On February 17, 2022, the Finnish Parliament introduced a citizen’s initiative to limit mining in certain areas in Finland.
The purpose of the initiative as stated is to “set boundaries for mining activity and change Finnish legislation to protect certain unique waterways or other valuable natural and cultural areas.”
The initiative calls on the Finnish Parliament to amend the current legislation that lists the areas where there is a complete ban on mining and ore prospecting. Currently, mining and prospecting in certain areas require special permission from the Finnish government, including in wilderness areas and national parks, and require prior military approval in military areas. (46 & 47 §§ Mining Act.) Mining and prospecting in Sápmi areas that affect the indigenous Sámi people require prior consultation with the Sami Parliament and are prohibited when they hinder the Sámi people from practicing their culture, particularly reindeer husbandry. (50 § Mining Act; 9 § Sami Parliament Act.)
The proposal would expand that legislation to include a ban on mining and prospecting in the following areas:
- Nature conservation areas.
- Wilderness areas and national parks.
- All Natura 2000 sites in Finland.
- Other nature areas already protected under conservation laws.
- UNESCO World Heritage Sites and Geopark sites.
- Sápmi.
- Nationally valuable landscape areas.
- Protected watercourses.
- Finnish sea areas and coastal areas.
- Groundwater areas.
In accordance with article 20 of the Finnish Constitution, the public “shall work to ensure that everyone has a healthy environment and that everyone has the opportunity to influence decisions on matters concerning their own living environment.” The Constitution also protects freedom of enterprise in article 18. However, the citizens behind the initiative claim that a ban on uranium mining in certain areas of Finland would not violate this right.
Article 53, paragraph 3 of the Finnish Constitution provides that citizens may suggest legislation, commonly referred to as a citizen’s initiative, provided that the legislative proposal is supported and signed by a minimum of 50,000 Finnish citizens who have the right to vote. The Act on Citizens’ Initiatives further specifies that the signatures must be obtained within six months of the date of the original initiative. Once the signatures are collected, the responsible initiative representative must, within one year, present them to the Population Register Center, which then validates the signatures and determines the eligibility of the initiative. Thereafter the responsible initiative representative must deliver the initiative to the Finnish Parliament within one year. (3, 5, 9, 11 §§ Act on Citizen’s Initiatives.)
Following a referral debate on the initiative, the proposal was referred to the Commerce Committee for further review. A date for the presentation of the final Commerce Committee report has not been set.