– We have not had such a large investment in the nature field before, says Jonas Gahr Støre as he looks into the dense fog at Sognsvann in Oslo. After a year of criticism and bickering in the government, there are now only days left until it is here: the so-called nature report, referred to by WWF as the most important parliamentary report on nature of all time. The big question: Will the government introduce a new nature policy that really pays off? This is what it looks like when the government launches nature policy: Politicians at the front, political advisers just far behind and news reporters elegantly hidden to avoid focus. Photo: Oliver Ivanowitz / news The Prime Minister has invited news to his own surroundings to lighten the veil a little, with Acting Climate and Environment Minister Tore O. Sandvik in tow. And instead of Bergans on their backs, they have a sack of money from the upcoming state budget: NOK 30 million for nature restoration, for example to repair bogs NOK 20 million for the Natursats project, where municipalities can apply for funding for nature measures In addition there will be 50 million for a new nature map, which news mentioned earlier in September – You have now set aside a total of 100 million for nature in this budget. Do you take this money from other nature projects…? Støre interrupts before the question is completed. – No, this is new money for nature, which we have set aside and prioritized in the state budget. And I promise you that, it shows that this is a big and important issue for the government, because it has to compete with all other ventures. A rare political opportunity The great expectations linked to Friday’s nature report, from both other parties and environmental organisations, are primarily due to two things: Firstly, Norway signed an international nature agreement in December 2022. It is now that we will get answers to how the obligations from there must be fulfilled. Photo: Norge i bilder / Kartverket Secondly, environmental organizations and experts believe that a unique political opportunity has arisen following news’s revelations about nature encroachment and the TV series “Oppsynsmannen”. Several polls have shown that Norwegians want more conservation of nature than before. The Prime Minister calls the cases a wake-up call, both for himself and the voters. – There has been a real awakening that this is serious. And that gives us politicians greater room to act. A missed opportunity? Now the question is how the government will use this opportunity. And since January, Støre’s ministers have pointed in all directions. Local Government Minister Erling Sande from the Center Party tightened up on cottage construction. Then Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum from the same party came out and said “build more cabins!”. Climate and Environment Minister Andreas Bjelland Eriksen from the Labor Party called the degradation of nature a serious social problem. Then Agriculture Minister Geir Pollestad from the Center Party said that we must build down more nature and that all the 44,000 interventions in news’s disclosure were worth it. The climate and environment minister had to rush out and emphasize that this was not the government’s policy. As was dryly commented in Dagsavisen: “Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has a bit of a flock to keep in order”. Had to talk to Pollestad Therefore it is telling that Støre himself has turned up at Sognsvann this day, in a fog so thick that he is almost dizzy, to launch where he and the government stand. Rest break after the trip from the barrier to the water’s edge at Sognsvann, approximately 200 metres. Photo: news / Oliver Ivanowitz He says that he had to reprimand Geir Pollestad earlier this year, when Pollestad said that all the interventions in the country are worth it and that we should build more nature. – I have said a serious word to the Minister of Agriculture. Because it is not the right attitude to say what he said. And I think that he has taken that point, says Støre. – As you are in government with a party that makes such a statement, has the nature message become as strong as you would personally like? – I look forward to presenting the nature report. It will be a good message, and I feel that it is a strength to work with the Center Party, which has strong ties to those who work with the soil, who work with animal husbandry. It has given a lot of knowledge into the work. – And it is not the case that protection is a cheese clock, says Støre. In case there are readers under 25 who do not have a cheese clock in the fridge: What the Prime Minister is referring to is a container where you put a glass lid over a cheese. Støre’s point is that we cannot just put a lid on nature and say that everything must be protected and be done with it. We still have to build things, and we have to use nature, he explains, only in the right places and in smart ways. – The extension of the path around Sognsvann here is also an intervention in nature, but that intervention makes it possible for thousands of Norwegians to use nature, including wheelchair users. So this is complex, he says. A completely normal walk in the forest: the smell of children’s needles, birds chirping in the fog and bodyguards in front of black cars. Photo: news / Oliver Ivanowitz Hardly a demand for 30 percent protection in Norway Neither the climate and environment minister nor the prime minister will share the details from the nature report just yet, beyond the 100 million for nature in the state budget. They do not answer whether there will be any different building bans, as several parties have proposed. Or whether difficult construction cases are to be moved to the Ministry of Climate and Environment, or whether the State Administrators are to receive new instructions. Nor will Støre give any concrete figures for how much nature he thinks we should build down in Norway (today: 79 square meters per minute, according to news’s mapping). They do, however, give some hints. When news asks if the nature report is based on Norway’s having to protect at least 30 percent of our own area, Støre replies that the goal of 30 percent protected nature is a global goal and that they have not defined an exact figure for protection in Norway. At the same time, he mentions in another answer that there will be clearer targets in the nature field. – Now the municipalities get better tools, we set clearer targets and we include international obligations in the Norwegian planning system. It must produce results, says Støre. – So you are saying that you set clearer goals, such as concrete numerical goals? – Maybe! But when the nature report arrives, you’ll see there. The Prime Minister sends climate and environment deputy minister Tore O. Sandvik to Colombia. But Støre wanted to join Sognsvann himself. Photo: Oliver Ivanowitz / news What the two hikers can share is the basic idea of the nature report. Tore O. Sandvik, who is a substitute while Climate and Environment Minister Andreas Bjelland Eriksen is in papa perm, says that the responsibility should still lie with each individual municipality. – I would like to emphasize that, this must be done through the municipalities. But we need to give them better tools. It is one of the most important initiatives in the nature report, says Sandvik, and refers, among other things, to the new nature map which will give municipal politicians an overview of where there is important nature. – The goal is yes Later this autumn, Sandvik will travel to an international nature summit in Colombia, where all countries will present their measures to achieve the goals in the nature agreement. – We travel well equipped to Colombia. We will have to come back to the details of the nature report, but it will show that Norway is in a good position, we are far ahead, we are taking on big obligations and we are taking on a lot of responsibility at home, says Sandvik. – The nice thing is that we can actually measure this. So if news does the same analysis in ten years. And you have got through the main features of the nature report. Can the Prime Minister guarantee that we will then find significantly less construction in vulnerable nature than today? No politician likes to guarantee things. So Støre thinks about it for a few seconds before he finds a suitably strong wording: – That goal is yes. Lost nature while you have read this case: Published 25/09/2024, at 15.03
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Støre announces historic efforts against nature loss – allocates millions for restoration and nature rate – news Dokumentar
