Government approves power plant near rare Iceland flora
Copyright 2001 Associated Press
December 24, 2001
REYKJAVIK, Iceland--Environmental campaigners hit out at the government Friday after it approved plans for a dam and power plant in a wilderness area they say is home to rare flora.
Environment Minister Siv Fridleifsdottir approved construction of the plant and dam above Vatnajokull -- Europe's largest glacier -- in East Iceland. Campaigners fear the decision brings the government a step closer to approving plans for a smelter, which could produce 420,000 tons of aluminum annually by 2010, at Reydarfjordur on the east coast.
Environmentalists are strongly opposed to the smelter, which has been proposed by the Norwegian multinational Norsk Hydro, but Iceland's Prime Minister David Oddsson said the venture would enhance the kronur, which has dropped 23 percent against the dollar this year.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) criticized the government's decision to allow construction of the dam and power plant, despite the inclusion of ten conditions to appease environmental concerns, and said the ruling was a serious setback for conservation in Iceland.
"It will lead to the destruction of a significant part of one of the largest remaining areas of wilderness in Western Europe," said WWF Arctic acting director Samantha Smith from Norway.
The dam will divert a river from Vatnajokull and flood canyons and tributaries considered to be some of the most spectacular in the Highlands of Iceland.
It has been estimated by environmental groups that 7,000 square kilometers will be affected by the impact of such a scheme.
The area is home to reindeer, whooper swans, golden plover as well as rare flowers, herbs and moss and abundant hot springs.
Oddsson said objections to the project were not sufficiently strong on legal grounds to justify blocking it.
Another outspoken critic of the plant is pop singer Bjork, Iceland's most famous daughter. She claimed the joint venture would benefit only Norway and called on Iceland to look after its own interests.
"Icelanders are standing on the crossroads regarding their attitude towards nature," she said.
"It is obsolete thinking that you have to sacrifice nature in order to make the Icelanders a technical modern society. For 600 years we were pleasing the foreigners. Now we should stop and be our own masters," she added.