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carbon-neutral energy. The aim is to reduce the use of fossil fuels,
to diversify energy supply and to provide a basis for economic
development in rural areas. The most important measures under
the programme are investment support, aid to pilot projects and
capacity-building.
The Wood-based Innovation Scheme and the Bioenergy Scheme
are administered by Innovation Norway, a public agency.
Sustainable forest management
Norwegian forest policy, as well as the environmental standards that
forest owners are committed to follow, emphasizes environmental
considerations such as maintaining and developing biological diver-
sity, and the social and cultural functions of forests.
The share of virgin forests is small in Norway and therefore there
are major concerns that Norwegian forestry is environmentally
sustainable and takes sufficient consideration of biological diversity
and threatened habitats. Biodiversity-rich habitats are registered and
mapped in forest management plans.
The Nature Diversity Act contains provisions on forest conser-
vation, prioritized species and selected habitats in forests that are
important for specific groups of species. Voluntary protection is now
the main strategy for forest conservation.
Protective forests are regulated in the Forestry Act. The main
function of a protective forest is to protect climatically vulnerable
forests and other areas against damage, and includes mainly the
forest bordering mountain areas.
The Forestry Act, and the regulations given under it,
also regulates forestry-related activity, making allow-
ance for the role of forests for recreational use and by
protecting landscapes and cultural values.
Forest certification
The Living Forest Standard is a national standard for
sustainable forest management in Norway. The stand-
ard was jointly developed in 1998 and revised in 2006,
by stakeholders in forest management and the forest
industry, environmental and outdoor recreation organi-
zations, trade unions and consumer interest groups. The
standard promotes sustainable forest management by
creating a balance between forest production, environ-
mental protection and social interests. The Living Forest
Standard is an important basis for forest certification
in Norway. The standard is also used in combination
with the ISO14001 environmental management system
that is applied to practically all commercial forestry
in Norway. By group certification through the forest
owners associations, the challenge of certifying small
forest properties has been overcome with bearable costs
for individual forest owners.
Since June 2010 the Living Forest Standard has been
suspended pending an unresolved disagreement in the
Living Forest Council related to reforestation and affor-
estation regarding the use of new and introduced tree
species. Despite this, the forestry sector continues to
follow the rules and guidelines from the standard.
Forest management plans with environmental
inventories
Forest management plans are important tools for the
forest owner, in order to promote sustainable forest
management. This includes both active commercial
use of the forest resources as well as the forest owner’s
responsibility for the protection of biological diversity,
landscapes, recreation and cultural values in the forest.
Forest management plans are offered to all forest
owners in Norway every 10th to 15th year according to
plans at county level. Today, forest management plans
are developed through analysis and descriptions based
on photography and laser measurements conducted by
remote sensing. Field registrations are also important.
The final product is customized to the individual forest
owner and can give him or her recommendations for
forestry measures. Providing an inventory of forest
resources and environmental values on the property is
a precondition for the allocation of grants.
Important areas for biological diversity are being
inventoried on the basis of knowledge about species
and their habitat requirements. The environmental
inventories developed through the forest management
planning process are made publicly available. The forest
owner must ensure that all activities in the forest are
carried out in compliance with laws and regulations.
Under the Forestry Act, each forest owner must have
an overall view of the environmental values and pay
regard to them when carrying out activities in the forest.
Traditional activities such as berrypicking and mushrooming are still important
Image: The Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Norway