Sweden’s Supreme Court re-opens Gotland mining case

Environmentally sensitive area

The Supreme Court in Sweden has decided to take a “partial” look at a controversial decision to allow lime mining in what campaigners call an environmentally sensitive area of the Baltic island of Gotland off Sweden’s southeast coast.

The Swedish Environment Protection Agency had appealed against the decision of the Land and Environmental Court of Appeal to give permission to extract lime from the region before a so-called Natura 2000 study was carried out to see if the protected areas of Bästeträsk and Bräntings haid could be damaged by the mining.

The agency has previously wanted to declare the area in the north of Gotland a nature reserve.

The Supreme Court now says it will take another look at the case, but has released few details as to what part of the original decision it will be testing.

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