Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

As Minister responsible for the Norwegian hydropower sector, it is a great honour for me to be invited to Africa and give a statement as a representative of the donor community and a country that has a long history of hydropower development. Africa is so rich in many kinds of natural resources, and especially hydropower. A high-level conference like this is an important platform where we can discuss how to develop this magnificent resource in a sustainable way.

I want to start with some background information on how important hydropower is to Norway. We are blessed by nature in terms of energy. Along with a considerable oil and gas production, Norway is the world's sixth largest hydropower producer, with an average annual production of about 120 Terawatt hours. The installed capacity is close to 28 000 MW, in more than 600 plants spread around the whole country.

Domestic demand for electricity is almost exclusively met through hydropower. This has been very beneficial to our environment, and it made us independent from imported fuels. Electricity from hydropower was the key factor in transforming Norway from one of the poorest countries of Europe about a century ago, to the industrialized and wealthy nation of today. The correlation between hydropower development and economic growth is striking.

From the early 1900s, our far-sighted legislators recognised hydropower as a resource that should benefit the whole society. Their concept of benefit sharing has secured local communities substantial economic benefits directly from hydropower developments and indirectly from all the local industries which grew up around hydropower plants. Another important feature is the development of a highly skilled Norwegian industrial cluster, which covers all aspects related to hydropower development. This industry is very active also in Africa and elsewhere.

Thanks to the wisdom of our parents and grandparents, Norwegians enjoy privileged living standards because of the decision to develop the blue gold we are so blessed with. They did not do this without setting up a foresighted legal framework, even when Norway was still in an early developing phase in this sector.

Stakeholder participation is secured at various levels through the legislation, which requires public consultations. Furthermore, licensing conditions secure that environmental impacts will be mitigated. A strong legal framework and competent authorities is the foundation for a sound management of natural resources in any country of the world.

On the global scale the world is facing some tough questions related to energy.
How can we meet the challenges related to greenhouse gas emissions and how can we strengthen the world’s vulnerable energy supply in a sustainable way?

Hydropower is a renewable energy source that will be beneficial to countries where thermal power is the alternative to further development of the electricity sector. Security of supply on a national level can be enhanced by developing your own natural resources instead of continue to be dependent on imported energy-products.

In addition to the vast potential for producing electricity, we all know that hydropower based on reservoirs has additional benefits. I will mention improved irrigation for food production and better control of floods. One of the key Millennium Development Goals is to secure clean drinking water for people. Multi-purpose projects where hydropower is a tool to improve the financing through electricity sales can contribute to a cleaner water-supply. Deforestation and time spent searching for fuel-wood will decrease if more electricity is available for larger parts of the population. Improving indoor air-quality will help to improve health.

In many developing countries, there are several opportunities for new hydropower projects, often in connection with multi-purpose dams. This can contribute to close the gap between the developed and developing countries when it comes to welfare for the population.

The hydropower industry has an important role to play in gaining public acceptance by carrying out hydropower projects in a sustainable and responsible way. In this respect, I will commend the International Hydropower Association with the work they have done by engaging the industry in developing the Sustainability Guidelines that were issued in November 2003.

The various interests can be secured by a transparent licensing process which includes all stakeholders. This will help the national Governments to make the final decisions, based on an overall evaluation.

Norway supports the view that hydropower is one of the renewable energy sources to be substantially increased with a sense of urgency. We should not make any distinctions based on the type of the renewable energy source or the size of the project. It is the overall impacts that have to be duly assessed. To quote Klaus Toepfer, the head of UNEP: “We are no longer interested in the large or the small, but the well planned and well managed"

As a donor-nation, Norway recognises the importance of industrial development as a key factor in eradicating poverty. Supply of energy is a key factor. Norway wants to continue to be a partner in developing natural resources within an environmentally sound and sustainable framework.

Norway will continue to focus on areas where we have world-class competence to share with developing countries. The petroleum and hydropower sectors are two of these areas. We plan to increase our efforts, both in depth and strength. We are aware of how important it is to focus on the whole spectre from technical assistance to capacity building.

I feel confident that hydropower is bound to play a prominent role and provide substantial volumes of clean and renewable energy in the years to come. By sharing our experiences with you, I hope Norway and other donor countries can help you to unlock Africa’s vast hydropower resources and thereby secure economical and social development to the benefit of the population.

Thank you for your attention!