Klik her for at se PDF'en - Air Greenland

Suluk # 04 2008
NAMMINERSORNERULLUTIK OQARTUSSAT · GRØNLANDS HJEMMESTYRE
Dear Travellers
A warm welcome to our beloved Kalaallit Nunaat
- Greenland.
Greenland is a magnifi cent country whose beauty
can take your breath away, even for us who have
lived here all our lives. Nature lords over our lives
and therefore we always respect her moods and
whims, no matter where we are. She can be merciless,
even after the briefest moment of carelessness
– as we have learnt to our cost through
generations.
In recent years, Greenland has seen clear signs
of climate change, with melting ice and extreme
chang es in the weather. Therefore Greenland
will work relentlessly to meet her environmental
obligations and to intensify the use of renewable
energy such as hydro power.
We must safeguard nature and the environment,
but at the same time we have to strengthen our
economy - and these two goals don’t have to
confl ict with each other.
Greenland is the land of minerals and in recent
years we have seen an almost explosive interest
in our wealth of different minerals and hydrocarbons.
We expect to see the opening of fi ve mines
over the next fi ve years. These will extract gold,
diamonds, rubies and other minerals. Furthermore,
never before have we issued so many exploration
licenses to international oil companies searching
for oil and natural gas in several extremely promising
areas. In future years it is possible that mining
will overtake fi shing as Greenland’s most important
source of revenue.
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But all these activities share Greenland’s stringent
environment requirements for mining company
activities.
Politically, Greenland is entering a very interesting
period. We are in the process of making the public
administration more effi cient, and in practice this
means that 18 municipalities will be merged into
four large municipalities with greater competences.
The goal is not only to make municipalities
more effi cient, but also to strengthen local democracy.
A referendum is planned for the end of November
this year on the introduction of Self-Governance in
Greenland. Several years of work lie ahead for the
Greenland-Danish Self-Governance Commission,
which will include a Bill for Greenland Self-Governance
as well as a framework for how Greenland’s
economy can be developed. If the people of
Greenland want the new enhanced type of political
system as a replacement for the old Home Rule
system, it will be introduced in 2009.
As you can see the people of Greenland are facing
great challenges. Therefore it is also important
that the people are strengthened with more education
initiatives and enhanced social efforts. These
points are high on the Greenland Government’s
agenda.
Have a nice trip!
Hans Enoksen
Premier of the Greenland Government
www.ag.gl • www.arc-pic.com