Aluminiumsmelter og vandkraft i det centrale Vestgrønland

Summary
This report was prepared by the National Environmental Research Institute
and the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources for the Greenland
Home Rule Government to be used for preparing a Strategic Environmental
Assessment in connection with the proposed aluminium smelter
and hydroelectric project in central West Greenland. The objective of the
report is to gather and evaluate existing environmental data within the
region that is affected by the project.
The report contains descriptions of plant and animal life and of human
resource use through hunting, fishing, tourism etc. In the descriptions of
plant and animal life we focus on species that are 1) important to fishing
and hunting, 2) rare or threatened, and 3) of international importance. If
data are sufficient, we have prepared maps showing the most important
areas to a certain species or to human resource use within the region. For
each species discussed, we evaluate the importance of the region to the
species and the risk that it may be impacted by the aluminium smelter
and hydroelectric project.
Vegetation is an important determinant of the occurrence of caribou,
muskox and geese. There are large differences in the composition of the
vegetation within the region, e.g. between oceanic, coastal areas and continental
areas towards the Inland Icecap. Elevation is also important, and
some high-lying areas have no vegetation. A number of rare plant species
occur within the region. Establishing reservoir lakes as water supplies
to hydroelectric plants implies that some vegetated areas will be
flooded and the vegetation will be destroyed. This will, however probably
affect only smaller areas. The construction of roads will, to a smaller
extent, affect the vegetation. The potential impact of the project on the
vegetation, including rare species, should be considered as construction
plans are made so that the impact of new roads, transmission lines and
other installations can be mitigated.
The region is important to caribou and muskoxen. The highest concentrations
of caribou are found north of Kangerlussuaq and south of
Maniitsup Sermia. In the northern part of the region at Kangerlussuaq
the animals migrate and are found primarily in early summer in the
inland areas, where they also calve, while in the other part of the year
they are found in more coastal areas. There are also other migration patterns
in this caribou herd, but these are not well documented. In the
southern part of the region the migration pattern is more complicated.
Some animals are found in coastal areas all year round, while others migrate
between winter habitats in coastal areas and calving and summer
habitats in the inland region. Some information is available concerning
the distribution of caribou in the region, but it is patchy in time and
space. There are no systematically collected data on the migration and
location of calving areas, but these are needed. Construction works of
hydroelectric plants or transmission lines will affect the distribution of
caribou in the region, but when construction works and disturbance
have ceased, the animals will be expected to return, if there is no human
activity in the area.
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