Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift-norwegian Journal of Geography, Dec 1, 2012
Sustainable development has been a global policy aim for more than 40 years, since the modern env... more Sustainable development has been a global policy aim for more than 40 years, since the modern environmental movement reached the political agenda in the 1970s. In the early years, the main consideration of sustainability concerned the scarcity of materials and energy and the potential lack of food resources. In recent decades, climate change has been a predominant issue for sustainability policy. Possible lack of water resources as threat to sustainable development has more recently gained the attention of policymakers. The loss of biodiversity is increasingly seen as a sustainability gap, threatening the function of vital ecosystems. Today, together with climate change, the loss of species and habitats is recognized as the greatest global environmental problem. In 1993, Norway ratified the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), initiated at the Rio convention in 1992. International agreements and national policy goals have brought biodiversity loss to the political agenda. In order to give an overview of biodiversity and monitor its future development, the Nature Index was initiated by the Norwegian Government in 2005 and presented in September 2010. The 308 indicators included in the Nature Index, representing animal and plant species, are intended to give an overall representative picture of the state of biodiversity in Norwegian nature. Indicators are also selected to show responsiveness to environmental management; for example, the Nature Index for freshwater aquatic ecosystems shows improvement over time since pollution from acid rain was reduced and watersheds were limed. Thus, the Nature Index differs clearly from the Red List of endangered species and the overview of special nature types as prioritized by the Norwegian Nature Diversity Act of 2009. The Nature Index will be regularly updated in order to show development over time towards the goal of stopping the loss of biodiversity in all major ecosystems. However, the idea behind the Nature Index is not only to use it as a monitoring instrument, but also as a context for establishing environmental policy objectives and linking these to policy instruments. To succeed in this objective, it is necessary to see the Nature Index as not just a tool for scientists and national experts in their assessments of nature and biodiversity. The Nature Index needs to be easily communicated and understood. Its success will require that it can be accepted as a framework or vehicle for policy deliberations between national and local government, important interest groups, and the general public. It is most likely that the acceptance will depend on political support from the public and how the public considers political actions in support of biodiversity conservation and habitat protection. This special issue of Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift Norwegian Journal of Geography presents a comprehensive and interdisciplinary overview of the Nature Index for Norway, starting from the field of natural science, outlining the scientific basis, methods of data collection, the question of dealing with different kinds of uncertainties, including possible future development, and then proceeding to sociological and political science inquiries into how the new policy instrument is received by politicians and how the question of biodiversity loss is viewed by the public. Thus, this special issue demonstrates the interdisciplinary dimension of some fundamental geographical questions. The main reason for offering this broad presentation of the Nature Index is to give readers a more complete understanding of the many different interdisciplinary aspects of this new tool for environmental policy with biodiversity as a key issue for sustainability thus contributing to further the goal of geography as a science of sustainability. The seven articles in this special issue, six of which are coauthored, reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the project. The first two articles, The Norwegian Nature Index state and trends of biodiversity in Norway (Nybø et al. 2012) and The Norwegian Nature Index conceptual framework and methodology (Skarpaas et al. 2012), by ecologists Grégoire Certain, Signe Nybø, and Olav Skarpaas, present the main results of the Nature Index and describe the conceptual framework and methodology. The third article, The Norwegian Nature Index: Expert evaluations in precautionary approaches to biodiversity policy (Aslaksen et al. 2012a), by ecologist Erik Framstad, ecological economist Iulie Aslaksen, geographer Per Arild Garnåsjordet, and statistician Magnar Lillegård, presents the results of a survey among the Nature Index experts about the future state of biodiversity. The fourth article, The ambivalent nature of biodiversity: Scientists’ perspectives on the Norwegian Nature Index (Figari 2012), by sociologist Helene Figari, presents the results of in-depth interviews with the Nature Index experts about their views on biodiversity. The fifth article,…
This report contains two invited contributions to meetings held under the auspices of the Statist... more This report contains two invited contributions to meetings held under the auspices of the Statistical Commission and Economic Commission for Europe, Conference of European Statisticians. The first paper, on land use and linkages, was prepared for the Meeting on Land Use Statistics held in Geneva, Switzerland, 17-20 March 1980, and the second paper, on point sampling, was prepared for the Seminar on Environmental Statistics held in Warsaw, Poland, 16-19 September 1980. The Warsaw seminar was arranged in cooperation with the Senior Advisers to ECE Governments on Environmental Statistics. The papers included in this report deal with issues of central importance in the work the Central Bureau of Statistics is undertaking in relation to environmental statistics, resource accounting and in particular to land accounts and land use statistics. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily repiesent those of the ECE or of the Bureau
The global energy transition from fossil to low-carbon energy challenges the future of the Norweg... more The global energy transition from fossil to low-carbon energy challenges the future of the Norwegian petroleum sector, a major factor in the country’s economy, now facing financial climate risk and longterm declining demand, particularly for gas to the EU. What energy policies can assist the transition into a low-carbon society? We explore three investment scenarios for the Norwegian offshore energy sector from 2020 to 2070: 1) Business as usual, 2) Increasing cash-flow by harvesting existing petroleum fields and cutting investments (Harvest-and-Exit), or 3) Rebuilding with green offshore energy investments. In a new economic model, we compare impacts on key macro- and sectoreconomic variables. We find that investing moderately in green offshore energy production can reverse the extra job decline that a quicker phase-out of petroleum investments would incur. The impacts on the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund - Government Pension Fund Global - and on gross domestic product (GDP) per capita are insignificant to 2050 and positive by 2070. The simulated investments and economic results can be compared with observations to constitute forward-looking indicators of Norway's energy transitioning
Denne forskningsrapporten inneholder artikler som bygger på empiri fra forskningsprosjektet Urban... more Denne forskningsrapporten inneholder artikler som bygger på empiri fra forskningsprosjektet Urban EEA (Urban Experimental Eco system Accounting) finansiert av Norges forskningsråd. NINA (Norsk institutt for naturforskning) ved David Barton, har ledet prosjektet. SSB (Statistisk Sentralbyrå) og AHO (Arkitektur- og designhøgskolen i Oslo) har vært partnere i prosjektet. Urban EEA har dreid seg om verdsetting av naturgoder (Eco system Services) og utvikling av naturregnskap for byer. I en del av prosjektet er dagens arealbruk og prinsipper for planlegging og arealbruk i Osloregionen studert. Dette, sammen med andre studier som er gjennomført om norsk stedlig og regional planlegging, danner grunnlag for artiklene i rapporten
Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift-norwegian Journal of Geography, Dec 1, 2012
Sustainable development has been a global policy aim for more than 40 years, since the modern env... more Sustainable development has been a global policy aim for more than 40 years, since the modern environmental movement reached the political agenda in the 1970s. In the early years, the main consideration of sustainability concerned the scarcity of materials and energy and the potential lack of food resources. In recent decades, climate change has been a predominant issue for sustainability policy. Possible lack of water resources as threat to sustainable development has more recently gained the attention of policymakers. The loss of biodiversity is increasingly seen as a sustainability gap, threatening the function of vital ecosystems. Today, together with climate change, the loss of species and habitats is recognized as the greatest global environmental problem. In 1993, Norway ratified the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), initiated at the Rio convention in 1992. International agreements and national policy goals have brought biodiversity loss to the political agenda. In order to give an overview of biodiversity and monitor its future development, the Nature Index was initiated by the Norwegian Government in 2005 and presented in September 2010. The 308 indicators included in the Nature Index, representing animal and plant species, are intended to give an overall representative picture of the state of biodiversity in Norwegian nature. Indicators are also selected to show responsiveness to environmental management; for example, the Nature Index for freshwater aquatic ecosystems shows improvement over time since pollution from acid rain was reduced and watersheds were limed. Thus, the Nature Index differs clearly from the Red List of endangered species and the overview of special nature types as prioritized by the Norwegian Nature Diversity Act of 2009. The Nature Index will be regularly updated in order to show development over time towards the goal of stopping the loss of biodiversity in all major ecosystems. However, the idea behind the Nature Index is not only to use it as a monitoring instrument, but also as a context for establishing environmental policy objectives and linking these to policy instruments. To succeed in this objective, it is necessary to see the Nature Index as not just a tool for scientists and national experts in their assessments of nature and biodiversity. The Nature Index needs to be easily communicated and understood. Its success will require that it can be accepted as a framework or vehicle for policy deliberations between national and local government, important interest groups, and the general public. It is most likely that the acceptance will depend on political support from the public and how the public considers political actions in support of biodiversity conservation and habitat protection. This special issue of Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift Norwegian Journal of Geography presents a comprehensive and interdisciplinary overview of the Nature Index for Norway, starting from the field of natural science, outlining the scientific basis, methods of data collection, the question of dealing with different kinds of uncertainties, including possible future development, and then proceeding to sociological and political science inquiries into how the new policy instrument is received by politicians and how the question of biodiversity loss is viewed by the public. Thus, this special issue demonstrates the interdisciplinary dimension of some fundamental geographical questions. The main reason for offering this broad presentation of the Nature Index is to give readers a more complete understanding of the many different interdisciplinary aspects of this new tool for environmental policy with biodiversity as a key issue for sustainability thus contributing to further the goal of geography as a science of sustainability. The seven articles in this special issue, six of which are coauthored, reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the project. The first two articles, The Norwegian Nature Index state and trends of biodiversity in Norway (Nybø et al. 2012) and The Norwegian Nature Index conceptual framework and methodology (Skarpaas et al. 2012), by ecologists Grégoire Certain, Signe Nybø, and Olav Skarpaas, present the main results of the Nature Index and describe the conceptual framework and methodology. The third article, The Norwegian Nature Index: Expert evaluations in precautionary approaches to biodiversity policy (Aslaksen et al. 2012a), by ecologist Erik Framstad, ecological economist Iulie Aslaksen, geographer Per Arild Garnåsjordet, and statistician Magnar Lillegård, presents the results of a survey among the Nature Index experts about the future state of biodiversity. The fourth article, The ambivalent nature of biodiversity: Scientists’ perspectives on the Norwegian Nature Index (Figari 2012), by sociologist Helene Figari, presents the results of in-depth interviews with the Nature Index experts about their views on biodiversity. The fifth article,…
This report contains two invited contributions to meetings held under the auspices of the Statist... more This report contains two invited contributions to meetings held under the auspices of the Statistical Commission and Economic Commission for Europe, Conference of European Statisticians. The first paper, on land use and linkages, was prepared for the Meeting on Land Use Statistics held in Geneva, Switzerland, 17-20 March 1980, and the second paper, on point sampling, was prepared for the Seminar on Environmental Statistics held in Warsaw, Poland, 16-19 September 1980. The Warsaw seminar was arranged in cooperation with the Senior Advisers to ECE Governments on Environmental Statistics. The papers included in this report deal with issues of central importance in the work the Central Bureau of Statistics is undertaking in relation to environmental statistics, resource accounting and in particular to land accounts and land use statistics. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily repiesent those of the ECE or of the Bureau
The global energy transition from fossil to low-carbon energy challenges the future of the Norweg... more The global energy transition from fossil to low-carbon energy challenges the future of the Norwegian petroleum sector, a major factor in the country’s economy, now facing financial climate risk and longterm declining demand, particularly for gas to the EU. What energy policies can assist the transition into a low-carbon society? We explore three investment scenarios for the Norwegian offshore energy sector from 2020 to 2070: 1) Business as usual, 2) Increasing cash-flow by harvesting existing petroleum fields and cutting investments (Harvest-and-Exit), or 3) Rebuilding with green offshore energy investments. In a new economic model, we compare impacts on key macro- and sectoreconomic variables. We find that investing moderately in green offshore energy production can reverse the extra job decline that a quicker phase-out of petroleum investments would incur. The impacts on the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund - Government Pension Fund Global - and on gross domestic product (GDP) per capita are insignificant to 2050 and positive by 2070. The simulated investments and economic results can be compared with observations to constitute forward-looking indicators of Norway's energy transitioning
Denne forskningsrapporten inneholder artikler som bygger på empiri fra forskningsprosjektet Urban... more Denne forskningsrapporten inneholder artikler som bygger på empiri fra forskningsprosjektet Urban EEA (Urban Experimental Eco system Accounting) finansiert av Norges forskningsråd. NINA (Norsk institutt for naturforskning) ved David Barton, har ledet prosjektet. SSB (Statistisk Sentralbyrå) og AHO (Arkitektur- og designhøgskolen i Oslo) har vært partnere i prosjektet. Urban EEA har dreid seg om verdsetting av naturgoder (Eco system Services) og utvikling av naturregnskap for byer. I en del av prosjektet er dagens arealbruk og prinsipper for planlegging og arealbruk i Osloregionen studert. Dette, sammen med andre studier som er gjennomført om norsk stedlig og regional planlegging, danner grunnlag for artiklene i rapporten
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