December 18, 2002
The Finnish Supreme Administrative Court rejected today the Water Act licence for the Vuotos Dam Scheme.
"Finally, nature values have some importance in the Finnish decision-making process", said Ms. Pirjo-Riitta Oinaala who represented the case as the lawyer of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation.
The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (FANC) expects that everybody will now comply with the decision, and that the plans to build the Vuotos reservoir and hydropower plant are burried for good.
Vuotos is an important nature reserve, an IBA, in Eastern Lapland. The power company Kemijoki Ltd has been planning a reservoir on it and a hydropower plant since the 1960s. This time, however, the decision of the Court is final. There are no possibilities for further complaints.
"The Vuotos area was excluded from Natura 2000 in 1998, and its ecological value was ignored. The Supreme Administrative Court returned the case to the Government in 2000. Since then, the Government has done nothing to safeguard the site as a Natura 2000 area as it was supposed to. Now, it will be possible to do that," said Tapani Veistola, Natura specialist at the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation.
"This is one of the biggest victories in the history of our organisation", said Eero Yrjö-Koskinen, Director of FANC. "We have dedicated nearly 10 years in the last phase of this long struggle. This is the best Christmas present we could think of."
The decision could have major importance at the international level as well. It will provide an example against any similar schemes, which are jeopardising international conservation values but have only marginal importance in terms of power generation.
Further information:
- Eero Yrjö-Koskinen, tel. +358-9-228 08 216
- Tapani Veistola, tel. +358-9-228 08 266