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Home to the bean goose, the smew and the whooping swan – and one of the last refuges in Finland for the ruff (pictured above) – the Viiankiaapa mire in Finland is sadly under threat. One of the last pristine “aapa mire”[string bog, or nutrient-rich peat land] ecosystems in Europe, Viiankiaapa faces permanent destruction for a short-term mining project. Even more worryingly, this could be a dangerous test case for the interests of mining for minerals overriding the public interest to preserve nature. In May, AA Sakatti Mining Oy applied for a permit to circumvent the EU Natura 2000 protections Viiankiaapa currently enjoys, in order to start mining in the mire. The Finnish ministry of the environment is working on its decision on the exemption permit, with the EU Commission expected to give its opinion on the mining plan by the end of September. Viiankiaapa is unique, and its ecosystem has taken thousands of years to develop – ordinarily, it is double-protected, under the EU Habitats Directive since 1998 and the Finnish Mire Conservation Act since 1988. This protection could be undone, as a project to mine nickel and copper deposits under the mire has been labelled as of “overriding...

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