Figures from Statistics Norway show that 6,690 new holiday homes were completed in Norway last year. It is a new record, and an increase of 26.1 per cent from the previous year. – High construction costs have to a small extent crushed the cabin dreams, says Jens Mathiesen in SSB. Stricter requirements for nature conservation nevertheless mean that the trend may have reversed. Symbolized by the fact that the number of start-up permits for holiday homes fell somewhat in 2022. – 2022 must be the high-water mark for cottage development in Norway, says leader of the environmental organization Sabima, Christian Steel. He says that the rate of development is on a “complete collision course” with the UN nature agreement to protect 30 per cent of nature. Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide (Ap) signed the new agreement in Montreal before Christmas, and has since announced a national action plan for nature. The cabin hall in Myrkdalen in Vestland picked up strongly during the pandemic. At the beginning of the 20th century, half of Norway was wilderness. Today, this share is 11.5 percent. Photo: Marit Hommedal / NTB – A promise at an international summit is in itself worth nothing – I hope and believe that cabin construction in Norwegian nature has passed the peak, says leader of the Nature Conservation Association, Truls Gulowsen. Figures from Statistics Norway show that there are half a million holiday homes in the country of cabins, and that Norwegian municipalities have set aside space for a further half a million cabins. According to a report from NINA, these cabin plans will triple the area that is currently used, and to a certain extent (8 per cent) overlap with the habitat of the wild reindeer. – It doesn’t matter what I hope or think. Cabin construction must be stopped, says Ola Elvestuen (V). The Nature Conservancy says the municipal elections this autumn will provide “an important pointer” as to whether local democracy is able to regulate development, or whether there will be a need for more government management. – The new nature agreement reinforces the need for municipalities to reassess old plans, says Kjersti Bjørnstad (Sp), who is state secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and District Affairs (see below). The Ministry answers Kjersti Bjørnstad (Sp), State Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and District Affairs – The most important thing is not how many cabins we build, but where and how we build them. Densification and concentrated development are important out of consideration for nature and the climate, but also for outdoor life and existing industries such as agriculture and reindeer husbandry. At the same time, better arrangements for renting out existing holiday homes can reduce the need for development. The new nature agreement reinforces the need for the municipalities to reassess old plans. It is not certain that all approved areas should be developed. At the same time, the municipalities must take more care of nature when they plan new holiday homes. The Ministry of Local Government and District Affairs has recently issued a guideline on planning holiday homes. The director describes how care for nature and other important conditions can be taken care of through planning. I have great confidence that the municipalities will make good and wise decisions in this work. In a proposal from MDG, the nature agreement is interpreted as a marching order to the government to carry out a “full review” of planned cottage projects. Similar proposals for “more gentle cabin construction” have come from Raudt and Venstre. – Promises at international summits are in themselves worth nothing for nature, if we don’t follow through, says Sofie Marhaug in Raudt. – We must stimulate increased cabin sharing Trond G. Hagen, chairman of the Norwegian Cabin Association – I think we will see the peak in 2022. If not for the future, then for the next 30 years. The cabin boom during the pandemic comes from special circumstances that are unlikely to repeat themselves anytime soon, and that’s a good thing. Then there are several people who owe us for “pulling up the ladder after us”. To that end, it is to say that I wish everyone a cabin, but that we must take measures so that this does not go beyond stone and stone. Arild Hermstad, MDG – We want to challenge the idea that everyone must have their own benefit. Therefore, we will increase support for organizations and municipalities that operate sharing and lending schemes of cabins, so that we facilitate sustainable alternatives to the cabin culture we have today. In addition, we will encourage more cabin sharing for private owners and, not least, car sharing solutions, especially in the cities. Both cabins and cars are objects that are largely unused, and we can be better at arranging for sharing these than today. It will both increase resource utilization and be good for the wallet. We cannot accept today’s ongoing competition between cottage municipalities where it is about being the best at destroying nature. Birgit Oline Kjerstad, SV – I expect that there will be stricter guidelines for national land policy when the government presents its parliamentary report on the nature agreement. A tightening must also apply to other sectors, not just cottage construction. The nature panel and the climate panel have given us a new knowledge base about how serious it is to destroy even more nature. Many municipalities and local communities have started to react, and talk about the limit being reached. I also think that expensive times and high energy prices will mean that more people will be cautious about investing in holiday homes, and that more people might consider renting out and sharing the use of their cabin. Sofie Marhaug, Raudt – Cabin construction has increased and increased in recent decades, to a level that is not sustainable. Fortunately, we can turn this around. But then actual measures are needed to curb ever more development in vulnerable and untouched nature. If we manage to reverse the trend, it is good news for the natural country of Norway. That is the most important thing. Many people love cabin life in nature. But then we cannot build down more and more of the same nature. Instead, we must facilitate more partial solutions, rent out and more use of the cabins that have already been built. Ola Elvestuen, Left – We have to do a lot to stop the piece-by-piece downsizing in Norway. It is quite clear that cabin construction cannot continue as before. At the same time, there must be an end to far too many large commercial areas being prepared just in the hope that someone will show an interest in establishing themselves there. And we must stop letting cities and towns continue to flow outwards into ever new housing estates. Instead, there must be demands that old municipal plans must be cleaned up. Arrangements have been made for far too much destruction of nature in old plans in Norwegian municipalities. What we need is the establishment of many more conservation areas, the restoration of much more nature and provision must be made for more nature in people’s immediate environment. Helge Eide, KS – I would like to believe that the increasing attention to the connection between climate and nature crisis will mean that more critical questions will be asked than before about the detailed regulation of new cottage plots – even if the area is set aside for this purpose in current municipal plans, really is predictable. The Montreal Agreement is, after all, a consequence of an increasing awareness of this. And this increasing attention is not reserved for international conferences alone – it also applies nationally, regionally and locally. So I will be very careful in making predictions for the rate of development. It obviously also depends on the economic development in the coming years, and there is extra great uncertainty about that now. Ingeborg Wessel Finstad, section leader for nature and sustainability in DNT – The Nature Agreement requires a change of course in the way we use our land. We can no longer consume nature as if it were an infinite resource. There must also be consequences for cabin construction in this country. Cabin fields with cabins and infrastructure often mean major interventions, both in the mountains, in the forest and in the beach zone. Bit by bit nature is being built down, and over time this has had major consequences for nature and for our nature experiences. We need a binding national cottage policy. The municipalities can no longer sit on each other’s shoulders to grant development permits without seeing the whole picture and the common challenges we face. Christian Steel, Sabima – I think 2022 must be the high-water mark for cottage development in Norway. According to a recent report from NINA, the municipalities have cottage plans that would triple the area with cottage plots, which shows that cottage construction is out of control. This affects both valuable nature and people who live in the cottage municipalities. The municipalities must get their act together and think completely differently about their consumption of nature, and the government must introduce far stricter requirements and limits for the construction of cabins in new nature. Truls Gulowsen, Naturvernforbundet – I hope and believe that cabin construction in Norwegian nature has passed the peak. More and more people see that we have enough cabins, that it is possible to share the cabins we have, and that still uncritical development takes far too much nature. I have the impression that people in many “cottage municipalities” are fed up with the building boom and expect both plan washing and a much more controlled cottage policy than we have had until now. The municipal election can become an important indicator of whether local democracy can manage this, or whether there will be a need for more government management. – I don’t think we have seen the peak. news has also been in contact with experts who do not believe that the peak has been reached. The explanations vary: No binding national cabin policy Business interests and local pressure to create economic growth Lack of political will Old regulatory plans that “are not up to date with the new evidence” Bjørn P. Kaltenborn, who is a senior researcher at NINA, identifies the problem that land and the development decisions are at municipal level – “where there is a lot of pressure to create economic activity”. – Strong market forces combined with a political regime that does not want national governance makes it look rather dark. I don’t think we have seen the top, he says. This winter, the Hallingdølen newspaper has directed its searchlight towards a disputed cabin field in an untouched nature area in Gol – based on a zoning plan from 2005. – Many of the plans for development are old plans Trond Simensen, landscape ecology researcher at NINA – Many of the plans for development are old plans, which were adopted in the 70s, 80s and 90s by a different generation of municipal politicians than those who decide today. We have gained new knowledge about how climate and nature are closely related. We know that efficient land use is a key factor both for slowing down greenhouse gas emissions, for adapting to climate change, and for stopping the loss of nature. It is the local democracy in the municipalities that decides to allow land use. It is therefore important that the municipalities now hold a debate about this, and that the municipalities update older plans and consider whether previously approved development areas should be taken out. We can call it a “plan washing”. Such a debate must take account of new knowledge. Furthermore, it is good news for Norway, the country of cabins, if we can build cabins in a smarter way, with lower consumption of energy, less loss of nature and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. There is great potential in upgrading older cabins, and to a greater extent building cabins in areas that already have reduced natural qualities, instead of building down more natural areas. This is how we can succeed in reaching the targets in the nature agreement. – Will 2022 be the high water mark for cottage development in Norway? Well, we can hope, says Andrew Kroglund, who is secretary general of the Grandparents Climate Action (BKA). He clarifies that there is a difference between what he hopes and what he believes: – It is only a few days since the environment minister overruled professional advice and opened the new E6 through a nature reserve. Development field on Mosetertoppen in Hafjell. – It is more important to talk about use than about construction and location The largest cabin county in Norway – Innlandet – sent out a proposal a short time ago stating that: “Holiday homes should preferably be located in connection with existing structures such as service areas, transport routes and other infrastructure. Then the leisure residents will be less dependent on cars when traveling and staying, and the loss of nature, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced.” Carlo Aall, who is professor of sustainable development at Vestlandsforsking, believes it is more important to talk about “use” than about “location”. – We have to change the understanding of cabin development from being “more cabins per municipality” to “more cabin days per cabin”, he says. The recipe is to change the “engineering approach” (how to build environmentally friendly cabins) into a more economical approach (how to share and use the existing cabins). – In practice, it is about helping cabin owners to arrange sharing arrangements and caretaker arrangements. New cabins under construction in Holtardalen on Rauland. Photo: Håkon Eliassen / news
ttn-69
Record number of new cabins in 2022 – news Vestland
