WE
NEED YOUR INTERVENTION TO PRESERVE THE BIODIVERSITY OF THE VERDALSELVA DELTA
by electronic mail to:
Minister
Knut Arild Hareide.
Ministry of the Environment
Dear Minister Hareide,
Congratulations on your new appointment as Environment Minister. We wish you every success in the
job and look forward to hearing of positive environmental developments in Norway.
As a group of concerned individuals and bird-lovers worldwide we wrote last year to the Mayor and
planning officials of the Verdal Commune expressing our dismay that they had still not abandoned plans to infill and industrially
develop the breakwater at the mouth of the River Verdalselva.
We are not clear as to what extent your ministry has been become involved, and what your stance
on this matter is; but would urge that, at the very least, you initiate an immediate independent Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA). We have heard recently that, although the extent of industrial development in the North Ørin area as a whole is to be reduced
from 570 to 44o dda, plans to infill the breakwater, with drastic effects for wildlife, have still not been finally shelved.
The designation of the location as a Ramsar site, of international importance for waterfowl, is
not only a matter of national pride; but of international responsibility as well. It is therefore all the more important that
the established wetland habitat of the Verdalselva Delta at Ørin is not disturbed or otherwise harmed by industrial development.
Our interest lies in the fact that situations where natural resources are unsustainably exploited
can no longer be uncritically tolerated. Matters of local environmental concern
are increasingly, and rightly, of broader international interest. The variance between the perceived short term interests of our industrialised world, and the sustainable long term
use of our shrinking planetary natural resources, now unites conservationists, nature lovers and ordinary citizens across
the globe.
In this spirit we urge you, to take a personal interest in this matter
and not risk sacrificing the natural
heritage of present and subsequent generations of Norwegian citizens for questionable short term economic advantages.
In the hope that you will use the influence of your office to achieve a positive outcome in the
Verdalselva Delta, we remain,
yours faithfully,
[Name
& address]
