Oil industry threatens world's first protected cold water coral reef
Another post and video from the Rainbow Warrior.
Norwegian Coral - Sula reef threatened by Oil Exploration from Greenpeace in Nordic on Vimeo.
We all know that environmental concerns tend to lose out when pitted against big commercial interests. But when it comes to Norwegian waters right now this thing really takes the cake!
Among the thousands of known cold water coral reefs in the Norwegian Sea is the worlds largest of these vulnerable bottom habitats called the Sula reef. Located just a few hours north of our current position on the Rainbow Warrior the Sula reef is wonderfully diverse and also one of the few protected coral reef areas in the Norwegian Sea. But this protection might be meaningless now that the oil industry has received a license to explore the area.
Yesterday the application for an emissions permit at the Sula coral reef reserve was submitted by the two oil companies Aker Exploration and Gaz de France to the Norwegian Government. This means the oil companies would like to start exploratory drilling in the Sula reef area within a few months. If approved it will spell disaster for the fragile reef system here.
In 2001 the Norwegian Pollution Authorities concluded that the wider area where Sula is located is very vulnerable to oil activities including oil spills and chemicals released from disturbed sediments during drilling operations.
Norway is making progress in creating a truly comprehensive management plan for the Norwegian sea where all activities – including fishing, oil drilling will be managed under one set of laws. But this particular scandal illustrates what partial non-comprehensive protection is really worth - nothing.
I just hope we can make big enough waves to stop this insane oil drilling plans from becoming reality. If this application gets approved, it wont just spell disaster for this specific region - it will set a bad precedent for the future protection of all the fragile ocean ecosystems around Norway.
/Frida
Oceans Campaigner on board the Rainbow Warrior
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