Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide (Ap) wants the municipalities on board and is announcing tough priorities for nature conservation. He believes that priority must be given to building in or using “grey areas”, instead of more valuable natural areas. – And then you have to make some choices. Maybe the municipalities have to prioritize either the battery factory or the cottage field, but not both, he says. – For example, I would think that you must then choose renewable energy over more cabins. The Norwegian delegation cheered when 196 countries committed to the goal of 30 percent protection in Montreal. Photo: EIVIND MOLDE / news In just 7 years, Norway will contribute to achieving the global goal of 30 percent protection of sea and land. But in a survey carried out by news, it appears that two out of three municipalities are miles away from this target. Proportion of protected nature in Norwegian municipalities’ total area Table one of oneÅfjord02.03%Ål8.45%Ålesund1.65%Alstahaug0.08%Alta4.88% MDG and Conservative Party demand faster follow-up The government is now working on a nature account. It should make it easier for both the state, municipalities, county councils and private actors to protect nature as best as possible. MDG leader Arild Hermstad, who believes that the government must increase the pace considerably in order to reach the goal of protection that Norway committed to in Montreal. – All municipalities in Norway should start thinking about protecting more nature, and the state must set clearer targets. Hermstad believes the state should put more money on the table and use more powerful shields. Arild Hermstad, MDG leader. Photo: Gerd Johanne Braadland / news The Conservative Party also demands progress from the government to achieve the nature agreement. The government will not overrun the municipalities Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide (Ap) does not think the solution lies in overrunning the municipalities. – In some cases, the state must use its right of objection, I think so too. But first and foremost, I invite you to a charity where we, together with the municipalities, can find out how we can protect and take more care of nature, he says. The development of the E16 over Sollihøgda confiscated large natural areas. Among other things, WWF has advocated the introduction of a tax on nature interventions. Photo: Alf Ivar Martinsen / news Barth Eide acknowledges that it is demanding to protect more nature, at the same time that society must transition from fossil to renewable energy. – In order to be able to solve those dilemmas in a good way, we must also have some objective criteria and even more knowledge about the quality of different types of nature, and that is what nature accounting is all about. But Barth Eide is optimistic that Norway will be able to protect enough by 2030, but is worried that the protection may not be representative enough. – There is work that still needs to be done, but I have great faith that when the new Marine Environment Act comes into place, it will significantly help us to protect more in the marine areas. In Lyngen in Troms, over 40 percent of the area is protected. Barth Eide hopes Norway will be able to protect more of the area at sea. Photo: Trygve Grønning / news The zero municipalities have not received marching orders – As far as I know, we have not been told by higher authorities to protect more after the nature agreement was signed, says mayor Kjetil Slettebø (Sp) in Bjerkreim municipality in Rogaland. His municipality has protected 0.06 percent of its total area. The mayor says it is completely deliberate on their part that they do not protect more. The municipality received a request from the Norwegian Environment Agency to establish a national park, but declined. He believes that protection can create obstacles for new cultivation and agricultural roads, and believes that grazing animals and active agriculture are to thank for the unique cultural landscape in Bjerkreim. – I disagree with the approach that municipalities have to put on “nature glasses” to check whether an area is worthy of conservation. We manage to manage nature sustainably without protecting it, says Slettebø. Mayor Kjetil Slettebø in Bjerkreim municipality believes that protection can stand in the way of business. Photo: Mathias Oppedal Dyrøy municipality in Troms has protected 0.47 per cent. They have no plans to protect any more. – We are a relatively small municipality, and we use the areas and resources we have to make a living. But we are positive if private landowners want to protect it, she says. However, Espenes thinks it is good that the government sets targets, and says they will not stand in the way of them. – But I think perhaps you need to find larger areas that are suitable for protection, and not in small municipalities like Dyrøy, she says. Mayor of Dyrøy municipality, Marit Alvig Espenes, believes that large areas should be protected rather than small municipalities. Photo: Eirik Hind Sveen / news In Stord municipality in Vestland county, they have protected 0.56 per cent. Mayor Gaute Straume Epland (Ap) believes more government subsidies can act as a carrot to pick up the pace. – It is important that Kommune-Norge contributes. We don’t have any ongoing conservation plans in Stord now, he says. – But we want to avoid encroaching on untouched nature, and do not rule out special protection of natural areas when we revise our area plans in the future. But Epland dares not promise 30 per cent by 2030. Mayor of Stord municipality, Gaute Straume Epland, believes that financial incentives can make municipalities protect more. Photo: Eli Bjelland Thinks too many dispensations are granted Just before Christmas, the Nature Conservation Association reviewed over 22,000 dispensation applications granted between the years 2014–2022. There it emerged that nine out of ten applications for exemptions to be allowed to build roads, energy plants, mining or other developments in protected nature were given the thumbs up by the local administration. Cottage development eats up a lot of natural land in Norway. Here from cottage development on marshland in the Lillehammer areas. Photo: Ragnhild Moen Holø / news This worries the MDG leader. – The state must follow up with municipalities by both being clear that dispensations are not to be granted and that they must protect more. The party leader is now urging local politicians to put nature conservation on the agenda. – Everyone who is running for election in the municipalities must think that nature conservation is now incredibly important, and that it actually also benefits residents when more nature is protected, Hermstad believes. MDG leader Arild Hermstad believes that the state must set clearer requirements for the municipalities. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB The climate and environment minister does not fully agree that the statistics on dispensation applications indicate that protection is not taken seriously. – There are different protection categories, and there is room for some activity even where there is protection. But you have to apply to document that the activities or building you want are in line with the conservation purpose, and therefore it is actually logical that there are many applications for dispensation, he says. If the MDGs get their wish, there will be more untouched natural areas in Norway in the next few years. Here from Anjavassdalen in Øvre Dividalen National Park in Troms. Photo: Linda Pedersen / news – But having said that, it is important that we respect the various protection categories and ensure that we facilitate a much more reasonable relationship with nature than what we have done. – Must prioritize harder Climate and environmental policy spokesperson in the Conservative Party, Mathilde Tybring-Gjedde, believes that the municipalities will talk more about nature conservation in the future, and has confidence that they will take responsibility for more local protection. – I think the municipalities will take this responsibility very seriously. It will be a very central task in the years ahead to be able to take care of nature and its area. You have to prioritize a little harder between what should and should not be developed, she says. She is also calling for a plan from the government. The development of the E16 over Sollihøgda confiscated large natural areas. Among other things, WWF has advocated the introduction of a tax on nature interventions. Photo: Alf Ivar Martinsen / news – We have been clear to the government that they must now submit a plan to the Storting on how we will follow up on the global nature agreement and adapt it to Norwegian conditions, says Tybring-Gjedde. She also believes that the municipalities play a key role, and insists that the municipalities should continue to be responsible for spatial planning and that protection should be anchored locally. But the right-wing politician believes that the state should make it easier for the municipalities to make their own, wise decisions, through, for example, ecological base maps, guides and nature mapping. In that way, they can find solutions that result in lower climate emissions and less destruction of nature, Tybring-Gjedde believes. Høyre’s Mathilde Tybring-Gjedde is clear that nature conservation should be anchored locally. Photo: Tore Linvoller / NRKHøyre’s Mathilde Tybring-Gjedde is clear that nature conservation should be anchored locally. Photo: Tore Linvoller / news But the parliamentary representative will not promise more money on the table for nature conservation, for the time being. She points out that the Solberg government gave support to climate measures in the municipalities, and increased the allocations for voluntary forest protection. – It may well be that one should look at more schemes in addition to these, she points out. – Can’t avoid a certain downsizing Tybring-Gjedde believes it is inevitable that Norway will have to develop more towards 2030, especially power development. She believes that the debate about, for example, nuclear power as a less land-intensive energy project is too premature, and that power development must be prioritized now. She believes that it is possible for the municipalities to achieve this with creative spatial planning. The Conservative Party is advocating that more municipalities step in to reuse so-called “grey areas”, for example industrial areas that are not in use, instead of developing untouched nature. Here from the Lohneli industrial area in Søgne. Photo: Tom-Richard Hnassen Olsen / news – Seeing the possibility of, for example, local wind, solar power, compensating for nature that is being built down, or restoring destroyed nature are examples of balancing necessary development with nature conservation, she says. She agrees with Barth Eide that one must make more use of “grey areas”, and encourages local party members to re-examine the municipal maps and take the initiative for local protection where it is most suitable.
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MDG and the Conservative Party demand faster follow-up of the nature agreement – news Troms and Finnmark
