Erna Solberg, Minister of local government and regional development,

Mountain territories and competitivity : a contradiction in terms of tomorrow's reality ?

Veut on savoir ce qui se passe dans les montagnes, il faut interroger ceux qui en viennent

Proverb chinois

European Mountain Convention, Rodez, 25th of november2004

Introduction:

There is a Chinese proverb that states that if you want to know something about what’s going on in the mountains, you have to ask the people that come from the mountains.

Distinguished delegates, firstly I would like to express my appreciation of this opportunity to meet and discuss challenges to regional development in such a setting as this. Mountain regions share some common challenges to regional development, something that makes such venues as this useful for sharing experiences and knowledge on how to tackle these challenges. As Norway is one of the mountainous countries in Europe I consider this conference as especially relevant for policy learning for Norway as well as an arena where we can contribute with our own experiences in the field of regional policy in general and the challenges and opportunities of mountain regions in particular.

In my speech I will focus on the competitiveness of mountain regions. Firstly I would like to state that I do not believe that competitiveness in mountain territories is a contradiction in terms of tomorrow’s reality. That would certainly draw a bleak picture of the future of Norwegian regions.

Mountains cover a significant part of the territory of Norway. In fact, Norway is, through the definitions made in the mountain study from the European Commission, the most mountainous country in Europe. Over 91 % of the territory of Norway may be defined as mountainous. Thus, Norway has never really had a specific mountain policy. A regional and rural development policy in Norway is by extension also a mountain policy. What I would like to focus on in my speech is thus the general regional development policy of Norway, the importance of international co-operation for Norwegian regional policy and some examples of regional development initiatives in Norwegian mountain regions

On Norwegian regions in general and mountain regions in particular

As you see from the map, the population density of Norway is somewhat different from that of the rest of Europe, also when one compares mountain regions. This is something that the challenges to a regional growth strategy in Norwegian mountain regions have to take into account. Although a balanced population development in all parts of the country is a central policy objective for Norwegian regional development policies, initiatives are primarily directed towards regions with a capacity for growth.

The distance from the south to the north of Norway is equivalent to the distance from the south of Norway to northern Italy; mountain regions in Norway thus differ from each other quite significantly. The Northern geographic position of Norway also presents a rather unique challenge compared to more southern European mountain regions. In addition to facing the same topographic challenges, these challenges are aggravated by the climate. Thus the conditions for agriculture and transport are arguably somewhat harsher in Norway than in the rest of Europe. Furthermore the most northern regions face the problem of extreme distances to the European market. Arctic, and ultra peripheral geography thus combine to produce some rather unique and varied conditions for regional development in parts of Norway.

The limitations on the county municipalities’ use of these funds are mainly determined by national delimitations of the geographic distribution of these policy means. A priority is given to peripheral and rural regions. This geographic delimitation influences both the distribution of funds between the counties as well as the types of projects county authorities may fund through their role as regional developers.

Norwegian regional development policies

The main policy goals of Norwegian regional development policy is to facilitate economic growth in all parts of the country in order to sustain good conditions of living and viable local communities.

In order to attain these goals, the Norwegian government works along four main strategies:

• Securing favourable and predictable conditions for businesses to operate within
• Promoting innovation in all parts of the country
• Supporting growth where growth and growth potential exists
• Decentralising power and means in order to facilitate local and regional solutions to local and regional challenges.

Norway’s policy for regional development and competitiveness in mountain territories is found within the framework of these four strategies.

The Norwegian government considers it vital to release the unused potential for economic growth that we consider to exist, also in rural regions. In order to unlock this potential Norway focuses on strengthening the innovative capacity in both private businesses as well as in the public sector. The Norwegian regional development policy is also based on the premise that growth is a bottom-up process. The focus on economic growth is not only directed at facilitating the creation and maintenance of jobs in rural areas, but also to develop attractive local communities where people can enjoy the qualities of their region.

As challenges to regional development thus vary to such a great extent in Norway, a bottom up strategy is vital for the Norwegian regional development strategy.

A firm principle behind the Norwegian government’s regional development policy is that growth is a bottom up process. The conditions for regional growth, the challenges and potentials are best identified at the local and regional level. National authorities may play an important role in facilitating local and regional growth strategies and co-ordinating state policies in order to secure favourable conditions for growth, but the main initiatives for development should come from the regions themselves. A result from this strategy is the decentralisation of the main part of the funds dedicated to regional development to the county municipalities. The central government now only controls roughly 20 percent of the dedicated regional development means, while the authorities of the county municipalities determine the use of roughly 80 percent of the means.

The importance of international co-operation

In addition to this, Norway participates in the European regional co-operation through various international regional co-operation programmes. The reasoning behind Norway’s participation in international co-operation for regional development is threefold:

• International co-operation provides Norway with new possibilities for regional development,
• Participation in international projects and programs represent opportunities for Norwegian regions to learn and develop in a favourable direction.
• Norway is through the EEA agreement bound by the EU rules regarding regional state aid. It is thus important for Norway that the specificity of Norwegian challenges to regional development is known in the arenas where future rules for regional state aid are shaped. International co-operation is an opportunity to present specific Norwegian challenges to regional development in an international arena.
• Thirdly, We recognise the need for constant learning with regards to efficient policies and development models. International co-operation provides Norway with opportunities to learn from others, and this convention is such a venue where we feel that there is much to gain for Norway with regard to knowledge about regional development in mountain regions.

Interreg IIIC Mountain project

I would like to present one INTERREG IIIC initiative. This initiative, the so-called Euromountains.net, or Networking European Mountain Regions promotion sustainable territorial development, with participants from Italy, France, Scotland, Spain, Portugal and Norway, focuses on the exchange of experiences between mountain regions in the participating countries.

The general objective of the project, which is to formulate common strategies and actions to promote sustainable development in order combat isolation in mountain areas and to maintain a sustainable level of population is highly relevant also for Norwegian mountain regions.

The three main themes of the programme, land-management and environmental resources, improving the delivery of sustainable services to mountain communities, and development and promotion of mountain quality products are also very relevant with regards to development policies in a Norwegian regional context. I also believe that these three themes are central to increasing the competitivity of mountain regions.

The programme addresses some of the main challenges and strengths of mountain regions. As producers of specialty product with strong links to regional identity, such as traditional food-products and traditional crafts products, mountain regions have a potential for economic development. This is an objective that has received much attention in later years and is also an objective where Norwegians have much to learn from the rest of Europe, where the development and marketing of local and regional culinary specialties has a longer tradition.

With regards to land management, the programme focuses on sustainable economic growth based on the particular strengths and challenges that are shared by the mountain regions. Finding a balance between the need for protection of the environment and the use of environmental resources for economic development is something that is becoming increasingly important in order to promote sustainable development. Green tourism is one way of promoting economic activities in the mountain regions. There is a potential to increase tourism in the mountain regions without this having detrimental effects on the environment. With regards to this it is important to clearly define what levels of protection different landscapes should have, and what types of economic exploitation and other use of resources in nature are acceptable. The question of protection and economic development thus has bearing on regulations of landscapes, maintenance of cultural landscapes, attitudes towards protection of nature and the development of economic activities that do not undermine the very foundation of their own activity.

The development of services to persons and enterprises in mountain areas is the third theme of the programme. One challenge is to develop public services at a level that is expected in local communities. Focus under this theme is directed at finding new ways of delivering existing (or new) services. The challenge is to identify and develop innovative techniques specific to mountain areas in order to overcome the specific geographical handicaps that is shared by many small mountain municipalities and regions. The delivery of an acceptable level of and quality of public services is considered important both in order to sustain population levels and in order to promote economic development and competitivity in mountain regions.

The Euromountains.net programme has already led to a positive development in Norway, through the establishment of a Norwegian co-operative part of the programme. The counties of Hedmark, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane Buskerud and Telemark co-operate in the project Community development in the mountain region, a project generated by the 5 counties. These counties, although constituting a vast area have found that there may be a value to be gained from co-operating and together developing knowledge and policies for the beneficial development of their respective regions. The euromountains.net has thus already had an effect on policy development in Norwegian mountain regions. The focus on the Norwegian project is on economic development around national parks, on economic development in mountain agricultural areas, and on new forms of co-operation between agriculture and other economic activity in the mountain regions. The project is in a very early phase and it is early to speak of specific results. However, the importance of the euromaintans.net for the development of new policies should not be underestimated.

Community development in the mountain region seeks to transform the insights gained from international co-operation into specific development policies , and is as such an example of the beneficial effects of international co-operation for Norwegian regions and regional development. I have great expectations of the project and it is clear to me that the opportunity to share knowledge and learn from others is important for both regional development policies in general and for the development of mountain regions in particular.

Conclusion

I would like now to return to the theme of this session. The question whether mountain regions and competitivity is a contradiction in terms should, I believe, be answered no!

However, I believe that in order for mountain regions to be competitive in the future, more than ever before the regions have to develop regional and local initiatives to maintain their competitiveness. Knowledge on regional and local challenges and strengths are best identified regionally and locally. Thus, regional development policies should also be shaped regionally. Initiatives such as Community development in the mountain region, and the Euromountain.net makes me optimistic with regards to the potential for future development in mountain regions and supports the initial statement.

I believe that this is an example of the proverb I quoted in my introduction. In order to know what’s going on in the mountains, one does have to ask the people that come from the mountains. This translates into a principle for regional development policy in Norway that is based on a bottom-up strategy where the initiatives for regional development are formed in the regional and local arenas where the knowledge on challenges and opportunities for regional development exists.