United Nations conservation advisers have declared St Kilda to be at "high risk" from proposed oil development and recommended that the islands be added to the list of World Heritage Sites "in danger". These remote and spectacular islands are Britain's only natural World Heritage Site putting them in the same category as the Great Barrier Reef and the Taj Mahal.
The report also criticises the UK Government for an inadequate response to a previous request from the World Heritage Committee last December to account for information on the risks to St Kilda from oil development.
Greenpeace Campaigner, Rob Gueterbock said, "The IUCN's damning report undermines the credibility of the Scottish Office when they say there is "minimum" risk to St Kilda. This report lays bare the reality of the threat of oil to the survival of St Kilda's pristine environment.
The intervention by the IUCN at the all week meeting of the World Heritage Bureau in Paris follows an alert by Greenpeace to the threat from oil exploration to St Kilda's world-renowned seabird population and marine environment.
The IUCN warning comes as Greenpeace announces that it will send its flagship Rainbow Warrior to the islands this summer to highlight the urgency of St. Kilda's plight. The organisation will carry out an underwater survey to establish the first ever 3D map of the seabed life around St Kilda. The survey will focus on the North coast of the islands, which could be the first side of St Kilda to be affected by an oil spill.
Rob Gueterbock added "No one would dream of digging for oil in the grounds of the Taj Majhal. That's what the UK Government is doing by allowing oil companies to drill near St. Kilda. Oil drilling could start any week now - an SOS should go out to everyone who is concerned about the Jewel in the Scotland's Atlantic Frontier."
Last week Marathon Oil was granted consent to drill a well 70 miles North of St Kilda, the nearest so far under development. Yet environmental impact assessments carried by Marathon Oil UK last year show that a blow-out from its proposed well, could beach oil on the islands in just 48 hours.
In their report, the UN advisors expressed concern over the impact of oil on the island's sea birds, both from oil spills reaching St Kilda's shores but also that "spills remaining offshore could have an impact on those species that feed in this area." Research has shown that fulmars feed as far as 100km offshore while the Manx sheerwater has a feeding range of 330 km. This overlaps with existing areas of the Atlantic Frontier licensed for oil.
St Kilda is situated in the North East Atlantic, where the use of relatively new drilling technology in an area of very deep water prone to extreme weather conditions and ocean currents poses a real risk of oil spills. This would have lethal impacts on bird populations and seabed life. At present there are only two developments in the Atlantic Frontier but there have already been three serious incidents in the first year of operation(4).
Notes to Editors:
1. The National Trust for Scotland owns St Kilda.
2. Map of seabird feeding grounds, the IUCN's statement, Marathon Oil UK's map of the trackline of an oil spill to St Kilda from the proposed well, media briefing notes on the threats to St Kilda and Greenpeace's submission to UNESCO available on request.
3. St Kilda was discussed at the annual meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Kyoto, Japan, 30th November - December 6 th 1998 and the meeting of the World Heritage Bureau in Paris 5 th - 10th July 1999.
4. On 9 th December 1997 - only 13 days after producing its first oil, BP's Foinaven development had its first spill. An oil spill from Foinaven could reach St Kilda in 87 hours. On the 25 th September 1998 there was a collision between the production vessel Schiehallion and an oil shuttle tanker. On the 9 th November 1998 - a 60-foot wave cracked Scheihallion's superstructure leading to the emergency evacuation of its personnel.
Further information:
Contact:
Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255
