Opening speech at the take over the chairmanship of the Barents environmental co-operation

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen

First of all, let me thank Russia for chairing this important co-operation for the last two years. It is a great honour for me to take over the chairmanship of the Barents environmental co-operation on behalf of Norway.

The Barents co-operation plays an important role for development and contact in the North. Since the beginning in 1993, the region has seen a tremendous growth of contact and co-operation in almost every field, not least in the field of the environment. We have come a long way since Ministers of the Environment met for the first time in Bodø in 1994. The reports and the discussions we have heard today, bear witness of an active co-operation with a great potential for further development.

The Northern areas have immense nature values and rich natural resources as well as areas which are heavily polluted from past and present activity.
Development of the oil and gas resources off-shore in the Barents Sea and on land gives opportunity for growth in the region, but also represents challenges with regard to environment. In addition, climate change will be one of the greatest challenges in the years to come.

Climate change
We will make climate change one of the main issues in the Norwegian chairmanship. As we all know, the Arctic temperature has increased at almost twice the rate of the global average over the last 50 years. And even more severe: This trend is expected to continue into the future. 

The consequences of climate change are increasingly more evident: The polar sea ice cover is now at an all time minimum. The melting of the Greenland ice shelf is happening at higher rates than expected only a few years ago.  And permafrost melting is observed also in the Norwegian part of the Arctic.
It is high time that the Barents region starts looking into the challenges we face, and what can be done to adapt to the changes. The problems will concern all Barents nations and regions. We need to begin this dialogue and develop measures now.

The greenhouse gas emissions in the Barents region are rather limited in a global perspective. However, this is no excuse for not to do what we in fact can do.

We must disseminate cleaner production technologies, which include resource efficient use of water, energy and other resources. All Barents countries have a potential for developing renewable energy sources, such as wind and bio energy. Energy efficiency measures are also of great importance. We will encourage development in these fields in close co-operation with the Barents Working Group of Energy.

And we should intensify our efforts to adapt to the changes. The changes that have already occurred, as well as unavoidable future changes caused by our past emissions. 

Hazardous substances
Hazardous substances will be another main focus in our chairmanship. Persistent organic pollutant and heavy metals accumulate in the food chains. They are becoming a serious threat to the environment and to human health. Large parts of the pollutants, found in the North, are transported from a long distance, but there are also local sources which must be addressed. Many of the environmental hot spots are connected to hazardous waste.

The Arctic Council’s Action Program - ACAP - has made a great effort to collect and provide temporary storage for mercury- and PCB-containing waste and obsolete pesticides in the Russian Arctic. In order to make further progress, it is of crucial importance to build a processing plant for PCB-containing waste in Russia. I sincerely hope that the process of choosing a location for this processing plant can be speeded up and solved in the near future.  

Further efforts to reduce hazardous waste in the Barents region must be conducted in close co-operation with the Arctic Council, and the use of cleaner production measures must be encouraged. 

Biodiversity
Nature protection and protection of the biodiversity will also be focused. As parties to The Convention on Biological Diversity we have all committed to stop loss of biological diversity within 2010.

The Barents region holds some of the largest wilderness areas in Europe. The nature is varied and includes coastal areas, tundra, and large pristine forests. In order to meet the 2010 target, we should make sure that a representative selection of nature types is given special protection.

Hot spots
We have already to day discussed the AMAP/NEFCO hot spot list, which comprises some of the most urgent environmental problems in the region. NEFCO’s systematic effort to develop projects in the hot spots is one of the most important activities going on under the supervision of the Working Group of Environment. As we have heard today, there are feasibility studies under way in 36 of the hot spots.

To strengthen the elimination of hot spot is a major priority for our chairmanship. The big challenge is to develop fully financed projects in all the hot spots, and to involve the industrial enterprises, the owners of the hot spots, national and regional authorities, as well as Russian and international financial institutions. Responsibility of the Russian authorities and the hot spot owners is a key factor. In this connection I sincerely hope that modernisation of the Pechenga-nickel-smelter will be implemented soon, so that the smelter can be eliminated as a “hot spot”.

Cross boarder co-operation
We are only beginning to see the benefit of management co-operation over the boarders. I think there is a great potential for extended cross boarder co-operation on management of protected areas, environmental monitoring and water management.

Much good work is being done in the Pasvik monitoring programme and in the Inari Pasvik Trilateral Park. These are model projects which can give valuable experience on cross boarder co-operation also outside our region.

The marine environment
Protecting the marine environment of the Barents Sea is of high priority to Norway. This is of crucial importance, and directly related to the new challenges like increased shipment of petroleum products and development of the offshore petroleum resources on the Norwegian and Russian side of the Barents Sea. In 2006 the Norwegian Government adopted a plan for Integrated Management of the Marine Environment for the Norwegian part of the Barents Sea. Our overall aim is to see an ecosystem based management for the whole Barents Sea.

Although the Barents co-operation is mainly concerned with terrestrial environment, I think it would be a good idea to use the Working Group as a place to exchange information and experience regarding management of the Barents Sea and the Baltic Sea.

Coordinating efforts
The Working Group of Environment is one of many organisations for environmental co-operation in the North. It is very important to co-ordinate activity and find synergies with the co-operation under The Arctic Council, The Northern Dimension, The Nordic Council of Ministers and NEFCO, the bilateral co-operations and the EU-Russia co-operation.

We welcome the upcoming Russian chairmanship in the Barents Council, and will seek to strengthen the co-operation with other relevant Working Groups under the Barents Council. We expect that the new international Barents Secretariat, which is now being established in Kirkenes, will contribute to enhance such co-operation.    

What makes the Barents co-operation special is that it includes both the national and the regional level. We hope for close co-operation and involvement from the Regional Working Group. To encourage regional participation we will invite to the first Working Group meeting in the Norwegian region Finnmark – most probably in Kirkenes in February-March 2008. 

Let me express the hope that when the Ministers meet again in two years, we will have accomplished concrete progress in all fields. Thank you for your attention.