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The Nordic Times

Polaris of Enlightenment

The Nordic Times

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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/norway/norwegian-conservation-decisions-spark-international-outcry/

Norway

Norwegian conservation decisions spark international outcry

Updated February 19, 2024, Published February 19, 2024 – By Editorial staff
Plans for a quarry near the Vingenfeltet, with some 2000 rock carvings, are being questioned as a threat to a "priceless cultural heritage".
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

According to the Norwegian Society for Nature Conservation, the international attention surrounding several controversial conservation decisions is putting Norway's international reputation at risk. Other countries have reacted to the country's plans for deep-sea mining, the destruction of cultural heritage and the dumping of mining waste in Førdefjorden.

The Norwegian state has decided to build a quarry near the Vingenfeltet rock carving area, which is considered one of the largest areas of Stone Age rock carvings in Europe, which has been criticized by the international organization for the protection of cultural heritage, Icomos, among others. The area has about 2000 unique rock carvings.

In a letter to Erling Sande, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, the organization writes that it protests "in the strongest possible terms" against the Norwegian authorities putting "priceless cultural heritage" at risk. It was Sande who approved the project despite protests from the state administrator and others.

"Dear Mr. Sande. This is not a choice between priceless cultural heritage and a quarry. You can have both, but not in the same place", writes ICOMOS President Benjamin Smith in the letter, according to Norwegian state broadcaster NRK.

He also recalls how the Portuguese authorities agreed to a similar development project before voters punished them by installing a more environmentally friendly government.

Mining waste and seabed mining

In January, the Norwegian Society for Nature Conservation lost the "Fjord Case" at the Oslo District Court after nearly 20 years of fighting. The fight was against giving Nordic Mining the go-ahead to dump 170 million tons of mining waste in the Førdefjord.

In addition, the EU Parliament passed a resolution against Norway becoming the first country in the world to open up the seabed to mineral exploration, after the Storting voted in favor of the issue.

– This could damage both the marine ecosystem and fisheries resources in the area, EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said in a speech to the parliament.

Truls Gulowsen, chairman of the Norwegian Society for Nature Conservation, says Norway's reputation "has taken a lot of hits lately" and that this affects the country's influence in the international arena. However, he points out that it is "fantastic that ICOMOS is responding and doing so quickly".

– I hope the government will listen and realize that there is no shame in going back, he says.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/norway/norwegian-mayor-raises-alarm-over-refugee-policy/

Norway

Norwegian mayor raises alarm over refugee policy

Migration crisis in Europe

Published yesterday 7:28 am – By Editorial staff
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Four out of five kroner in social assistance goes to refugees in the Norwegian city of Sarpsborg. Now the municipality's mayor is criticizing Norway's integration policy and calling it a failure, citing a new municipal report.

In the Norwegian city of Sarpsborg, with approximately 60,000 inhabitants, a new municipal report has revealed figures sparking debate. A full 79.1 percent of the financial social assistance paid out during 2024 went to refugees.

Mayor Magnus Arnesen from the Conservative Party (Høyre) is now taking a strong stance against the Norwegian state's integration policy.

— The municipal director presents figures that I believe show that integration policy in Norway is not working. It is inadequate, the mayor tells Norwegian state broadcaster NRK.

The report also shows that half of the immigrants in the municipality have a refugee background, compared to one-third at the national level. Over the past 15 years, the number of immigrants in Sarpsborg has increased by 132 percent, from 6,115 to 15,140 people.

According to Arnesen, the problems are partly due to how the Norwegian refugee reception system is designed. Refugees granted residence permits are initially settled in a municipality but are free to move after five years without losing their introduction benefits.

Many then choose to move to larger cities like Sarpsborg, Fredrikstad, or Drammen – so-called secondary settlement. The problem is that they arrive without work and without the state funding that municipalities receive for primary settlement.

Disagrees

This week, Labor and Integration Minister Kjersti Stenseng from the Labor Party (Arbeiderpartiet) met with the mayors of Sarpsborg and Fredrikstad to discuss the problems.

But she disagrees with Arnesen that integration policy has failed.

— No, I don't agree with that. We have many good examples of people who come to this country, learn the language, and find work, says Stenseng.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/norway/norwegian-experts-sound-alarm-over-weight-loss-medication/

Norway

Norwegian experts sound alarm over weight-loss medication

Published November 18, 2025 – By Editorial staff
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

More and more people are using weight-loss medications to lose weight. Now Norwegian experts are sounding the alarm that these drugs may trigger a new form of eating disorder – a so-called "dieting disorder" where patients become trapped in destructive behavior.

The use of various weight-loss medications has increased in many countries recently, with drugs like Wegovy and the type 2 diabetes medication Ozempic increasingly being used for weight loss. These drugs have gained traction because they contain semaglutide, which increases the feeling of satiety.

Danish experts have previously warned that this type of medication can worsen and even trigger various types of eating disorders, with a larger proportion of patients taking the medication in a destructive manner. Now Norwegian experts in the field are also stepping forward, noting that there is an entirely new patient group – those who cannot stop taking weight-loss medications.

— We're getting quite a few people coming to us after having taken weight-loss medication for a while who say they can no longer control it themselves, but they don't dare stop taking the medication because they will then gain weight, says psychologist Bente Sommerfeldt to Norwegian state broadcaster NRK.

"Dieting disorder"

Sommerfeldt specializes in eating disorders and says that more and more people in the field are talking about how the growing market for obesity medications has triggered what may become a new diagnosis.

— We are on the verge of getting yet another eating disorder, which we might call dieting disorder.

General practitioners also see risks with the use of weight-loss medication and believe that there is currently no good method for actually stopping it once you've started.

— At present, we have no good method for stopping this medication. The most important thing is therefore that we speak clearly with patients, says Torgeir Hoff Skavøy, who is chairman of the Norwegian Association of General Practitioners.

Cathrine M Lofthu, who heads the Norwegian Directorate of Health, says they take the experts' warnings very seriously and that we must recognize this is a social problem.

— We have created a society where it is difficult to make good choices, she says.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/norway/norway-fails-to-eradicate-wild-boar/

Norway

Norway fails to eradicate wild boar

Published November 18, 2025 – By Editorial staff
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Despite Norwegian authorities wanting to eliminate all wild boar in the country, the population remains stable. According to new figures from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), between 450 and 700 wild boar live in the border areas with Sweden – and migration from Swedish forests makes it nearly impossible to reach zero.

The figures come from NINA's latest monitoring of the wild boar population during the 2024/2025 hunting season. Norway has been trying to reduce the population for some time, primarily due to the damage that wild boar can cause. But the population remains stable at the same level each year.

— Wild boar can damage crops and spread diseases to domestic pigs, which can harm the industry. That's why Norway wants to eradicate the species, says Inger Maren Rivrud, researcher at NINA, to Norwegian state broadcaster NRK.

Behind Norway's difficulties in eliminating the wild boar is primarily the large population on the other side of the border. In Sweden, there are over 300,000 wild boar, and nearly 120,000 animals are shot each year without the population decreasing significantly.

Swedish biologist Marcus Öhman has previously proposed that wild boar meat should be served in public institutions as part of the solution. For Norway, the Swedish population means that animals constantly migrate across the border.

— Even if we eliminate all of them in Norway, wild boar will still come from Sweden. Keeping the population at zero will be nearly impossible, says Rivrud.

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority and the Environment Agency have previously proposed that a fence should be built along the border in areas where most wild boar migrate. But according to Rivrud, extensive hunting efforts are also required for the population to decrease.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/norway/more-children-born-in-norway-for-second-consecutive-year/

Norway

More children born in Norway for second consecutive year

Published November 12, 2025 – By Editorial staff
1 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Birth rates in Norway are rising for the second consecutive year after reaching a historic low in 2022, according to new statistics from the Medical Birth Registry. Despite the increase, too few children are still being born.

Last year, 54,472 children were born in Norway, representing an increase of 3.6 percent compared to the previous year. This stands in stark contrast to 2022, when the country had the lowest number of births in many decades.

— Whether this is a trend, we are uncertain, but more children are being born now than in previous years, says senior physician Liv Cecilie Vestrheim Thomsen at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI) to Norwegian state broadcaster NRK.

Larger birth cohorts reaching parenting age

Thomsen points to a demographic explanation. Around 40 years ago, birth cohorts in Norway were small, but those born in the late 1980s and into the 1990s were significantly larger. It is this generation that is now at the age when many choose to start families.

— It may be that they have now decided to have children, says Thomsen.

Despite the increase, only 1.44 children are born per woman in Norway. For the population to replace itself, approximately 2.1 children per woman are required. The average age for first-time mothers is now almost 32 years.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com