A pioneering policy for the marine environment

Historical archive

Published under: Bondevik's 2nd Government

Publisher: Ministry of the Environment

Press release | Date: 15/03/2002 | Last updated: 23/10/2006

The Norwegian Government has today presented to Parliament a White Paper on the marine environment. (15.03.02)Protecting the Riches of the Seas - Report No. 12 to the Storting (2001-2002)New environmental measures for the petroleum industryCleaning up "inherited" pollutionPreventing the introduction of alien invasive spesies with ballast waterExtension of the limit of the territorial sea and safer maritime transportA pioneering policy for the marine environment

Press release

Date: 15.03.02

A pioneering policy for the marine environment

The Norwegian Government has today presented to Parliament a White Paper on the marine environment. Describing the document as "a pioneering effort", Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik said: "Norway is one of the first countries to have drawn up a coherent policy for all its marine and coastal areas."

Coastal and marine environments are under increasing pressure throughout the world. Norway is no exception. In many cases, development is carried out with inadequate knowledge of the probable impact on ecosystems. A central goal of the Government's policy for the marine environment is to establish a framework that makes it possible to strike a balance between commercial interests -- the fisheries, aquaculture and petroleum industries, for example -- while adhering to the principles of sustainable development.

The Government aims to protect the Barents Sea against threats to the environment. An integrated management plan for the Barents Sea will therefore be drawn up taking into account environmental concerns and the needs of fisheries, the petroleum industry and maritime transport. In accordance with this approach, the Government proposes that the area should not be opened to further oil and gas activities until an environmental impact assessment of such activities year-round has been completed. The Government will also consider establishing fisheries zones in the waters from the Lofoten Islands northwards, where no petroleum activities are permitted.

Shipping traffic along the Norwegian coast is expected to increase, resulting in a higher risk of accidents and associated pollution. The Government therefore wishes to strengthen its control and surveillance of coastal traffic, particularly high-risk maritime transport, in part by extending the breadth of Norway's territorial sea from four to 12 nautical miles.

Prime Minister Bondevik emphasized the importance of cooperation on the protection of the marine environment involving all interested parties.

"There are serious weaknesses in the way we manage our marine and coastal areas at present", he said. "The Government intends to pursue a coherent and cross-sectoral policy for the marine environment."

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