The case in summary: The government plans to cut voluntary protection of forests, which creates reactions among forest owners and the industry. Today, 5.3 percent of Norway’s forests are protected, far below the politically determined target of 10 percent. Forest owner Mats Halvorsrud at Toten has been waiting to have his forest protected for five years. If the government cuts happen, he fears the wait will be even longer. State Secretary in the Ministry of Climate and Environment, Kjersti Bjørnstad, believes that the amount the government has set aside for forest protection, NOK 356 million, is high. Voluntary protection is seen as an effective and low-conflict measure to achieve the protection goal. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – Unfortunately, it was not entirely unexpected, says Mats Halvorsrud. Five years ago, he applied to voluntarily have approximately 80 acres of his forest in Totenvika in Østre Toten municipality protected. He is still waiting for a formal “yes” from the state. Mats Halvorsrud will voluntarily protect his forest in Totenvika in Østre Toten. The forest he wants to protect is adjacent to a larger existing conservation area. Photo: Knut Røsrud / news With the cut in voluntary forest protection, he fears that the wait until his forest is protected will be even longer. – It is not unlikely that it could take longer. I wish they could keep the pot up, and that there was less insecurity around it, says the forest owner at Toten. Halving the pot For in the state budget for next year, the government has more than halved the pot for voluntary forest protection. NOK 356.2 million has been set for 2025. That is NOK 444.2 million less than this year. – We were quite disappointed, says Gudmund Nordtun, managing director of Glommen Mjøsen Skog. Gudmund Nordtun is managing director of Glommen Mjøsen Skog, a forest owners’ cooperative owned by over 7,300 forest owners in Austlandet. Photo: Knut Røsrud / news This is the third year in a row that the government will cut the pot for voluntary forest protection. – It is a yo-yo policy that we think they should stop with now, says Nordtun. Today, 5.3 percent of the forests in Norway are protected. This is far below the politically determined target of 10 percent. Voluntary protection is a measure that works well, according to both forest owners, industry and environmental organisations. – We are disappointed that once again the authorizations for voluntary protection have been reduced, something that everyone agrees is perhaps the best and most effective measure, and not least the least conflict-filled measure to achieve the conservation goals the Storting has seen, he says . This is voluntary protection: This is an arrangement where the forest owner himself offers a forest area for protection. If the area has the right qualities, and the authorities say yes to the offer, the area can be protected as a nature reserve. Forest owners cannot log in the nature reserve and therefore receive compensation for loss of income. In a nature reserve, trees, vegetation and all wildlife are protected. Normally, hunting, fishing and harvesting berries and mushrooms are still permitted. So far in 2024, 5.3 percent of the forest area in Norway is protected. The target is 10 percent. No deadline has been set for when the target of 10 per cent will be reached. – Terribly serious Nordtun is fed up with voluntary protection being included as a bargaining chip in the tug-of-war for the national budget. Now he put his trust in the opposition party to negotiate up the pot for voluntary forest protection. – It is terribly serious, says Lars Haltbrekken, parliamentary representative for SV. Lars Haltbrekken, Storting representative for SV, thinks it will be difficult to achieve the goal of protecting 10 percent of all forests in Norway with the budget the government presented on Monday. Photo: Jorunn Hatling / news He does not think we will achieve the goal of protecting 10 percent of the forest with the amount the government has set aside for forest protection. – If we are to manage to take care of valuable Norwegian nature, we know that protecting the forest is incredibly important. Over half of the plant and animal species in Norway that are threatened with extinction live here. – It is crucial that we manage to protect more forests, and then we must also be willing to spend much more money on it than the government has in its proposal for the national budget. SV is now working on its alternative budget, which will be presented in a few weeks. He does not want to say how much they want to set aside for voluntary forest protection. – A big concession Kjersti Bjørnstad (Sp) is state secretary in the Ministry of Climate and the Environment. Despite a halving in relation to this year’s budget, she believes NOK 356 million for forest protection is a big concession. – We are also proposing NOK 356 million for forest protection, which is still a large concession. NOK 356 million is still a large sum for forest protection, says State Secretary in the Ministry of Climate and Environment, Kjersti Bjørnstad (Sp). Photo: TROND ISAKSEN / Ministry of Climate and the Environment She points to record high permits for forest protection in recent years, with NOK 730 million in 2023 and NOK 800 million in 2024. – Under this government, a record amount of money has been authorized for forest protection. It has contributed to Norway protecting 5.3 per cent of its forests, she says. – Forest protection is important to ensure the threatened Norwegian nature, and we must protect more forests. This is the reason why we are also proposing a large sum for forest protection in 2025. Many want to protect the forest At the same time that the government is cutting the budget for forest protection, many forest owners are queuing up to have their forest protected. Around 600 forest owners are waiting for a final clarification as to whether their forest can be protected. The forest owner at Toten has hoped that he will soon be able to protect his 80 acres of forest. – We have come so far in the process that I have faith that it will go through, says Halvorsrud. – But you can’t be absolutely sure. Voluntary forest protection is a measure that has worked well, according to both forest owners, the industry and environmental organisations. Photo: Knut Røsrud / news Published 10.10.2024, at 07.14
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The government more than halves the pot for voluntary forest protection – the industry reacts – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
