Icland's Nature Under Threat

[Guest guest]

Cross-posting ;-((

 

Apologies for those who have received this via other mailing lists -

or a minority of Proact Team members (my address book went on strike)

 

The following text is for information at this stage. A protest

mail/letter text will be available soon.

 

ICELAND'S NATURE UNDER THREAT

 

The building of a gigantic hydroelectric power station is planned on

the northern edge of Europe's largest glacier, Vatnajoekull in

Iceland. The power station is `needed' for the provision of

770 Megawatt for an aluminium smelting work in eastern Iceland, with

a capacity of 420,000 metric tons per year. In order for this order of

power capacity to be delivered, one of Iceland's largest glacial

rivers will have to be diverted into another, and huge reservoirs

will be required in order to maintain a steady capacity throughout

the year. The facts and figures of this planned massive intervention

in the Icelandic environment are as follows:

 

· Reservoirs: the largest will flood 57 square kilometres of land,

and a further 8 – 9 smaller ones will submerge another 10-20

square kilometres.

 

· The dams: the biggest will be 190m high, 770m long; 3

medium-sized dams 32m high and 1000m long. In addition 6-7 smaller

dams will be built.

 

· The water will be diverted to the turbines through a 40

kilometre long tunnel/gallery.

 

· The third longest glacial river - Joekulsa a Bru, Husey - which

has carved out for itself one of the deepest and most attractive

canyons in Europe, will be `converted' to an insignificant

stream.

 

· The diversion of the waters into another glacial river will

result in immense changes to the Lagarfljot glacial lake. Its natural

drainage will have to be artificially enlarged and the huge estuary

delta will have to be reconstructed.

 

· Altogether, 3,000 square kilometres or 3% of Iceland's total

landmass will be affected by this irreversible intervention in the

environment. The area affected, where the natural environment and

habitats will be destroyed, extends from the edge of the Vatnajoekull

Glacier to the estuary of the Héra<eth>sflói glacial river.

 

· A total of 32 square kilometres of land now covered with

vegetation will be submerged forever. The soil erosion in the central

highlands is on of the greatest problems Iceland has to cope with and

it must be feared that the planned reservoirs where the deposits

carried by the glacial rivers will end up – some 10 million

metric tons per year could pose a danger when the water level in the

reservoir sinks. This will occur in winter, when the water reserves

will be drawn on. This time of year for the wildest storms and even

more vegetation will be threatened and covered by the masses of sand

and dust carried by the violent winds.

 

· A unique geyser region will be flooded.

 

· Flora and fauna: The affected area is one of the few regions in

Iceland where the soil and vegetation are still more or less intact.

Opponents of the project point out that  the project would have

unforeseeable consequences for the water table. This part of Iceland

is the home of the reindeer whose summer pastures would be flooded.

Some 400-600 seals breed every year on the natural beaches.

Among the bird species whose existence is threatened or who will be

driven from the area by the changes which the project will bring are:

 

Red-throated Diver (Gavia stellata) - 220 pairs

Pink-footed Goose !!!! (Anser brachyrhynchus) - 3800 pairs

Pintail (Anas acuta) - 100 pairs;  20 % of the total Icelandic

population !

Shoveler (Anas clypeata) - 5 pairs, one of the rarest Icelandic duck

species

Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) - 10-15 pairs

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeops)  -  1000 - 2000 pairs

Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus)  -  over 700 pairs

Great Skua (Stercorarius skua)  -  265 pairs, 5 % des of the

total

population

Arctic Skua (Stercorarius parasiticus)  -  some 1300 breeding

pairs.

 

 

 

The operating company is the Norsk Hydro (Norway)

 

Watch this space!!

 

D @ vid

--

David Conlin,

Berlin

birds

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