WCC 2016 Res 053 - Activity Report

We have together with Friends of the Earth Norway been working to spread information of the harmful effects of dumping mining waste in the sea, and to persuade the Norwegian government to stop dumping mining waste in the fjords. This includes information work in social and traditional media, arranging seminars, and meeting with politicians.

To our knowledge there has not been done anything by the IUCN to implement the motion. We are not aware that the IUCN’s Director General has initiated discussions with the governments of the countries concerned, nor that anything has been done to develop stricter international regulations. We are not aware of any progress in the work to have the practice regulated through the general principles of the IMO and the London Convention and protocol. As far as we know, none of the other countries concerned have done anything to ban marine disposal of mine tailings for new mines, or to plan a stop to their ongoing marine disposal sites.

We have through Friends of the Earth Europe, together with several Norwegian organizations, sent complaints to the EFTA surveillance agency that the Norwegian government is violating two directives; the water framework directive and the mining waste directive