The government’s “fuck you” to nature

Illustrated by Ingvild Sperstad

The government’s “fuck you” to nature 

Written by Tobias Waage Bremnes, journalist and parliamentary candidate for The Liberal Party 

Last year NRK presented documentation which showed that Norwegian nature is being destroyed at record speed, and the government chose to look the other way. This year NRK can once again reveal serious faults in the system – but the government still refuses to take accountability. Now Norway deserves a ministry that prioritizes nature.  

Before we do a deep dive, we have to start with a quick retrospect on what has actually happened.  

Last year NRK documented that Norwegian forests are built down at an unbelievable speed, as much as 79(!) cubic meters are destroyed per minute. That may sound abstract, but let me put it into perspective: That’s the same amount as half a tennis court – every minute, every day, every year.  

The reason for this quick de-escalation is that the Local authorities (who is responsible for land management) suffer from tunnel vision. The municipalities are most concerned for their own development, and struggle to see the whole picture and the sum of all the deforestation.  

Many of the now demolished areas of nature that NRK has documented were both vulnerable and valuable. Still the minister of agriculture, Geir Pollestad (Sp), expressed that he believed all the interventions were worth it and that he actually wants more deforestation, not less. This attitude from the government is both incomprehensible and irresponsible.   

Like last year NRK has come with a number of revelations that shows how the government is failing our nature.  

MAPPING OF NATURE

The first system fault is regarding mapping. According to the law you have to document the consequences of the expansion before you can get permission to proceed with the project. This also applies for the consequences to the natural values in the area.  

Local authorities will often just look at public maps – normally outdated – before giving permission to expansion projects. The lack of registered red listed species does not mean that the natural values don’t exist. It simply means that they’ve never been explored.  

Another challenge is the fact that it’s the developer’s responsibility to map an area. It’s not surprising that the consequences are assessed as “none”, “small” or “insignificant” when the developer has an economic intensive in the project.   

THE LAW

The second system fault is that there is a loophole in the law. It is The Planning and Building Act that applies for construction projects. This law demands an impact assessment, which means that construction can’t start before the natural values have been mapped and the municipality has approved.  

However, there is a loophole that allows the developer to cut down the forest before mapping takes place. Forestry can be carried out without an approval. Because of this, important natural values which could have been reason to change or stop construction plans can be removed.  

When Minister of Local Government, Erling Sande (Sp) was confronted with these loopholes he said that the laws are good enough as they are. Minister of Agriculture, Pollestad, said that the laws are protecting natural values, and that the critique comes from those who wants less forestry while he wants more.   

These are strange statements when even the municipalities claim they want better legislations and clearer requirements in The Planning and Building Act. Instead of handling the problems and finding solutions, the government simply shrugs their shoulders and looks the other way.    

We need leaders who show political will and who want to turn the tide. Therefore, The Liberal Party will once again come to power in this year’s election.