In December, countries around the world agreed to protect 30 percent of nature. The agreement was signed in Montreal. – Governments all over the world will take this into account and strive for it, said Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide (Ap) after the meeting. A month later, the agreement has begun to take effect in Norwegian politics. On Monday, the government and the municipal sector’s organization KS announced that they will jointly follow up on the new agreement. – All nature is in one municipality, explained Barth Eide. Earlier in January, it became clear that the Storting will discuss the protection of five more rivers. The foundation was the Montreal Agreement. – The Nature Agreement is a landmark of a revolutionary nature, says Andrew Kroglund, secretary general of the Grandparents’ Climate Action (BKA). In a letter to the elected representatives, he advocates that they quickly find out how Norway can implement the 30 per cent requirement without it “boiling away in the same way as the Aichi targets”. – The Nature Agreement requires us to think differently. The time of piece-by-piece construction is over, now a paradigm shift is needed in land management, says Ingeborg Wessel Finstad, who is head of nature and sustainability at DNT. – We expect the government not to grant new permits. In the Storting, the energy and environment committee has received two new proposals to decide on. Both proposals are based on the new nature agreement. In the proposal from the MDG, it is stated that the Montreal agreement spans the following project: – We expect the government not to give permission for major nature interventions until we have a regulatory framework that ensures that we do not build down too much nature, says Kristoffer Robin Haug in the MDG. More about the four projects Hordfast Today, the E39 runs between Os and Stord via the Halhjem–Sandvikvåg ferry connection, while the new plan is to build a bridge over the Bjørnafjord and lay a new road route over several islands. The state administrator in Vestland has pointed out that the area has a high concentration of boreal rainforest, coastal marshes and swamp forests. Eidfjord Resort In 2019, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs gave permission for the construction of a year-round alpine village in Sysendalen in Eidfjord municipality near Hardangervidda. Davvi wind farm in Finnmark MDG writes in its proposal that the wind farm “will affect the Sami reindeer husbandry area and involve a major intervention in Norway’s second largest intervention-free area”. Ringeriksbane through Nordre Tyrifjorden nature reserve According to the proposals, the planned route will involve “very large interventions in valuable nature, including the internationally protected wetland area at the outlet of Storelva in the north of Tyrifjorden”. On Monday, Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum (Sp) was in Sogndal to see how the improvement of national road 13 is going. – We may have sometimes chosen good road standards. But we have to build a road, and we have to build a safe road, he says to news. – Large new cabin fields on the forest border, wind power plants in natural areas, clearcuts and bottom trawling in marine protected areas. This is an example of a project that we cannot take forward in the new judgement, says Truls Gulowsen of the Nature Conservation Association. The picture is taken where the top station of Eidfjord Resort is planned to be located. Photo: Asle Øydvin Cottage area as large as 200,000 football pitches In the proposal from the Liberal Party, it is stated that the government must introduce an area fee for nature encroachment, and that the state should consider an appreciation scheme for “municipalities that are most successful with area-neutral development”. The proposal specifically mentions “the negative effects of cottage development”. The new nature agreement states that at least 30 per cent of the earth’s land, coastal and marine areas must be preserved by 2030. – We may have sometimes chosen rather good road standards, says Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum (Sp). Photo: Rune Stoltz Bertinussen / NTB news has previously written that there are half a million cabins in Norway, and that the municipalities have set aside space for another half a million cabins. That is as much as 200,000 football pitches. – Maybe more people can rent cabins, instead of everyone owning them? asks Birgit Oline Kjerstad, who is a parliamentary representative for SV. In addition to slowing down cottage development, she believes that the nature agreement “must be accompanied by projects that are planned in wetland areas, nature reserves and cultivated land”. – Requirements for nature must be set early in planning processes, so that we do not spend huge sums on planning measures that should not be carried out. Examples are motorway plans such as the ferry-free E39, Hordfast, Møreaksen and E6 through the Lågen delta, she says. – Now a paradigm shift is needed in land management Ingeborg Wessel Finstad, DNT – The new nature agreement requires us to think differently. The time of piece-by-piece demolition is over, now a paradigm shift is needed in land management. The municipalities manage most of Norway’s land and play a very important role in taking care of nature. The municipalities must be given clearer national guidelines and there must be a requirement that all Norwegian municipalities must have an area account with an overview of valuable nature and what is actually being built down. Kristoffer Robin Haug, MDG – Massive changes are needed. Then we have to do it as if we were going to eat an elephant: start with a piece at a time and get started now. We have suggested some important places to start, which are projects that we know have major and serious natural encroachments. It is the first step on the long road we as a society have until we can say that we take care of our nature. We will not freeze Norway as it is now. But that will force a policy where, instead of taking new nature, we have to re-use our land and share more of what we already have. Truls Gulowsen, Leader of the Nature Conservation Association – It is quite obvious that the premises for the consumption of nature in Norway have also changed after the Montreal Agreement, especially in light of the fact that Norway was a driving force behind several of the important and ambitious targets. We are particularly concerned that Norway set pace to achieve the target of 30 per cent protection of both sea and land through large-scale supplementary processes to identify and protect important and connected natural areas, but also that other measures will be implemented to stop the loss of nature and start the restoration of Norwegian nature. The plans for ferry-free E39 with Hordfast, E16 and Ringeriksbane through the Nordre Tyrifjorden nature reserve, Eidfjord Resort, large new cabin fields in the forest border, wind power plants in natural areas, surface logging and bottom trawling in marine protected areas are typical examples of old projects that we cannot continue in the new reality. Birgit Oline Kjerstad, SV – If something is planned that has major negative consequences for nature and the climate, the plans should be revised based on new knowledge. Often we can do something in a different way, or change the plan so that it is better for nature. Maybe we can renovate and use already developed land? Perhaps we can upgrade the road that is already there, put it in a tunnel instead of building a new road elsewhere. We can plan better so that we reduce energy and the need for transport. Perhaps more people can rent cabins instead so that everyone can own one? We humans are completely dependent on intact nature to get clean water, clean air and safe food. Protection is not to stop using, but to stop doing what is destructive and polluting. Taking nature must be given a price tag that reflects the long-term costs of nature loss. Espen Barth Eide (Ap), climate minister – All nature is in one municipality. That is why I am very happy that we have agreed with KS to work together to follow up the global nature agreement in Norway. Nature ensures us food, water, welfare and a livable environment. The collaboration with KS aims to take better care of natural diversity and to protect the services nature provides us. Gunn Marit Helgesen, chairman of KS – On behalf of the municipal sector, I have agreed to a collaboration with the Ministry of Climate and the Environment. We would like to contribute to exploring the room for action and to finding goals and means together with the state. For us, it is essential that the work is carried out with respect for local democracy and the difficult trade-offs that take place in the municipalities and county councils in the country regarding the use and protection of land. The latest main report to the UN climate panel is also included – It is quite obvious that the premises have changed after the Montreal Agreement, says leader of the Norwegian Confederation of Nature Conservation, Truls Gulowsen. Professor of sustainable development, Carlo Aall, says it is important to see the two international environmental regimes in context. The latest main report to the UN climate panel contains proposals to protect 30–50 per cent of remaining nature. This is to secure society against the consequences of climate change. There are therefore two conservation plans that are now on the table: One about protecting nature for nature’s own sake, and one about protecting nature for the sake of the climate. – Superimposed on each other, there will be a large overlap between these reviews, but there may be some differences, says Aall. Based on the international guidelines, he believes that the following demands will be registered in Norway: General construction ban (or requirement for a national construction notification) in all large cabin areas Prohibition against the reallocation of wetlands and bogs Demand for roadless development of wind power plants Stronger requirements for multi-use consideration in forestry A restoration program for ecosystems along waterways and lakes Screen out all road developments that are only economically profitable if the development leads to increased transport volume (the same principle is being discussed in Sweden) New cabins under construction in Holtardalen on Rauland. Photo: Håkon Eliassen / news
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New nature agreement puts Norwegian road project in play – news Vestland
