Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
has 47
national park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
s, of which 40 are on the mainland and 7 on
Svalbard
Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...
. National parks in Norway are stricter than many other countries, and nearly all motorized vehicles are prohibited. The
Right to roam
The freedom to roam, or "everyman's right", is the general public's right to access certain public or privately owned land, lakes, and rivers for recreation and exercise. The right is sometimes called the right of public access to the wildernes ...
applies, thus hiking, skiing and camping throughout the park are permitted, given that consideration to nature is taken. Roads, accommodation and national park centers are located outside the national parks. The parks are under the management o
The Norwegian Environment Agency and the local
county governor.
Ytre Hvaler is a
marine park and all parks in Svalbard also contain marine areas.
Sør-Spitsbergen is the largest park, covering an area of , although only is land.
The newest national park assigned in Norway is Lofotodden established in 2018. The largest park on the mainland is
Hardangervidda
Hardangervidda ( en, Hardanger Plateau) is a mountain plateau (Norwegian: ''vidde'') in central southern Norway, covering parts of Vestland, Vestfold og Telemark, and Viken counties. It is the largest plateau of its kind in Europe, with a cold ye ...
, which covers an area of .
Gutulia is the smallest, covering .
Geography and history
At least 60% of Norway's area is mountainous, lakes or
bog
A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...
s (non-arable land, some of it is used as pastures); 37% is forest of various kinds; and only 3% arable land. It is estimated that between 1900 and 2003 areas more than 5 km from intense construction activity have decreased from 48% to 12% in Norway.
Until about one hundred years ago there was relatively little threat to ecosystems in Norway. The first initiatives to protect land were voiced in 1904, by
Yngvar Nielsen
Yngvar Nielsen (29 July 1843, Arendal, Aust-Agder – 2 March 1916) was a Norwegian historian, politician, geographer and pioneer of tourism in Norway.
Background
Nielsen was born in Arendal, Aust-Agder. He was the son of Norwegian Telegraph Dir ...
, leader of the
Norwegian Mountain Touring Association (DNT). The association continued to lobby cases in 1923 and 1938. The natural protection act of 1954 prepared a legal basis for establishing protection areas, and the two first national parks were established in 1962 and 1963. The act of 1954 also established ''Statens naturvernråd'' ("''Governmental Natural protection council''") as an advisory body for the government. The council presented a draft for further natural protecting in 1964, suggesting 16 national parks. These suggestions were approved by
Stortinget
The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years base ...
. It took 25 years, until 1989, before 15 of their suggestions were fulfilled. The 16th suggestion became a ''naturreservat''. The council presented another suggestion in 1986, and this was approved by Stortinget in April 1993. Following this approval, a "second generation" of national parks, as well as expanding borders for the elder, were established from 2001.
The post-industrial era that started in the last 1960s saw areas being protected as national parks or other protected status as a means to regulate the construction of vacation homes, roads, fishing, hunting, and gathering plants. This trend has accelerated in the last 10 years. In addition to preserving rare plant and animal life, areas are protected to maintain reference points for environmental research, recreational resources for Norwegians, and as an inheritance for future generations. The
Directorate for Nature Management maintains indicators for the health of nature in Norway, including such measures as biological diversity, erosion, signs of pollution.
For the most part, national parks are open to hiking, cross-country skiing and camping. Most have a limited number of overnight cabins.
In addition to national parks, the Norwegian government has designated larger areas for protection. Included in these areas are 153 landscapes covering 14071 km
2; 1,701 nature reserves covering 3,418 km
2; 24 national parks covering 21,650 km
2; 102 natural memorials, and 98 smaller protected areas. This accounts for 12.1% of Norway's mainland area.
The Norwegian government's goal is to increase this area over time to at least 15%. They have signalled an interest in preserving marine ecosystems, including the
fjord
In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...
s of the western parts of Norway, and the archipelago southwest from
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
.
Current
Former
Planned
There are also several national park proposals by many different parties: Solværøyene, Storheia; Melkevatn–Hjertvatn–Børsvatn, Okstindan; Frafjordheiene; Oksøy-Ryvingen; Setesdal Vesthei, Trollheimen, Lyngsalpan;
Mølen
Mølen in Brunlanes, Larvik is a geopark and Norway's largest beach of rolling stones. It is a part of Vestfoldraet, the terrain left behind after the end of the most recent ice age around 10,000 years ago. Mølen is one of Larvik's most popular ...
.
Storheia has since been covered in a wind farm and would no longer qualify for protection as a national park, and parts of Melkevatn–Hjertvatn–Børsvatn were protected as a nature reserve rather than a national park.
After being tasked by the
Ministry of Climate and Environment in 2018 to find areas that should be protected, in 2019 the
Environment Agency
The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...
made a number of suggestions for new national parks as well as expansions of existing ones, after looking through suggestions from the
county governors. In 2021, after meetings with the affected municipalities, they made a final list of suggestions for national parks that should get further consideration. The proposed new protections are:
Sunnmørsalpane,
Hornelen, Masfjordfjella and Øystesefjella. Additionally, they proposed some protected areas to be changed to national park:
Lyngsalpan,
Sylan,
Trollheimen and
Innerdalen,
Ã…lfotbreen
The Ã…lfotbreen glacier is located in Vestland county, Norway. The glacier is located on the border of three municipalities in the Nordfjord region: Bremanger, Kinn, and Gloppen. It is located west of the village of Hyen, south of the village ...
, Oksøy-Ryvingen, and Flekkefjord and Listastrendene. Many other proposals were cancelled due to local opposition: Kvænangsvidda-Nabar, Treriksrøysa, Preikestolen, Kvitladalen-Bjordalen, Viglesdalen; as well as some proposed changes of type of protection: Naustdal-Gjengedal and
Setesdal Vesthei Ryfylkeheiane
Setesdal Vesthei Ryfylkeheiane is a protected area in Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scand ...
.
References
External links
Norwegian national parks*
Brouchures about National parks in Norway
{{DEFAULTSORT:List of National Parks of Norway
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
National Parks
A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...
List
National parks
A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...