The Biodiversity Act provides an opportunity for the protection of nature on the seabed and in the water column within the Norwegian territorial boundary 12 nautical miles. Norway manages sea areas up to 200 nautical miles. It has not been possible to create protected areas outside the Norwegian territorial border. The new Marine Environment Act changes this. The government can now establish protected areas up to 200 nautical miles. – Once we have put the law in place, we can establish protection in everything the sea Norway manages, says Minister of Climate and Environment Espen Barth Eide. He is sitting on a boat in Lisbon. As Minister of Climate and the Environment, he is the head of delegation for Norway at the UN Conference on the Sea. – This is closely linked to what Norway and the UN want. We must become better at managing the sea in a sustainable way. SEA: Minister of Climate and Environment Espen Barth Eide and Minister of Fisheries and Marine Affairs Bjørnar Skjæran on a pier in Lisbon. Photo: Anne Skifjeld / news More than 20 heads of state and government, thousands of young people, business leaders, researchers and civil society representatives participate in the conference. The goal is to present new, bold and innovative solutions to effectively meet the challenges facing the sea. – With the new law, we get a new tool that we can use in sustainable management of our sea areas. We will both take care of the sea and use the sea, says Minister of Fisheries and Marine Affairs Bjørnar Skjæran. Skjæran, tells news that the groundbreaking work of making business plans has also begun. – Norway has a lot to contribute to marine management. We have managed to find a good balance between sustainable use and protection. For example, around half of our sea areas are already protected today through measures in the fisheries management, says Skjæran. PROMISING: Harald Hansen of WWF participates as an observer at the ocean conference. Hans thinks the government’s bill is promising. Photo: Anne Skifjeld / news Wanted change The new law has been wanted by the environmental movement for a long time. Harald Hansen, Senior Adviser, Sustainable Seas, WWF Norway is pleased that the government will make this change. – It is very positive that Norway finally gets to seal this big and embarrassing in Norwegian legislation. He expects the government to use this law to establish more protection in Norwegian sea areas, but they also want to put in place spatial planning for marine sea areas. – When you get all these new industries, such as offshore wind and mining on the seabed, it is important that you look at the whole, Hansen says. Both MDG and SV applaud the government’s bill. – This is promising news, I am glad that Barth Eide comes on the field here, says environmental policy spokesman in SV Lars Haltbrekken. – This must mean that we prepare a much stricter nature conservation at sea. It took eight long years to make the Biodiversity Act, I hope that Barth Eide manages to deliver quickly and in line with what the sea crisis demands of us, says party leader in MDG Une Bastholm. Sea crisis People from all over the world are gathered in Lisbon this week to attend the sea conference. This is the second time it has been held. CRISIS: The UN Secretary-General today opened the UN Conference on the Sea in his hometown of Lisbon. He calls the situation at sea a crisis. Photo: Mary Altaffer / AP In the opening speech, UN Secretary-General António Guterres calls it a maritime crisis. – The sea connected us all. Today we are facing what I would call an ocean crisis. Sea levels are rising, the sea is becoming more acidic, coral reefs are fading, and millions of tonnes of plastic end up in the sea every year. – It kills life in the sea, and destroys communities that depend on fishing and tourism. The last time the UN held a sea conference was five years ago. Guterres says that great progress has been made since then. – I am happy to say that there has been progress in making legally binding agreements for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. – There is now a broad understanding that by protecting the sea, we are acting to meet the climate crisis. Today, Aker owner Kjell Inge Røkke was formally appointed special envoy for marine industry data in the UN “Ocean Decade” at the marine conference in Lisbon. He joins their ten-year program to improve conditions at sea. Røkke draws on the fact that the availability of marine data for researchers will be an important focus for him in his position. – By the end of this decade, we will release what is available from historical data and contemporary data.
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The government will establish an Marine Environment Act – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
