Norway - ANTARCTIC

The Norwegian Polar Institute

The Norwegian Polar Research Institute is the central state institution for the mapping and scientific investigations in polar regions, in addition to serving as the professional and strategic advisor for the central administration on environmental affairs in Norwegian polar regions. The Institute also serves as professional advisor for the Directorate for Nature Management, the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority, the Directorate for Cultural Heritage and the Governor on Svalbard. The Institute is responsible for the follow-up and implementation of Norwegian environmental legislation in the Antarctic.

The Institute plays a key role in the Polar Environment Centre and is an active participant in the development and implementation of research cooperation at the centre. The Institute participates in international polar research fora and is responsible for scientific programmes as an independent research institution. It serves as an international contact on polar issues and channels information between Norwegian and international research institutions.

The role and functions of the Norwegian Polar Institute are based on the combined expertise it has developed in the field of polar environmental research, mapping and logistics. The Institute´s professional expertise and activities relate to biodiversity, climate and environmentally hazardous substances in the northern and polar regions.

The main strategies to achieve the objectives are to:

• obtain and disseminate knowledge as a basis for active and preventive environmental protection efforts in northern and polar regions

• provide access to its collection of polar history and its library for studies of Norwegian and international polar history, among others for external researchers

• topographic and geological mapping of Svalbard, Jan Mayen and Norwegian land areas in the Antarctic, in addition to the production of geophysical maps

• through its logistics resources, the Institute shall organize its own field of activities and offer joint services to Norwegian polar researchers

• In addition, the Institute shall help to ensure that both national and international research projects on Svalbard promote the national interests of the archipelago.

The Norwegian Pollution Control Authority

The Norwegian Pollution Control Authority is responsible for providing the professional basis for decisions for the Ministry in connection with pollution issues. In addition, the Pollution Control Authority has an executive responsibility with regard to:

• instructions and control relating to measures to combat industrial - pollution

• acute pollution

• chemical substances and products

• monitoring pollution in air and water.

The Pollution Control Authority is authorized to issue instructions to the County Departments of Environmental Affairs and to the Governor´s office on Svalbard concerning e.g. pollution, waste and products.

The concrete environmental objectives of the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority are described in the discussion of target areas in the Ministry of the Environment´s budget proposition:

The main strategies to achieve the objectives are to:

• • focus on preventive environmental protection and an active use of grants enhance the efforts in international cooperation and concentrate the efforts on areas which involve binding agreements

  • change the execution of authority by imposing simpler, controllable and more long-term requirements as well as shifting control activities towards systems control

  • contribute to ensuring that municipalities and other government authorities accept responsibility and implement measures to achieve the environmental objectives

  • improve knowledge about the state of the environment and performance reporting in relation to environmental objectives

  • cooperate with the Directorate for Nature Management on developing its role as an instruction-issuing authority for county governors

  • develop the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority as an organization.

The Norwegian Mapping Authority

The Norwegian Mapping Authority is responsible for providing nationwide geographic information and services to private and public users. It also serves as the central government´s professional body in the area of maps and geodata and handles the administrative tasks associated with this. The Mapping Authority also participates in R&D in the area of mapping technology and cooperates with Norwegian industry and other government agencies in areas such as export-oriented measures.

The Norwegian Mapping Authority will in the years ahead focus on its role as data manager, while data compilation and data transmission will be handled to a greater extent by external organizations or in cooperation with other agencies. Traditional printed maps are marketed and sold through a number of dealers. So far the Mapping Authority has largely supplied digital data directly to users, whereas the plans now entail that this will be carried out to a greater extent through dealers. Emphasis will be placed on producing a greater number of products for use in simple and less expensive mapping systems.

The Mapping Authority also publishes fixed lists of tides, sailing instructions and other publications for safety at sea.

The Norwegian Mapping Authority