Laponian Area

• necessity to continue the work with local Saami people
• extend the inventories on species
• consolidate the management plan

N/A

On 5 November 2020, the State Party submitted information on the proposed Kallak (Gállok) mine project in the vicinity of the property, including a document titled Kallak and the Laponian Area World Heritage Site In-depth Impact Assessment (2017) (IDIA). Following the submission of further information by the State Party on 26 January 2021, a joint ICOMOS and IUCN Technical Review was transmitted to the State Party in May 2021, raising concerns regarding the IDIA. It was recommended that a revised impact assessment be completed in line with IUCN and ICOMOS impact assessment guidance documents to adequately assess the potential impacts on Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), prior to any approval of the mining project.

On 3 February 2022, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, wrote to the State Party (Reference: AL SWE 2/2022) expressing their ‘concerns over the lack of good faith consultations and the failure to obtain the free, prior and informed consent of the Sámi, and over the significant and irreversible damage that the Gállok project poses to Sámi lands, resources, culture, and livelihoods and to the environmental impact it would have on the UNESCO World Heritage site of Laponia’ (p. 7 of AL SWE 2/2022).

On 4 April 2022, the State Party responded to the UN Special Rapporteurs (Reference: UD20022/01693/FMR) that under an amendment of the Minerals Act (2018) there was a formal legal requirement for consultation in accordance with the Swedish Environmental Code. A specific Act on consultation in matters of special importance to the Sámi people was also issued on 1 March 2022. The above-mentioned correspondence was received by UNESCO through the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples on ‘Protected areas and indigenous peoples’ rights: the obligations of States and international organizations’, which was submitted to the UN General Assembly in 2022, further “welcomes the fact that UNESCO has raised concerns about the negative impact of planned extractive activities on indigenous peoples’ rights […] in the vicinity of Laponia” (Para 51 of A/77/238).

On 24 February 2022, following concerns expressed in the above-mentioned joint ICOMOS and IUCN Technical Review and by third parties, the World Heritage Centre requested the State Party to submit a state of conservation report for the property which would be considered by the World Heritage Committee at its 45th session.

On 17 March 2022, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/774/, which reports the following:

• Regarding the recommendation of the joint ICOMOS and IUCN Technical Review to conduct a revised and expanded impact assessment, since the mining exploitation concession is subject to a forthcoming government decision, it is not possible to pre-empt the decision that may be taken, nor comment on the specific circumstances under review, however the government has taken careful note of the recommendations;
• An exploitation licence does not equate to general approval, and any exploitation would require further permits and exemptions to be granted under the Swedish Environmental Code;
• Following receipt of the Technical Review, the authorities referred the report to relevant stakeholders including the Sámi Parliament and reindeer herding communities for comment, and in February 2022 provided the applicant the opportunity to respond to such comments.

On 22 March 2022, the World Heritage Centre learned through media that the State Party had granted an exploitation concession for the right to extraction and utilisation of iron ore, valid for 25 years and subject to 12 conditions (Regeringsbeslut N2017/04553), which the State Party did not notify UNESCO of in line with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines. The decision sets out the background, including consideration of the ICOMOS and IUCN Technical Review and subsequent consultation, and the justification of the approval. On 25 March 2022, the World Heritage Centre requested the State Party to provide a translation of the decision as well as information on the impacts of this decision on the state of conservation of the property. On 17 May 2022, the State Party provided an English translation of the Regeringsbeslut, which includes both the decision and underlying justification. According to the State Party, considering the distance of the planned concession area from the property, the activities are not likely to have a direct negative impact on the OUV of the property but that they may have an indirect impact. In a letter dated 22 October 2022, the State Party informed the World Heritage Centre that it was not aware of any ongoing environmental permit application procedure by the company and that, should the company subsequently decide to apply for an environmental permit, this should include an IDIA according to the principles in the IUCN World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment. In a letter to the State Party dated 20 December 2022, the World Heritage Centre clarified that the IDIA should be based on the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, rather than on tools that have become obsolete. No further updates have been provided by the State Party since.

Kallak is located 34 km to the southwest of the nearest boundary of the property. In February 2013, the iron ore deposit, located between Randijaur and Bjorkholmen, was designated an area of national interest for deposits of valuable substances. Trial mining was undertaken under permit in 2013, after which an application was made for an exploitation concession for the northern part of the deposit, covering 1,360K ha. Although the proposed mining area would be located outside the boundaries of the property, there is a clear relationship between the area and the attributes that comprise its OUV. Specifically, it is important to recall that the authenticity of the property is expressed and maintained through the continuing practice of reindeer herding by the indigenous Sámi community, and the seasonal movement of herds to summer mountain grazing pastures. In 2017, a new national interest in reindeer husbandry was designated by the Sámi Parliament for an area between Randijaur and Bjorkholmen as a key area within the Jahkagasska Tjiellde Sámi village year-round grazing land. Seasonal reindeer husbandry is dependent on widespread grazing on land outside the property (especially in winter). The mining concession could therefore directly impact on the reindeer husbandry of one of the nine Sámi villages, and possibly others.

The State Party notified the World Heritage Centre in June 2013 regarding the application for an exploitation concession to which ICOMOS provided comments in 2014 in the form of a Technical Review. In particular, the State Party was requested to confirm that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) included a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) that focused on the potential impact of the mining on the cultural attributes of the World Heritage property and its setting, in accordance with ICOMOS 2011 Guidance. The EIA developed as part of the 2013 mining concession application was considered by the Swedish National Heritage Board and Environmental Protection Agency to not fully assess the impact of the proposed activity on the property. The subsequent 2016 joint ICOMOS/IUCN Technical Review advised the State Party to conduct a HIA and a revised EIA with a specific assessment of the potential impacts of the proposed development on the OUV of the property, including its integrity. In response, the mining company commissioned the above-mentioned IDIA in 2017, which was submitted to the World Heritage Centre only in 2020 for review by the Advisory Bodies.

The IDIA concluded that the overall impact of the project on the cultural values would be minor and would probably not affect the natural heritage values, provided measures were taken to reduce the barrier effect on reindeer migration. However, the 2021 joint ICOMOS/IUCN Technical Review highlighted that the document did not specifically refer to the OUV of the property in line with both the IUCN and ICOMOS impact assessment guidance documents and did not address potential impacts of important factors such as water, energy and land use requirements related to the project.

The State Party’s decision in March 2022 approved the 2017 IDIA and granted an exploitation concession based on the consideration that, in view of the distance between the planned concession area and the property, the activities are not likely to have a direct negative impact on the OUV of the property. However, neither the IDIA nor the State Party’s decision adequately recognise the direct functional and landscape relationship between reindeer husbandry in the mining concession area and the property, and the need to consider consequent impacts of the proposal on the attributes of the OUV arising from disruption to traditional reindeer herding practice and migration routes. The decision notes conditions regarding potential impacts on areas outside the concession, particularly in relation to reindeer migration and grazing. However, the lack of criteria for assessing the fulfilment of these conditions suggests that they are not sufficiently precise or binding. It is important to highlight that condition 12 of the exploitation concession requires the proponent to undertake a revised IDIA in accordance with the principles of the IUCN Advice Note and to submit this to the World Heritage Centre prior to applying for a permit to use the concession. While this is appreciated, it should be stressed that such a revised IDIA should have been conducted before granting the exploitation concession. It is recommended the State Party be urged to ensure that the revised IDIA is undertaken which fully assesses the direct, indirect, short- and long-term potential impacts on the OUV, especially the cultural values of reindeer migration and husbandry and aforementioned activities associated with the property. This should be completed in line with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, which replaces previous IUCN and ICOMOS guidance documents, prior to taking any decision that would be difficult to reverse.

Furthermore, the significant concerns raised by the SRs regarding a lack of consultation with relevant indigenous peoples including the Sámi village which would be directly impacted by the proposed development, are of deep concern. Noting also the objections expressed by indigenous peoples and local communities in the State Party’s decision, it is important to reiterate that any decision taken in relation to cultural practices relating to World Heritage values should ensure appropriate consultation and clear evidence that free, prior and informed consent has been obtained, in line with the United National Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the Operational Guidelines.

In view of the longstanding nature of the potential threats to OUV, concerns about the adequacy of the impact assessment process to date, and the State Party’s decision in March 2022 to grant the exploitation concession for the Kallak mine project, it is recommended for the Committee to request the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the property to ascertain the present condition of the property, the nature and extent of the threats to the property, and to provide guidance on the IDIA revision process including the efficacy of the criteria defined for the evaluation of potential impacts of the proposed mining and ancillary activities, and to propose measures to facilitate the conservation of attributes which support the OUV of the property.