Ojnareskogen

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Ojnareskogen is a wooded area in the parish ( Swedish socken ) Bunge in the north of the Swedish island of Gotland .

Ojnareskogen is a water protection area and has key biotopes , is located between two Natura 2000 areas, and is defined as a so-called Reichsinteresse ( Swedish riksinteresse ) for nature conservation, as well as a Reichsinterest for tourism and leisure, and has been proposed as a national park .

There are a number of endangered species on the red list , many of which are endemic , meaning that they only occur there. Belongs among the endangered, endemic species within Sweden Pilosella Dichotoma ( Swedish Gaffelfibbla ), which grows only on Gotland and Öland and as endangered ( EN ) applies. Other species or subspecies standing on the red list are Gotland grass snake , golden eagle , eagle , nightjar , Harrier and the lichen Psora testacea ( Swedish falsk guldskivlav ). Ojnareskogen received a lot of attention when there were massive protests in the summer and autumn of 2012 about the planned and started exploration for the construction of a limestone quarry.

National park

In the implementation plan for the national parks for the years 2009–2013, this forest is listed in connection with the planned prioritized establishment of the Bästeträsk National Park .

Lime mining

The lime company Nordkalk started cutting down the forest in August 2012 to make room for the new quarry for lime mining. This should be 170 hectares and 25 m deep. These events immediately caught the attention of the environmental movement and the media as the area was classified as being ecologically sensitive. This is largely due to the fact that the area of ​​the planned limestone mining lies between the two so-called Natura 2000 areas of Bräntings and Bästeträsk , where many endangered animal and plant species live. The planned limestone mining is also right next to the inflow area to Bästeträsk , Gotland's largest lake, which also serves as a drinking water reservoir for northern Gotland. The entire area is proposed to become a national park if the planned limestone mining does not prevent it.

The timber company Mellanskog , which cleared the forest on behalf of Nordkalk , decided on September 1, 2012 to stop work until the Supreme Court has dealt with the case. The latter announced on October 1, 2012 that it had accepted a partial examination of the case.

Legal examination

Nordkalk has been working to obtain permission to mine lime in the area since 2005. The environmental court said “yes” in 2012 and thus overturned the decision of the regional and environmental court from 2011 regarding this permit. After that, the deforestation began.

The environmental associations Svenska Naturskyddsföreningen , Sveriges Botaniska Förening and Föreningen Bevara Ojnareskogen have appealed against this decision to the highest Swedish court, the Högsta domstolen , because they believe that this decision violates European law in the pursuit of the conservation of species and their habitats. The nature conservation authority ( Naturvårdsverket ) has also sued the decision of the regional and environmental court.

Schedule

  • In December 2005 the environmental court gives permission for test digs ( Swedish provbrotten ).
  • In December 2008 the environmental court examined the Nordkalks application for the whole project
  • In October 2009 the environmental court accepted Nordkalk's lawsuit and decided on the admissibility.
  • In December 2010 the Justice Ombudsman ( Swedish Justice Ombudsman ) criticized

the SGU , because it played a double role in the process, on the one hand as a control authority and on the other hand as an advisory organization for Nordkalk.

  • In December 2010 the Naturskyddsföreningen Gotland wrote to the EU together with many others.
  • In November 2011, the environmental court decided that there were no regulations preventing Nordkalk from receiving permission
  • In November 2011, the Supreme Court ( Högsta domstolen in Swedish ) confirmed that the Justice Ombudsman's decision indicated errors by the SGU, but did not cancel the decision that Nordkalk was allowed to build a quarry there.
  • In July 2012, the regional and environmental court ( Swedish : Markoch mijööverdomstolen ) decided that the regulations for lime mining should be complied with and thus granted Nordkalk permission.
  • In the summer of 2012, various government agencies and associations took legal action against this at the highest court ( Högsta domstolen ).
  • In July 2012 members of the environmental organization Fältbiologerna set up camp in the forest on the grounds of the Swedish environmental agency Naturvårdsverket .
  • In the summer of 2012, the highest court ( Högsta domstolen ) rejects all efforts to postpone (inhibition) and in August the deforestation begins.
  • In August 2012, local people and environmental activists blocked Mellanskog's machines. Gotland's largest police operation of all time begins on August 28, 2012.
  • In September 2012, Mellanskog interrupted the logging work and the Gotland regional government issued an injunction to Nordkalk.
  • In October 2012, the highest court decreed an inhibition ( Swedish inhibition ) and began a partial review of the case.

Protests against deforestation

Protests against deforestation in the Ojnareskogen forest
Police operation in Ojnareskogen

In July 2012, the Fältbiologerna set up camp in Ojnareskogen. The folding biologists and the local population protested against the deforestation on site and blocked the machines. On August 26, 2012, a large police force came to Gotland and began operations on August 28, 2012. On September 1, 2012, the logging was stopped because Mellanskog withdrew. A large number of members had left Mellanskog.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Pilosella dichotoma (Fr. ex Lindb.) Soják. Retrieved March 9, 2013 (Swedish).
  2. ↑ Artdatabanken - Gaffelfibbla. (pdf; 124 kB) Retrieved March 9, 2013 (Swedish).
  3. ↑ Avverkning avbryts i Ojnareskogen. In: aftonbladet.se. Retrieved March 9, 2013 (Swedish).
  4. ↑ Krister Mild: Bakgrund kalkbrytning i Bunge. (No longer available online.) Naturvårdsverket, archived from the original on May 10, 2013 ; Retrieved March 9, 2013 (Swedish). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.naturvardsverket.se
  5. ↑ Kalkbrytning i Bunge - följ ärendet från 2006-2013. naturvardsverket.se, accessed March 9, 2013 (Swedish).
  6. ↑ Council case. naturvardsverket.se, accessed March 9, 2013 (Swedish).
  7. ↑ inhibition. (PDF; 118 kB) Högsta Domstolen, accessed on March 9, 2013 (Swedish).
  8. ↑ kalkbrytning i Bunge. Naturvärdsverket, accessed March 9, 2013 (Swedish).

Coordinates: 57 ° 51 ′ 53 ″  N , 18 ° 58 ′ 10 ″  E