Healthy oceans – greater prosperity
Historical archive
Published under: Solberg's Government
Publisher: The Office of the Prime Minister
News story | Date: 23/01/2017
‘By 2050, the world population may reach 10 billion. We will need healthy and productive seas and innovative technology so that we can obtain more food, medicines and energy from the oceans’, said Prime Minister Erna Solberg.
The Prime Minister highlighted the need to find a balance between sustainable use and protection of marine resources when she opened the conference Arctic Frontiers in Tromsø today.
Arctic Frontiers has developed into a leading international meeting place for the discussion of Arctic issues. This year’s conference brings together around 2000 politicians, researchers, business representatives, environmental organisations and representatives of indigenous peoples to discuss the future of the Arctic.
Ms Solberg pointed out that some of the best-managed sea areas in the world are in the Arctic, and highlighted the vital role of the oceans in Norway’s economy.
‘Two thirds of our export revenues come from sea-based activities. Norway’s prosperity is based on sustainable use of marine resources. We have shown that an integrated management regime makes it possible to harvest ocean resources while at the same time maintaining the ecological balance of ecosystems and protecting vulnerable areas’, said Ms Solberg.
The Government is planning to present an ocean strategy focusing on business opportunities and a white paper on the role of the oceans in foreign and development policy in the course of 2017. In addition, the integrated management plan for the Norwegian Sea is to be updated.