Strip Naked Not Strip Mining!

Pics and press relesase of Save Happy Valley Wellington's Global Day of Action on Climate Change Activity

Strip Naked Not Strip Mining!

Saturday 4 November 2006

PRESS RELEASE: For immediate use

Save Happy Valley Coalition members marched from Aro Valley to
Parliament and then Waitangi Park wetland to highlight state-owned
enterprise Solid Energy’s proposal to destroy a pristine wetland
ecosystem on the West Coast of the South Island. In collaboration
with local artists, marchers were body painted to bring attention to
the myriad native and endangered species threatened by the proposed
coal mine.

”Wellington City Council put many thousands of dollars into restoring
this wetland in Wellington city that was originally destroyed by
short-sighted town developers, and wetland restoration is undertaken
in many parts of the country at great expense. It is inanity that the
proposal of a state-owned coal-mining company to destroy the wetland
Waimangaroa Valley (otherwise known as Happy Valley) and Mt Augustus
– which are both untouched and unique ecosystems – has been
sanctioned by the Conservation Minister Chris Carter” said Save Happy
Valley Coalition Wellington spokesperson Alex Winter-Billington.

“Climate change has been identified by economists, environmentalists
and social scientists as possibly the greatest threat to humanity and
the global environment today. Yet, despite the NZ Government’s
ostensible commitment to the Kyoto Protocol, it has agreed to allow a
new coal mine to be opened in one of this country’s most precious
natural environments.” Ms Winter-Billington added.

”An estimated 8% of Aotearoa New Zealand’s wetlands have survived to
the present day; over 90% of has been drained primarily for farming.
What is left is critical habitat for rare and endangered species that
will not survive without them, such as the two critically endangered
giant carnivorous snail species that are endemic to Mt Augustus and
the Waimangaroa Valley and the Great Spotted Kiwi that have been
thriving in these largely predator-free zones. The health of such
species and ecosystems is furthermore critical for maintaining a
healthy level of biodiversity in Aotearoa New Zealand” she commented
further.

Save Happy Valley is an independent coalition fighting to protect the
Ngakawau Recommended Protected Area, the Waimangaroa Valley and Mt
Augustus. The group was formed in 2004 and has used creative
non-violent direct action to highlight the campaign; notably
coalition members have been occupying the Waimangaroa Valley for over
six months and have brought court cases against both Solid Energy and
Conservation Minister Chris Carter for their decisions regarding the
proposed mines, both of which will be heard this year.

ENDS

Media Contact:
Alex Winter-Billington, Save Happy Valley Coalition Wellington
Delegate
04) 385 4171, 0274 225 128

More photographs available on request

For information on the history of Save Happy Valley Coalition
campaign history, visit the website:
http://www.savehappyvalley.org.nz/aboutus.htm"

Related

http://www.savehappyvalley.org.nz