The international organization for the protection of cultural heritage, Icomos, has sent a letter to the government in which they object “in the strongest possible terms” to Norwegian authorities putting “priceless world heritage” at stake. The background is the state’s approval to build a quarry in the vicinity of the Vingen rock carving area. The letter is addressed to Municipal and District Minister Erling Sande (Sp), who gave the green light to the project, despite protests from the National Antiquities Authority and the State Administrator. “Dear Sande. This is not a choice between a priceless cultural monument and a quarry. You can get both parts, but not in the same place,” writes Icomos president Benjamin Smith. In the letter, he recalls that the Portuguese authorities agreed to a similar development project, before the voters punished them and installed a greener government. On Wednesday, the Minister of Local Government has been summoned to Question Time in the Storting to explain the quarry, which is part of a series of nature resolutions that have received international attention recently. In January, the British newspaper The Guardian wrote about Norway’s “go-ahead” to deposit 170 million mining waste in the Førdefjord. The Nature Conservancy lost the so-called fjord lawsuit in the Oslo district court in January, after almost 20 years of fighting. In the same month, the EU Parliament passed a resolution against Norway – as the first country in the world – opening up the search for minerals on the seabed. International attention to several Norwegian nature decisions means that the municipal minister has to go to the Storting to defend himself. Photo: NTB – Norway is about to become the pile of stones in the north – This could damage both the ecosystem in the sea and the fishing resources in the area, said EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski in his speech to the EU Parliament. He received support from several Norwegian parliamentary politicians, who believed that the decision on marine mining was an embarrassment and embarrassment for the nation. “Norway is about to become the pile of stones in the north that the rest of Europe shakes its head at”, wrote the representative of the Liberal Party, Alfred Bjørlo, in a column in the Altinget. He refers to “a long series of anti-nature decisions”, most recently demonstrated by the municipal minister’s “jubilant yes” to quarrying “in a unique natural and cultural landscape area”. news has been in contact with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, but has so far not received a reply. – Norway’s reputation has taken several big hits The head of the Norwegian Nature Conservation Association, Truls Gulowsen, says that Norway’s reputation “has taken several big hits recently” and that it goes beyond its impact on the international scene. – Success in other matters is weakened when Norwegian politicians and diplomats have to spend valuable time explaining or defending unacceptable environmental decisions, rather than promoting Norwegian interests, he says. He adds that it is “great that Icomos reacts, and that they do it so quickly”. – I hope the government listens and realizes that there is no shame in turning around. Frederik Ringnes / NTB Une Bastholm, MDG – Norway’s environmental reputation has lived on for a long time due to the work Gro Harlem Brundtland did for sustainable development in the 80s, but now it is over. It is impossible to overlook the fact that both red and blue Norwegian governments pursue weak and poorly informed environmental policies that run over nature, wildlife, fisheries and the climate. This is increasingly revealed to our neighboring countries and it arouses increasingly strong reactions, especially when it affects ecosystems that we share with our neighbours. NTB Frode Pleym, Greenpeace leader – Norwegian politicians are giving up on environmental advice in favor of short-term gain. This is completely contrary to our responsibility to stop the nature and climate crisis. The scathing criticism from the European Parliament is yet another example of Norway being out of step with our closest European allies and partners. Supported by the Commission, the criticism will affect Norway’s relationship with the EU for a long time to come. It weakens Norway’s reputation and is something the government must take very seriously. NTB Alfred Bjørlo, the Liberal-Ap/Sp government is destroying Norway’s credibility as an environmental nation. They claim that nature and climate should be the framework for all politics, at the same time that they are in favor of blowing up a mountain near one of the largest petroglyph fields in Northern Europe, allowed the dumping of mining waste in the fjords and opened the way for the extraction of minerals on the seabed – against advice from subject experts. The world doesn’t just listen to what the government says; they look at what they are doing, and the actions certainly do not match. On Monday, the Nature Risk Committee (see below) handed over a report to the government in which they ask for more measures to be taken against the loss of Norwegian nature. Among the advice were clearer instructions from government authorities, which could potentially weaken what is characterized as “a sacred cow” and a “home-alone party” in District Norway – the local self-government. – There are many discussions about municipal self-government. We believe that a slightly greater degree of government guidance is necessary, said selection manager Aksel Mjøs at the presentation. – We get the attention we deserve. In addition, the committee discusses whether it is necessary to take a new look at the legislation. The Ministry of Climate and Environment “lost” the main responsibility for Norwegian land management to the Ministry of Local Government and Modernization when the Solberg government took office in 2013. The move was accompanied by two circulars in which the Solberg government specified that the state administrators should “limit the use of objections” and emphasize local democracy more strongly. Gytis Blaževičius took over the leadership of Nature and Youth from Gina Gylver earlier this year. He believes that Norway’s reputation as a leading nation has taken a hit, and that nothing else is to be expected: – The international attention Norway is getting now is the attention Norway deserves. The international organization for the protection of cultural heritage has sent a letter to the government in which they protest “in the strongest possible way” against the state’s consent to build a quarry in the vicinity of the Vingen rock carving area. Photo: Eva Walderhaug
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International attention on nature decision to embarrassment for Norway – news Vestland
