New report: Biodiversity in Norway is under pressure

A new report shows that biodiversity in Norway has been significantly reduced.

The “Nature Index for Norway 2020” report presents several negative developments when it comes to biodiversity in Norway. 

The report has been prepared by the Norwegian Institute for Natural Research (NINA) for the Norwegian Environment Agency.

Although some ecosystems registered a positive development, the report shows that Norway’s main ecosystems are strongly affected by human activity.

“For open lowlands and mountains, the arrow, unfortunately, points further downwards, while for forests, we see gratifying progress,” the Norwegian Environment Agency’s director Ellen Hambro noted in a press release.

Thorough assessment

The report is based on an expert assessment of the condition of over 260 species and other indicators.

For open lowlands, the development has been clearly negative since 1990. 

That is partly due to overgrowth in areas where farming has ceased and partly because use has intensified in areas where there is still agriculture.

The development has also been negative in the mountains.

In the forest areas, the development has gone in the right direction in recent years, but extensive forestry means that the nature index for these areas is still low.

“It is gratifying to see that even though the values ​​are low, we have a positive development,” Hambro said.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today