastures for cattle, and that has benefited the flora. Many nationally and regionally endangered plants grow on the islands. They also harbour birds. A colony of hundreds of sand martins (Riparia riparia) nest on the sand bank of the biggest of the Keminsaari Islands. Kokonaapa is classified as a regionally valuable string fen (aapa bog). From a conservation point of view especially its open centre is an important flark bog. It is also a nesting area of the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), which is classified as very endangered in Finland. Kokonaapa was initially to be included in the Finnish National Swamp Protection Programme, but was omitted mainly on the request of the peat production industry. In the north-eastern part of the planned Vuotos Reservoir is the lush Katosaapa area, which includes several types of fen land. Unfortunately the vegetation of this area has not yet been investigated in detail. It is known, however, that several regionally endangered plants can be found here. NUTRIENT INCREASE DOWNSTREAM The impact of the Vuotos Reservoir on the downstream water system has been forecast by computer models, which only give an overall estimate of what will happen. During the first year the oxygen con tent of the water will be reduced to 1-3 mg per litre. Oxygen deficient water from the reservoir will then flow into Kemijoki River, where the present oxygen content is about 12 mg per litre. As a consequence the reduction of the oxygen content will be felt all the way further down to Lake Kemijaervi. The phosphorous content of the water in Kemijoki River down to its mouth, and in the northern parts of the Gulf of Bothnia, will increase consider ably. Lake Kemijaervi will become eutrophicated to such an extent that it will cause great damage to the limnological processes in the lake as well as to the quality of the water for various uses. There are no natural basins on the way from Vuotos to the Gulf of Bothnia, where nutrients can be deposited in sediments. The present input of phosphorous from Kemijoki River to the northern parts of the Gulf of Bothnia is about 400 tonnes per year. If the Vuotos Reservoir is built this input will increase by 1.5 per cent, which is about the same as the present discharge from the industry of this area. This increase will affect most of the water within 10 kilometres from the mouth of the river. Such an effect should be taken most seriously in this specific area of the Baltic Sea, where phosphorous is limiting to growth. Increased phosphorous concentrations can thus cause marine eutrophication in the Gulf of Bothnia. Like all other countries around the Baltic Finland made a commitment at the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting in 1988 to reduce the national emissions of phosphorous and nitrogen with 50 percent by the year 1995. In order to achieve this drastic water protection measures are called for, not the creation of new sources of nutrients. Further more, due to industrial discharges the surroundings of the town of Kemi is already one of the hotspots indicated in the Joint Comprehensive Action Programme. LESS SALMON UPSTREAM? No investigations of the possible release and environmental impact of heavy metals from the Vuotos Reservoir have been made yet. It is, however, essential that such investigations be made before the start of the proceedings for a construction permit. Based on the experience of the Lokka and Porttipahdas reservoirs there is every reason to assume that at least the mercury load will in crease to such an extent that the consumption of fish from the Vuotos Reservoir must be restricted. In the Vuotos area extensive areas of forestland have been ploughed to improve timber yield. If submerged these soils are likely to contribute to the increase of mercury in the food chain. The Vuotos Reservoir will also block the way for fish, mainly salmon, on their way up to the spawning grounds in the upper reaches of Kemijoki River. The increased oxygen demand in the reservoir will also cause many fish to have to move further up the river, where they will then have to compete with local trout populations. STRONG LOCAL OPINION The local inhabitants are strongly against the building of the reservoir. To them it would mean a dramatic and irreversible change in their natural environment. Their home district will have totally new characteristics and their traditional outdoor activities will be restricted. Some people will be forced to move altogether. All these fears and negative expectations have roused the resentment and disapproval of the inhabitants of the area. Reindeer farming and berry picking, as well as forestry, are important sources of income here. If the reservoir is built these activities will be seriously affected. HUGE - BUT UNPROFITABLE The Government Institute of Economic Research has prepared a report on the economic profitability of the Vuotos project. According to the report the project is not profitable even if all the costs of environmental damage are left out. This conclusion differs greatly from that of the report produced by the Finnish Ministry of Trade and Industry, which estimated the project to be most profitable with an annual revenue of about FIM 5-10 million. However, if one assumes that these figures are correct, the annual profit should be reduced by the costs of environmental damage. This would considerably reduce the estimated profit. It could even reduce it so heavily that there might be nothing left. In any case, the socio- economic profitability will be much lower than estimated by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, if not non-existent as calculated by the Government Institute of Economic Research. Kemijoki Oy tends to understate and invalidate the calculations of the Institute, accusing them of being faulty and prejudiced. Such accusations are groundless, though, since information obtained from the company itself and from the Ministry of Trade and Industry is the very basis for the calculations. Furthermore, the Insitute is not an interested party in the matter, but investigated this project as one of many public investments. ALL UP TO THE COURT The Water Rights Appeal Court will be granting a building permit if the Vuotos project is considered a necessary public interest and if the benefits from the projects are considered to be greater than the damages, adverse effects or losses of advantages. This principle leads to a comparison of pros and cons, where not only the applicant's justifications are taken into account. The over all environmental impact and socio-economic profitability will be considered as equally important factors in making the final decision. In a national perspective the socio-economic profitability of the Vuotos project is so insignificant that the project cannot be claimed to be justified as a national interest. This is even more so as the power production company can hardly be said to represent the public interest. However, if the Court finds that the principle of public interest can be applied to advance the interests of a private company, then the Vuotos Reservoir might very well be built. The final decision taken by the Court will be the result of the opinion formed within this body. One can in advance only ponder whether it will be a socio-economic or political one. It will be even more interesting since there has not been any case of the same magnitude as the Vuotos Reservoir since the reconstruction of the Water Rights Appeal Court in 1987. The Lokka and Porttipahdas reservoirs were decided and built before the renewal of the legislation. -----------------*********************** --------------------- FINLAND FORCED TO MAKE EIA FOR VUOTOS? Finland has signed the Espoo Convention, the 1992 Helsinki Convention and the Declaration on the Protection of the Arc tic Environment. These three international agreements should be taken into account when considering the building of the Vuotos Reservoir. The Espoo Convention The impact of the Vuotos project in the northern parts of the Gulf of Bothnia calls for the Finnish authorities to negotiate with the Swedish authorities in this matter. If Finland does not take that initiative Sweden should. When the ECE General Agreement on EIA - the Espoo Convention - was signed in 1991 it was agreed that the principles of the agreement will be adopted by the Signatories even before they have ratified it. In Finland the EIA law will be effective from the beginning of 1993. Thus, an environmental impact assessment should be started immediately in the Vuotos area. An evaluation of the natural resources of the area should also be included in that assessment. Presently there is not enough data available about the environmental impact to make a reliable estimate of the pros and cons. Before the completion of the EIA the Vuotos area should be left in its present state. Any radical changes of the natural environment should be avoided as they would impair the assessment, especially of the natural resources. There is also a Finnish-Swedish agreement about the water area along the common border. The Helsinki Convention According to Article 7 (Environmental Impact Assessment) in the new 1992 Helsinki Convention, both HELCOM and the affected country (countries) should be notified 'whenever an environmental impact assessment of a proposed activity that is likely to cause a significant adverse impact on the marine environment of the Baltic Sea Area is required by international law or supra-national regulations applicable to the Contracting Party of origin'. In the case of Vuotos this means that Finland should carry out an EIA adequately and in co-operation with neighbouring countries that might be affected by the environmental impact of the reservoir. The Declaration on the Arctic In 1991 Finland and eight other countries signed the Declaration on the Protection of the Arctic Environment. An important part of this Declaration deals with the assessment of the impact on the environment of major projects in this area. The Declaration covers all areas north of the Arctic Circle, i.e. also the Vuotos. Environment Minister highly critical After the Finnish Government's Decision-in-Principle about Vuotos the Minister of the Environment, Ms Sirpa Pietikaeinen who voted against the decision - issued a sharp and highly critical press release. It said, among other things, that due to the lack of a proper environmental impact assessment the Finnish Government should not have made its Decision-in-Principle. "In accordance with the principles of its international agreements Finland should have had an assessment made in due course before submitting the matter to the Council of State. If the results of such an assessment had proved that the damages of the project exceed its benefits the uncertainty of the people living in the area could have been eliminated through legal protection of the Vuotos area by Special Law. - - - The Decision of the Council of State should at least, by imposing a fine, have made Kemijoki Oy abstain from any preparatory measures that would cause irreversible or prolonged effects on the environment or the natural resources of the area prior to the decision by the Water Rights Appeal Court. The company should have been forced to make necessary investigations of the natural values before allowed to clear any land in the area. Now the environmental assessment has become meaningless after hundreds of hectares have already been cleared." Lassi Karivalo Head of Conservation WWF Finland Uudenmaankatu 40 SFQ00120 HELSINGFORS 12 Finland Telephone: +358- 0 644 511 Telefax: +358- 0 602 239 --------------------------------------------------------------------- END OF ARTICLES. THANK YOU FOR READING. HELP US TO STOP BUILDING DAM. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------