Where Lågen flows into Mjøsa, there is a special nature area: Lågendeltaet nature reserve, which is an important area for some birds. There have been countless rematches, with sharp fronts in the debate about the delta’s future. It is planned to build a new motorway right through the protected area. Now the government decides to change the protection limits for the Lågen delta. Changing protection limits Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård and Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide held a press conference today. There they informed about the planned E6 development through the Lågen delta. 27 acres of the protected area are taken out to make room for the bridge through the reserve. Then 7,080 acres remain. – There is no reason to hide the fact that the natural intervention in isolation is a disadvantage for nature, says Barth Eide. But the government is introducing measures which they believe will improve the situation and reduce the burden. Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide at Tuesday’s press conference. Photo: Lars Erik Skrefsrud / news Including that Rykkhustjønnin, an area north of the Lågen delta, is protected. It involves 793 acres. – This is an important area for a number of species, including wetland birds, he says. Proposes to expand borders in the north In addition, the government proposes to expand the borders of the Lågendelta in the north. – These are natural extensions of the Lågendeltaet nature reserve as it was. It will affect important areas such as some floodplain forests, nutrient-rich swamp areas and rich bird life, says Barth Eide. Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård and Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide at Tuesday’s press conference. Photo: Lars Erik Skrefsrud / news They also want to initiate the protection and restoration of another area: the Gausa Delta. – It has great restoration potential. There, we will re-establish floodplains, we will build a new flood embankment elsewhere, which will return the floodplain forest areas to their natural state, says the minister. A long-running dispute The reserve was protected in 1990, in order to “preserve an important and special wetland area in its natural state”. 12 different species of ducks have been observed in the area. 33 years later, the government agreed to build a new E6 through the conservation area, despite the fact that the Norwegian Environment Agency said no to the development. The purpose of the conservation is, according to the legal text, to “preserve an important and special wetland area in its natural state with vegetation and wildlife, and to protect a particularly rich and interesting bird life, especially with regard to migratory, nesting and wintering waterfowl”. PROTECTED: In order to be able to build the E6 through the nature reserve, the Ministry of Climate and Environment has given permission to amend the conservation regulations. Photo: Reidar Gregersen One of the prerequisites for starting the construction of the new E6 was that the government should find new mitigation measures. The government’s aim is to be able to build the road with more measures against nature than what was in the original plan. But several environmentalists are disappointed with the proposals so far. Believes the government is failing nature Aleksander Snarheim, central board member of Nature and Youth, is not satisfied. – Before Christmas, we rejoiced over a new nature agreement and that development through the Lågendelta was stopped. Only half a year later, the government wants to shake up the strictest protection we have in order to carry out a development that is so unbelievably forward-looking. NATURE AND YOUTH: Aleksander Snarheim is a central board member of Nature and Youth. Photo: AMANDA IVERSEN ORLICH They believe that the project violates the purpose of the nature agreement, which, among other things, involves conserving 30 percent of Norway’s nature by 2030. – This project is a direct contradiction to that, says Aleksander Snarheim, central board member of Nature and Youth. MDG’s Une Bastholm is also dissatisfied. – I find it very frightening. The government has made it the rule rather than the exception not to listen to environmental advice. – The whole point of giving conservation status to wetland areas such as the Lågen Delta is that it should be permanent, says Bastholm. DISAPPOINTED: MDG’s Une Bastholm calls the government’s thinking backwards. Photo: Lars Erik Skrefsrud / news She believes that the mitigating measures are important measures that the government should take depending on the road project. – This is backward and an old-fashioned way of relating to nature that we can no longer afford if our children are to have access to the same natural wealth as us, she says. – Quite bad Terje Onshus, leader of the nature conservation association in Lillehammer and Øyer, believes that the mitigation measures are not enough. – The new road is very destructive to the natural values, says Onshus. – It is quite bad to destroy a nature reserve which has the strictest protection under the law and build a road through it and say that this will be fine because we have done so much else, he says. DISSATISFIED: Head of the nature conservation association in Lillehammer and Øyer, Terje Onshus, is not satisfied with today’s press conference. Photo: Aleksandr Nedbaev / news Nevertheless, there were certain points Onshus was satisfied with. – There were some positive things there, this with the Gausavasdraget is great. If the road gets 50 kilometers per hour and becomes an environmental road, then that is positive. – But the big moves are not forthcoming, he believes. The contractor brings measures Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård says that contractor Nye Veier has investigated several environmental preparatory measures. Among the measures proposed are a reduced speed limit and a narrower road with light and noise shielding on the current E6. Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård presented Nye Veier’s further environmental preparatory measures. Photo: Lars Erik Skrefsrud / news One of the measures is also to reduce the width of the new road. – Then the area seizure will be reduced by a further 40 decares than previously assumed, says Nygård. Other measures involve extending the time period for traffic bans and installing visual markers on high-voltage power lines to reduce the risk of collisions. Open to change the protection regulations Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide earlier this year opened the door to change the protection regulations in the Lågendelta in Lillehammer. But he has stressed that it would not happen until the mitigating measures are finally clarified and settled. In March this year, the State Administrator in the Interior presented a proposal for the cancellation of parts of the Lågendeltaet nature reserve on behalf of the government. They proposed to take out approximately 27 acres of protected area from the existing nature reserve. In practice, there would be a trade-off for a corridor, to ensure that a motorway could be built there. The proposal was sent out for consultation with a deadline of 1 May.
ttn-69
The government extends the protection boundary for the nature reserve Lågendeltaet is moved – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
