A/HRC/43/53/Add.2 76. Municipal policies are contributing to cleaner transport, with policies that dedicate toll road revenues primarily to public transport and cycling infrastructure, tackle maritime emissions and make it cheap and easy to use electric vehicles. Ninety per cent of Oslo residents live within a short walk (300 metres) of public transport. The bus and ferry fleets are being converted to zero-emission vehicles, using electricity, hydrogen and biofuels. Biogas from municipal waste and sewage is used to power buses. Subsidies are offered for the purchase of electric bikes. On-street parking in the city centre is being replaced by wider sidewalks, bike lanes, trees, art and public spaces. 77. Overall, these efforts are working, as the share of trips taken using public transit increased from 32 per cent to 42 per cent between 2005 and 2015, while the share of journeys using cars fell from 45 per cent to 34 per cent. The shift to cleaner transport has contributed to substantial improvements in air quality in Oslo, and clean air is a vital element of the right to a heathy environment. IV. Indigenous peoples, human rights and the environment 78. One of the highlights of the Special Rapporteur’s visit to Norway was three days spent in Karasjok, Kautokeino and other sites in Finnmark County, where he was hosted by the Sámi Parliament. The Sámi people have lived in Finland, Norway, the Russian Federation and Sweden for many thousands of years. In recent decades, the Government of Norway has begun to respect the indigenous rights of the Sámi people. Important steps forward have included the Sámi Act (1987), the inclusion of Sámi rights in the Constitution (1988), the establishment of the Sámi Parliament (1989), the Finnmark Act (2005) and an agreement on procedures for consultation between the Sámi Parliament and State authorities (2005). 79. Despite these positive developments, there remain serious concerns related to human rights and the environment. Reindeer husbandry is at the heart of Sámi culture, providing livelihoods for more than three thousand people. Healthy and productive environments are essential for both the herders and the reindeer. Both Sámi reindeer herders and Sámi organizations expressed deep concerns about threats to the sustainability of reindeer husbandry caused by the encroachment, fragmentation and cumulative impact of existing and proposed developments including mines, wind farms, hydroelectric power plants, power lines, railways, cabins and tourism activities, and the infrastructure associated with these developments, especially roads. 39 In 2011, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples observed that these activities had resulted in the loss and fragmentation of pasture lands, with detrimental effects on reindeer, and that natural resource extraction and development projects threatened to diminish areas available for grazing (A/HRC/18/35/Add.2, para. 55). 80. According to the Sámi, traditional ecological knowledge, which must be considered in assessments of these developments, is not being given sufficient weight. Projects of particular concern include the Nussir copper mine, the proposed Davvi wind farm and reopening of the gold mine at Bidjovagge. 81. The Nussir mining project was also criticized by environmental organizations, which noted that Norway was one of only a handful of nations that continued to allow submarine disposal of mine tailings (along with Chile, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Turkey). 40 The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research concluded that submarine tailings disposal in fjords would contaminate the water, reduce populations of fish and crustaceans and cause significant ecosystem disruption. 41 The Special Rapporteur was surprised to learn that 39 40 41 Sámediggi/Sámi Parliament, Report of the Sámediggi/Sámi Parliament of Norway to the Human Rights Committee – Supplementing and commenting on Norway’s seventh periodic reports of States parties due in 2017 (CCPR/C/NOR/7) – International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Craig Vogt, International Assessment of Marine and Riverine Disposal of Mine Tailings, study commissioned by the International Maritime Organization (May 2013). Jan Helge Fosså and others, “Effects of mine tailings disposal on the ecosystem and biodiversity in the marine environment – a critical view”, paper presented by the Norway Institute of Marine Research at the international conference in Egersund, Norway, on marine and lake disposal of mine tailings and waste rock, 7–10 September 2009. 15