RE: UNESCO8 Jan 2021 15:07
UNESCO statement should be they have NO JURISDICTION to make and definitive decision based on the fact KALLAK is NOT within the world heritage site!
Operational Guidelines of the World Heritage Convention and their relevance to this case
We would like to clarify that the planned mine is not located within Laponia. Section 172 of the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention (the "Guidelines"), referred to in correspondence between Näringsdepartementet and Unesco, states:
"The World Heritage Committee invites the States Parties to the Convention to inform the Committee, through the Secretariat, of their intention to undertake or to authorize in an area protected under the Convention major restorations or new constructions which may affect the Outstanding Universal Value of the property. Notice should be given as soon as possible (for instance, before drafting basic documents for specific projects) and before making any decisions that would be difficult to reverse, so that the Committee may assist in seeking appropriate solutions to ensure that the Outstanding Universal Value of the property is fully preserved."
Since the planned mine is not located within Laponia, the States Parties, in this case the Government, are not expected to inform the World Heritage Committee.
Furthermore, the planned mine at Kallak covers an area of 13.6 square kilometres and not 80 square kilometres, as IUCN stated in 2016. Laponia covers 9,400 square kilometres. The planned mine is 0.14% in comparison to the area covered by Laponia.
The closest point from the planned mine to Laponia is 33.8 kilometres. The reindeer migration route from the planned mine to Laponia is approximately 45 kilometres long.
The location and the size of the mine in relation to Laponia is shown in the map below.
Please follow the link: https://beowulfmining.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/20201217-Kallak-Proximity-to-Laponia-.pdf
The area of Laponia is by far the largest of the World Heritages sites in Sweden. Unesco asked for a clarification of the boundaries of Laponia and other World Heritages sites in 2017. After the clarification was made by Sweden, Unesco had no further questions regarding the boundaries (WHC-17/4.COM/8D).
A buffer zone around Laponia has never been considered necessary. As Section 99 of the Guidelines points out, the boundaries should be drawn to incorporate all the attributes that convey the Outstanding Universal Value and to ensure the integrity and/or authenticity of the property.
Unesco has never questioned the fact that no buffer zone exists. An objective assessment of the area would conclude that the area is large enough to meet the criteria set by Unesco for World Heritage sites.
In addition, Kallak is not included in any Management System for Laponia as described in Section 111 of the Guidelines. Using the Guidelines terminology, it is neither
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