Talk of the town in Troms and Finnmark

Here in the province of Troms and Finnmark in northern Norway, there is currently a lot of talk about a copper mine that is to be commissioned in the Repparfjord. The fjord is home to a biodiverse ecosystem and the area serves as a livelihood for the Sámi people, who reindeer herd and fish. However, the mine waste from this copper mine is to end up in a sea dump in the fjord. For the animals and plants of the fjord, this project, in which toxic minerals are discharged unfiltered, is tantamount to a death sentence. Since protecting the environment is very important to me, I am participating in a protest camp. While copper is an important part of the digital and green transformation, I think we should first try to see if we can recycle more of the metal before we potentially destroy precious nature. Besides, there are better ways to deal with toxic mine waste. However, the private company behind the mine does not want to pay for this. It is astonishing that a country like Norway allows this – after all our Prime Minister even heads the UN Ocean Panel to protect the world's oceans.

As told to Doris Wöhncke

Translated by Jess Smee