2 New national goals for Norway’s cultural environment policy

2.1 Background

In 2014, the Ministry of Climate and Environment initiated a review of the national goals in all of the Ministry’s performance areas. This was partly in response to the government’s programme for better governance and management in the central government 2014–2017, where one of the measures was to further develop goals and the reporting system in the management of subordinate agencies. The ambition was to reduce the number of performance areas and national goals and establish more overarching goals.

The first revised goals from the Ministry of Climate and Environment concerned natural diversity and were presented in the National Budget for 2015 (Prop. 1 S (2014–2015)). Proposals for new national goals for cultural monuments, sites and environments were presented in the National Budget for 2018 (Prop. 1 S (2017–2018)). In the Storting’s consideration of the National Budget on 12 December 2017, the following two resolutions were passed:

Resolution 204 (2017–2018): The Storting asks the government to present a white paper on the cultural heritage sector

Resolution 205 (2017–2018): The Storting asks the government to postpone making a decision on revision of the national goals until the white paper on the cultural heritage sector has been considered by the Storting

In the current white paper, the government is presenting its proposed new national goals for Norway’s cultural environment policy.

This white paper is also the government’s response to the Storting’s request resolution no. 722 (2016–2017) from 30 May 2017 – on the plan for the maintenance backlog for cultural monuments and sites – and request resolution no. 764 (2017–2018) from 28 May 2018 – on the duty to cover farmers’ costs in connection with archaeological investigations.

The Ministry of Climate and Environment announced in the National Budget for 2017 (Prop. 1 S (2016–2017)) that the Ministry would get back to the Storting with proposals for new national goals for cultural monuments, sites and environments, and that:

The new goals will both address the need for restoration, maintenance and high professional standards for the antiquarian work, and highlight the benefits for society of preserving our cultural heritage

In connection with the presentation of the proposed new goals in the National Budget for 2018 (Prop. 1 S (2017–2018)), the government stressed that the new goals will lay a solid foundation for documenting and reporting on the contribution that Norway’s cultural environment policy makes to society.

New cultural environment goals

The government requests that the Storting adopt the following three new national goals for Norway’s cultural environment policy. At the same time, the existing goals will be repealed.

• Everyone shall have the opportunity to get involved in and assume responsibility for the cultural environment

• The cultural environment shall contribute to sustainable development through integrated land use and social planning

• A diversity of cultural environments shall be preserved as a basis for knowledge, experience and use

The order of the goals does not reflect any ranking of priority. The three goals underpin and supplement each other and must be regarded together.

The term “cultural environment”

In this white paper, the government is introducing the term “cultural environment” as a collective term. It includes the terms “cultural monuments, sites, environments and landscapes” and is used to refer to the sector as a whole.

The term “cultural environment” emphasises the importance of an integrated approach to this area, while at the same time also highlighting the connection to climate-change policy and environmental policy in general. “Cultural environment” does not replace the use of the more specific terms “cultural monument”, “cultural site”, “cultural environment” or “landscape” individually, when referring to individual objects, areas where cultural monuments and sites are part of a larger whole or context, or specific landscapes.

In addition to “cultural environment”, the terms “cultural environment management” and “cultural environment policy” are also being introduced to refer to the sector as a whole.

See Box 2.1 for a presentation of the key terms used in this white paper.

2.2 A more detailed account of the new national goals

The government recognises the need for new national goals in Norway’s cultural environment policy for a variety of reasons. One obvious reason is that the existing goals, which were formulated in the white paper on the management of cultural heritage in 2005 (St.meld. nr. 16 (2004–2005)), expire in 2020.

These goals, with defined targets towards 2020, have been central to the efforts in the cultural environment sector since 2005 and have yielded many good results. However, they have also entailed some challenges. This has, for example, been highlighted in the Office of the Auditor General’s performance audit of the Ministry’s follow-up of the white paper on the management of cultural heritage in 20051 (St.meld. nr. 16 (2004–2005)). The Office of the Auditor General commented on a number of findings and risk elements, stating, among other things, that a lack of overview meant that the cultural environment authorities had an inadequate basis for assessing the loss of cultural monuments and sites deemed worthy of preservation and assessing the need for protection in order to ensure a representative selection.

There is a need for new goals that indicate more clearly what Norway wants to achieve with its cultural environment policy and how the cultural environment contributes to promoting positive, sustainable social development. In addition, there is a need to render visible Norway’s ambitions and responsibilities in light of international treaties and conventions, including the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society (the Faro Convention) and the European Landscape Convention. This is discussed in more detail in chapter 7.

National goal 1

Everyone shall have the opportunity to get involved in and assume responsibility for the cultural environment.

This goal emphasises people’s right to have a cultural heritage and that the cultural environment is a common good that we have a shared responsibility to manage. The goal also underlines that everyone should have the opportunity to get involved. The central government is responsible for facilitating this.

National goal 2

The cultural environment shall contribute to sustainable development through integrated land use and social planning.

This goal demonstrates the importance of good land-use and social planning to ensure a diversity of cultural environments that can contribute to environmental, social and economic sustainability. At the same time, the goal underlines Norway’s responsibilities in connection with the government’s ambitions to implement the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030.

National goal 3

A diversity of cultural environments shall be preserved as a basis for knowledge, experience and use.

This goal emphasises that a diverse selection of cultural monuments and sites, environments and landscapes must be preserved as resources and a basis for knowledge, experience and use. The goal continues the essence of the previous strategic objective for Norway’s cultural heritage policy, which was presented in the white paper on the management of cultural heritage in 2005 (St.meld. nr. 16 (2004–2005)).

2.2.1 Development of performance indicators and governance data

Once the Storting has endorsed the new national goals, the government will develop performance indicators and other relevant governance data in order to be able to monitor developments and the degree of attainment of the goals. In connection with developing the performance indicators, particular importance will be attached to highlighting the link to the Sustainable Development Goals. The new performance indicators will be used from 2021.

2.3 Other national environmental targets

As of 1 January 2020, Norway has 23 national environmental targets distributed across the following priority areas: biodiversity, cultural monuments, sites and environments, outdoor recreation, pollution, climate change, and the polar regions. Performance indicators have been established for each environmental target that make it possible to assess developments over time. These indicators are updated on a regular basis and are presented on the State of the Environment Norway website.

Management of the cultural environment in Svalbard is included in the priority area “the polar regions”. One of the existing three targets under this priority area concerns the cultural environment:

• The 100 most important cultural monuments, sites and environments in Svalbard shall be safeguarded through predictable management with a long-term perspective.

The “Svalbard target” is not covered by the new national goals and will therefore not be discussed in more detail in this white paper.

2.4 Input to the white paper

In connection with its work on the white paper, the Ministry of Climate and Environment held three open regional input meetings in Lillehammer, Førde and Tromsø, respectively. In addition, a national input meeting was held in Oslo. The Ministry received a total of 118 written contributions2.

The high level of participation at the input meetings and the written contributions demonstrate the strong commitment of a wide range of NGOs, businesses, museums, knowledge institutions, and the regional authorities, among others. The contributions received constitute an important knowledge base both for this white paper and for future work in connection with working towards the new national goals.

Many of the contributions underline the need to see cultural environment policy as part of the broader work to resolve the global environmental challenges. In this context, attention was drawn to the part that cultural heritage can play in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the three dimensions of sustainable development – environmental, social and economic sustainability. Several of the contributions stress the need to attach greater importance to the “green” aspects of use and reuse. Several parties have pointed to the need for more knowledge and increased emphasis on instruments that highlight the contribution of cultural heritage in respect of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Several of the contributions also highlight the need for greater knowledge and expertise. This pertains to cultural heritage as a source of knowledge, but also the need to manage and preserve cultural heritage as a basis for enjoyment, experience and involvement.

Many of the contributions emphasise the importance of grant schemes and financial incentives, in part to enable the management and safeguarding of cultural heritage that are not covered by the existing schemes. There is also a call for better collaboration and coordination among the various ministries and better clarification of the sector responsibilities.