MDGs and Tories call for faster follow-up on Nature’s Convention – NRK Troms and Finnmark

Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Edde (Ap) wants municipalities to join and announces challenging priorities for nature conservation. he He believes that one should prioritize construction or use “gray areas”, instead of the more valuable natural areas.

– And then you have to make some choices. Maybe municipalities should prioritize the battery factory or the cottage field, but not both, he says.

– For example, I think you should then choose renewable energy over more cabins.

In just 7 years, Norway will contribute to the global goal of protecting 30 percent of sea and land.

But in a survey by NRK, two out of three municipalities appear to be miles away from that target.

MDGs and Høyre call for faster follow-up

The government is now working at the expense of nature. It must facilitate the state, municipalities, county councils and private actors to protect nature in the best possible way.

Millennium Development Goals leader Arild Hermstad, who believes the government must dramatically increase the pace in order to reach the protection goal Norway committed to in Montreal.

All municipalities in Norway should start thinking about protecting more nature, pTate should set clearer goals.

Hermstad believes the country should put more money on the table and use more powerful shields.

The Conservative Party is also calling for the government to speed up the agreement of nature.

The government will not overpower the municipalities

Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide (AP) doesn’t think the solution lies in overpowering municipalities.

– In some cases, the state should use its right of veto, I think so too. But first of all, I invite you to a charity where, together with the municipalities, we can find out how we can protect and take more care of nature, he says.

Barth Eide acknowledges that he is calling for more nature to be protected, at the same time that society must transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

– FOr to be able to solve these dilemmas in a good way, we must also have some objective criteria and more knowledge about the quality of different types of nature, and this is what nature accounting is all about.

But Barth Edde is optimistic that Norway will be able to provide adequate protection by 2030, but is concerned that protection may not be sufficiently representative.

– There is still work to be done, but I have great faith that when the new Marine Environment Law is implemented, it will greatly help us protect more in marine areas.

Zero municipalities did not receive orders to march

– As far as I know, the higher authorities did not tell us to provide more protection after signing the Nature Agreement, says Mayor Kjetil Slettebø (Sp) in Bjerkreim municipality in Rogaland.

His municipality has protected 0.06% of its total area. The mayor says it’s completely intentional on their part that they don’t provide more protection.

Municipal got to request From the Norwegian Environment Agency to create a national park, but refused.

He believes that protection can create obstacles to new farming and farming methods, and believes that grazing animals and active farming deserve thanks for the unique cultural landscape of Bjarkarim.

– I do not agree with the approach that municipalities should put on “nature glasses” to check whether an area is worthy of protection. “We manage nature sustainably without protecting it,” Slitibo says.

Dyrøy Municipality in Troms protected 0.47 per cent. They don’t have any protection plans anymore.

– We are a relatively small municipality, and we use the areas and resources we have to make a living. But she says we are positive if private landowners want to protect it.

Still, Espinis thinks it’s a good idea for the government to set targets, and says it won’t stand in their way.

– But I think you probably need to find larger areas suitable for protection, and not in small municipalities like Dyrøy, you say.

In the municipality of Stord I Westland County They protected 0.56 percent.

Mayor Gaute Straume Epland (AP) thinks more government subsidies could serve as carrots to pick up the pace.

– It’s vMake sure that the municipality-Norway contributes. He says we don’t have any conservation plans going on in Stord right now.

– But we want to avoid encroaching on pristine nature, and we do not rule out special protection of natural areas when we review our district plans in the future.

But Epland dares not promise 30 percent by 2030.

I think there are too many exemptions

Just before Christmas The Nature Conservancy has over 22,000 applications for distribution Between 2014-2022.

It has been shown that nine out of ten applications for permitted exemptions for construction of roads, power plants, mining or other developments in protected nature have been approved by the local administration.

This worries the leader of the Millennium Development Goals.

– The state should follow up to the municipalities by making it clear that exemptions will not be granted and that they must protect more.

The party leader is now urging local politicians to put nature conservation on the agenda.

– Hermstad believes that whoever stands for election in municipalities must believe that nature conservation is now very important, and that in fact it benefits the population when nature is more protected.

The Minister for Climate and Environment does not entirely agree that the statistics on distribution applications indicate that protection is not being taken seriously.

– DrThere are different protection classes, and there is scope for some activities even where protection exists. But you have to apply for documents that the activities or the building you want is in line with the purpose of preservation, and so it actually makes sense that there are many applications for the exemption, he says.

— but that being said, it is important that we respect the different protection classes and ensure that we facilitate a more meaningful relationship with nature than we have done.

– The hardest must be prioritized

The Conservative Party’s climate and environmental policy spokeswoman, Mathilde Tybring-Gede, believes municipalities will talk more about nature conservation in the future, and has confidence that they will take responsibility for more local protection.

– I think the municipalities will take this responsibility seriously. It will be a very central task in the coming years to be able to take care of nature and its area. She says you have to prioritize much harder between what to develop and what not to develop.

She is also demanding a plan from the government.

– We have made it clear to the government that it must now submit a plan to the Norwegian Parliament on how to pursue WNC and adapt it to Norwegian conditions, says Tybring-Gjedde.

She also believes that municipalities play a major role, and He insists that municipalities must continue to take responsibility for spatial planning and that protection must be locally grounded.

But the right-wing politician believes that the state should make it easier for municipalities to make their wise decisions, through, for example, maps of environmental rules, directories and nature mapping.

In this way, they can find solutions that lead to less climate emissions and less destruction of nature, Tybring-Gjedde believes.

But the MP wouldn’t promise more money on the table for nature conservation, for now.

She points out that Solberg’s government has supported municipal climate measures, and increased allocations to protect voluntary forests.

– It might be a good idea to look at more charts in addition to these, she points out.

Certain downsizing cannot be avoided

Tybring-Gjedde believes that it is inevitable that Norway will have to develop more towards 2030, especially energy development.

She believes that the discussion of, for example, nuclear energy as a less earth-intensive energy project is premature, and energy development should be given priority now.

She believes municipalities can achieve this through creative spatial planning.

Seeing the potential for, say, local wind, solar, offsetting nature being built, or restoring destroyed nature are examples of balancing necessary development with nature conservation, she says.

She agrees with Barth Eide that one should make more use of the ‘gray areas’, He encourages local party members to re-examine the municipality’s maps and take the initiative for local protection where it is most appropriate.