After massive pressure, the municipal council in Bremanger retreats and says no to a planned shipping port for crushed stone in the landscape protection area around the Vingen field. The oldest rock art is 6,000 years old. Instead, the municipality will draw up a new zoning plan, which does not include shipping in Lake Frøysjøen. This is reported by Firdaposten. The turnaround is the latest twist in a case that has received international attention. – One of the most important sites for rock art in Northern Europe Earlier this year, the International Organization for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, Icomos, wrote a letter to the government in which they protested “in the strongest possible terms” that Norwegian authorities put “priceless heritage” at stake. The letter was addressed to Municipal and District Minister Erling Sande (Sp), who gave the green light to the project, despite protests from the National Archives, the Ministry of the Environment and the State Administrator. “Dear Sande. This is not a choice between a priceless cultural monument and a quarry. You can get both, but not in the same place,” wrote Icomos president Benjamin Smith. The development plans have also been mentioned in the British newspaper The Guardian. – One of the largest and most important sites for rock art in Northern Europe is Troa, wrote the newspaper. Amateur archaeologist Kristian Bing (1862–1935) “discovered” the rock carvings in 1912. Photo: UiB The new municipal decision does not apply to the quarry, but to the planned shipping port at Frøysjøen. The quarry is on top of the mountain Aksla. Here, a Dutch company will extract crushed stone and “stone fractions”. In return, the municipality gets jobs and “ring activities” in return. Utskipingkaia is the part of the project that is closest to Vingen Helleristingsfelt. – What a day of jubilation! In addition to the cultural heritage, there has been a dispute about how destructive the shipping port will be for the coastal rainforest in the area. During question time in the Storting, the minister acknowledged that he should have been more precise when he pushed two other coastal rainforests ahead of him. The criticism came from the Liberal Party, who blamed the minister for making up “fairy tale forests”. Today, the party is breathing a sigh of relief. – What a day of jubilation! This is almost too good to be true! says representative of the Liberal Party, Alfred Bjørlo. – The plans to raze a coastal rainforest and make irreversible interventions in the landscape conservation area around the Vingen field are some of the most outrageous nature interventions that have been planned in Norway. – This put the decision of the municipal minister in an even stranger light than before. news has contacted the ministry, which reports that a response is underway. The Norwegian Environment Agency’s action plan for following up on the Nature Agreement is due in October. The plan comes after the new UN nature agreement was signed by Norway in Montreal in 2022. The leader of the Nature Conservation Association, Truls Gulowsen, says “congratulations to everyone who has fought against this idiotic quarrying that destroys natural and cultural heritage”. – And cheers for municipal local self-government that has the courage to turn around. ISMAIL BURAK AKKAN / news Frode Pleym, Greenpeace It doesn’t help that the quarry and the quay facility have been adjusted down. Rock carvings, coastal rainforest, endangered species, unspoiled nature and, moreover, plans for a new national park oppose major industrial interventions. Politicians must ask themselves the question: Should we continue to destroy nature, or change course? Bremanger has a unique opportunity to show that they prioritize unique nature and cultural heritage over stone and mud. news Alfred Bjørlo, VenstreHere the local politicians in Bremanger see more responsibility for nature and cultural history than the Ap/Sp government. I hope that will be a wake-up call for today’s anti-nature government. Venstre would like to praise everyone who has persevered to bring out the madness in the project. Today’s decision will be worth its weight in gold for both Bremanger and the whole of Norway in the future! Lars Tore Endresen Truls Gulowsen, Naturvernforbundet Congratulations to everyone who has fought against this idiotic quarry that destroys natural and cultural heritage, and cheers to the municipal local self-government that has the courage to turn around and listen to arguments and citizens’ initiative! I expect that the government, which gave the go-ahead and overrode the State Administrator’s professional objection, will now respect this. The municipal minister acknowledges that the ministry took it a bit too hard when they pointed to three rainforest occurrences in Bremanger municipality. Sveinung Rotevatn (V) replied that it was “shocking” that the ministry knew that the three forests were not comparable, but still did just that – compared them. Published 13.09.2024, at 10.00
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Municipality retreats on disputed stone shipping – news Vestland
