How did it start? The heart of the dispute is two wind farms at Fosen in Trøndelag, namely the Storheia and Roan wind farms. The two were completed in 2019 and 2020 and were part of Fosen Vind, the largest onshore wind power project in Europe to date. Why was there a commotion? Reindeer owners in the area believe the wind farms affect the reindeer so negatively that it violates the indigenous people’s UN-protected right to cultural practice. In October 2021, the reindeer owners won in the Supreme Court. A unanimous Supreme Court held that the decision on construction was invalid if “satisfactory mitigating measures” were not put in place. Why is it peaking now? Ella Maria Hætta Isaksen explains why this match is so important to them. On Thursday last week, it was 500 days since the Supreme Court delivered its verdict. Then Sami from the Norwegian Sami National Confederation (NSR) and members of Nature and Youth (NU) campaigned against the turbines still standing. NU believes that the rights of indigenous peoples and natural values in this case outweigh the need for new energy in connection with climate measures. The campaigners sat down in the lobby of the Ministry of Oil and Energy and refused to move. Last night they were carried out by the police, but have since continued marking outside the ministry. Among other things, they have tried to block entrances so that employees in several ministries cannot get to work. Why do some of the campaigners have their cardigan inside out? Turning the cardigan inside out, thereby hiding the beautiful details of the garment, is a traditional Sami way of protesting strongly. Is the action illegal? SLO TIL: On Thursday this week, shareholders entered the lobby of the Ministry of Oil and Energy and demanded that the wind turbines in two areas at Fosen in Trøndelag be demolished. Photo: Mette Ballovara / news Lawyers news has been in contact with say that it is basically illegal to stay in the ministry’s lobby without permission and to block the entrance to the ministry. At the same time, the freedom of demonstration and expression means that there must be a high threshold for the police to intervene – then important societal considerations must be threatened. Why did the Supreme Court think that the rights of indigenous people had been violated? The judges in the Supreme Court photographed December 2022. Photo: Supreme Court Here the Supreme Court leaned on the Court of Appeal, which came to the conclusion that purely based on experience it will avoid areas with wind turbines. Thus, the winter grazing areas on Storheia and Roan are in practice lost to reindeer husbandry as the turbines stand today. These areas are important in crisis years when other areas cannot be used. The Supreme Court concluded that the existence of reindeer husbandry in the area is therefore threatened in the long term. Did the Supreme Court say that the wind farms must be demolished? HIKING: This reindeer seemed to cope with the wind turbines on Storheia relatively well, but the Supreme Court assumes that most reindeer try to avoid areas with wind turbines in operation. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB No. The Supreme Court said that the permission to build the wind farms is invalid if “satisfactory mitigating measures” are not put in place. In contrast to the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court believed that winter feeding the reindeer in a fenced area is not a good enough alternative. Nor, in the court’s view, can it be assumed that the reindeer will eventually get used to the turbines. The court writes that other, less intrusive development alternatives could safeguard the Sami’s rights. But exactly what should be done, the Supreme Court does not say in its judgment. So what does the state say? USING TIME: Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) believes the state needs more knowledge to find the best solution to the wind power dispute. Photo: Martin Fønnebø / news The state interprets the sentence’s wording “threatened in the long term” to mean that the wind farms do not constitute an ongoing violation of human rights, and that the state therefore has time to find out what to do. Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) says the state is determined to resolve the conflict, but that it may still take a year before a proposal for measures is available. Strong disagreement about development is an ongoing violation of human rights What are the alternatives? An alternative is that all or parts of the wind farms are demolished. Another is that the reindeer owners get access to other grazing areas, which the reindeer owners at Fosen have previously said is out of the question. The same applies to the proposal for winter feeding of the reindeer in a fenced area this year where other grazing areas are not available. A possible compromise in theory could be a set of several measures that also include financial compensation. What do the activists demand? According to the prominent campaigner Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen, there is only one solution that applies, and that is to demolish the wind turbines and return the area to the Sami.
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That’s why Sami and Nature and Youth demonstrate against the government and wind power at Fosen – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
