I have just returned from a 16 days vacation on the Faroe Islands with my girlfriend. The trip wasn't meant for research but still I couldn't help reflect a bit on TH!NK3, my Ecowar blog and other projects. Being submerged in the blogosphere is just so much different than biking on North Atlantic islands and walking across their mountain tops. Time for reflection rather than MDG press clip type buzz.

Before going back home I recorded a podcast on my phone. It outlines what subjects I'll touch upon below:

The Faroe Islands were mentioned twice in TH!NK2: Climate Change: Not just in the sensationalist Denmark cries in Sea of Blood, 950 Whales and Dolphins KILLED… but also in Environment as a symbol of ’Sovereignity’. What exactly is it that makes this tiny blop of old lava so interesting? This article is composed from extracts of our travel log. I don't intend to tire you with my diary but feel free to peek at whatever bits and pieces you may find interesting as I try to reason a bit with the information I absorbed.

Let us also get some basics straight - in the words of Wikipedia:

"The Faroe Islands are a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland. The Faroe Islands have been an autonomous province of the Kingdom of Denmark since 1948. Over the years, the Faroese have been granted control of most matters. Some areas still remain the responsibility of Denmark, such as military defence and foreign affairs.

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In 1973 the Faroe Islands declined to join Denmark in entering the European Community (now European Union). [...] As explicitly asserted by both Rome treaties, the Faroe Islands are not part of the European Union.

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20% of Faroe Islands' national budget comes as economic aid from Denmark, which is about the same as 50% of Faroe Islands' total expense budget."

The Faroe Islands is not Denmark. In fact, they are working on full sovereignty. Their biggest problem being how to do without the annual ~85 million € subsidy. My problem is what do I get for my Danish tax money (see speculation below). Also, I'm Danish and I don't eat whale, arctic parrots or sheep brains.

But wait! Before I move on there is one other thing I want to tell you: No mention of The Faroe Islands is complete without firmly stating that its people are extremely friendly and hospitable.

Getting there and getting around

For numerous reasons we ended up going there by plane but getting around by bike. The Danish railway system isn't exactly tuned to the ferry service which we'd preferred. Anyway, Atlantic Airways really deserve praise for offering free transport of bicycles! Very neat. You have to prepare your bike by turning the handlebar 90 degrees, deflate the tyres and take off the pedals. But that's it. Just remember checking in your bike first because you are not allowed to bring the tools you need to prepare it with you (lesson learned the hard way). Other companies may be less bike friendly so perhaps this pessimist article from The Guardian is worth reading if you are planning to take your bike flying.

Then there is the question of the bicycle as a means of transportation in a mountainous country with close to zero designated bike lanes and paths. I don't think one should bike there unless being an avid biker already. Many places could improve environmentally by their populations biking more - for the Faroese perhaps this is not the most obvious strategy.

But then they don't make it much easier either. They blast kilometers of tunnels through their mountains to ease the traffic - but chose to design these tunnels for carism. Biking those that are lighted still means sneaking along on the border of the car lane with great care, biking those without lights would be dangerous. I also have to wonder how sustainable it really is to construct these tunnels just to reach tiny villages of perhaps 100 houses?

Trekking

Experiencing the mountains require some walking. Very nice. Grand views, sheep, hares, birds and pretty, tiny flora.

And more than 70,000 sheep. Plants that aren't fenced in will not grow to heights above 5 cm. This has been the rule for hundreds of years. In other words, it's not nature. It's all culture. The original diverse flora has been replaced with one of much fewer species. Suggestions to establish a reserve has been ignored.

Watching Faroese TV and reading the guide books

The weekly lotto numbers appear to be presented by the Swedish cook of The Muppet Show. The daily news will feature something about fishing.

In fact, fishing was mentioned in the unofficial / independent guide book we were reading. Amazingly, the Faroese have enforced a faux kind of quota system: In stead of controlling the amount of fish caught they are allocating "fishing days" to crews. So, as long as they build bigger and bigger fishing boats production can grow. That is, grow as long as there are fish left. This must be possible only because they are not member of the EU? A bit funny, isn't it. A part of the Danish kingdom not member of the EU.

More Wikipedia facts:

"the almost total dependence on fishing and fish farming means that the economy remains extremely vulnerable. The Faroes and Greenland have refused to abide by quotas set by the North Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), which sets catch limits for each member."

Faroe fishers deny allegations of over fishing. But then how come sea bird populations are in decline? How come people told me this year dead birds had been found; apparently starved to death?

Regarding the whale hunt what really struck me as tragic is that health authorities now advise against eating more than 100 grams of pilot whale meat per month - because they are getting too polluted with heavy metals. That's what our ecosystem has come to.

Sustainability thoughs

As mentioned, they eat a larger fraction of the sheep carcass than most people. Here's the supermarket freezer section with sheep brains and heads. That's sustainability right there!

Historically, The Faroe Islands have been populated and developed on the fringe of possible existence. One of the more extreme viking colonies. Food hasn't been in abundance and, for example, when foreign ships wrecked there in the winter storms the locals had severe problems feeding the stranded crews. Stranded whales, on the other hand, have been a welcome nutritional supplement.

If Western fossil fuel based growth society collapses and we start fighting over what's left to eat and burn how would the Faroe Islands do? Well, they probably wouldn't be run over by zombie like credit junkies starved for empty calories. They are too far away and on the 62nd latitude North. But have they too become dependent on fossil fuel imports? Would they be able to feed themselves on fish or will the fish stocks have collapsed before the economy?

By the way they also eat the birds. Even puffins which are a tourist attraction and are left alone by islanders elsewhere. When I tried asking a local where I could see these birds, she misunderstood me and told me it wasn't the hunting season right now. When we visited a famous view used cartridges were littered there. The official tourist information sells a post card showing a bird hunter carrying a huge load of dead puffins.

The Danish kingdom

While trying on one of the products The Faroe Islands defenitely can export - woolen shirts - I noticed someting interesting playing on the radio. I don't understand Faroese, but recognize a few words here and there thanks to the ancient linguistic realtionship via the iron age. And I can understand "Greenpeace" in any language.

The non-violent environmentalists have written about their activities: Danish Navy Seals ready to meet our ship? They are demonstrating against off shore drilling, not whale hunts this time. And in fact, the radio programme was delivering the rumors of Danish navy seals and special police forces getting ready to board the Greenpeace ship! And sure enough, a few days later we did see a Danish Navy vessel!

But the Danish navy is always patroling the waters there. We're a naval super power, remember!? Or at least, we're the remnants of one. That's one thing we get for the 85 million €: Territory. And dirt cheap fish.

Subsidies vs foreign aid

In the microcosm of the Danish kingdom, The Faroe Islands is the developing nation. We call it "bloktilskud" but perhaps the annual 85 million € subsidy is really a formalized sort of foreign aid, bribing the islands into maintaining their culture of fishing and sheep herding?

Perhaps such an attitude could be applied to the "normal" development aid? Let us bribe the 3rd world and let them produce sugar, corn and iPods in stead of letting them grow out of bounds like we did. Every now and then enjoy blaming them for their apparently brutal traditions while hiding away and closing our eyes to our own.

Of course, that would require we start treating the 3rd world people as our equals; ensure a certain standard of living and human rights.