The conservation area board for the Geiranger-Herdalen landscape conservation area decided on 8 November 2023 to grant a dispensation under section 48 of the Natural Diversity Act on all accounts. The grounds for the dispensation given by the Protected Area Board, among other things, are as follows:
“The protected area board for the Geiranger – Herdalen landscape conservation area believes that the revised and adjusted plan for the land-based farming facility in Raudbergvika can now be realised without the conservation values being significantly negatively affected, cf. section 48 of the Natural Diversity Act. In this assessment, the Protected Area Board also assumes that through the subsequent detailed regulatory process, will give further clarification and conditions will be determined in relation to nature and the environment. As can be seen from the decision of the Conservation Area Board, the board placed great emphasis, with the adding of Raudbergvika into the World Heritage and establishing the conservation area, were to be kept outside of the areas covered by the protection.
The reason for this being the active mining in the area at the time – and it was taken into account that this activity should be able to expand – also with mass withdrawals from the ground inside the protected area.
The site plans for the land-based facility will also involve the extraction of rock from the underground areas of what is part of the landscape protection and World Heritage area. This will not impact the visual character of the landscape in the conservation area. The geological processes which have shaped the landscape will also not be affected by this measure.
The part of the planned measure which “today” is located in an area, which in the current planning document, has the zoning purpose of mass extraction. The sea area at Raudbergvika has the zoning purpose of water area for public use. The Protected Area Board believes that there should be a distinction between the requirements set inside and outside of the protected area. This is to maintain the requirements set by cf. section 49 of the Natural Diversity Act, which states “The conservation regulations do not apply to activities that take place outside the conservation boundaries. It is therefore important that adjacent areas are managed in such a way that the conservation values within the conservation area are not degraded.”
With the adjustments made in the amended plans – as well as the requirements which can be included in later regulatory approvals and licensing processing, it is the board’s reasoning that it will not impair the conservation values.
The State Administrator in Møre and Romsdal complained about the decision in a letter on 1 December 2023. The State Administrator believes that the establishment of an aquaculture facility inside the mountain within the landscape conservation area will conflict with the conservation purpose and have significant negative effects on the conservation values.
The State Administrator in Møre and Romsdal complained about the decision in a letter on 1 December 2023. The State Administrator believes that the establishment of an aquaculture facility inside the mountain within the landscape conservation area will conflict with the conservation purpose and have significant negative effects on the conservation values.
Because of this decision, the Norwegian Environment Agency does not carry out a closer assessment of the effects of the measures in question (according to the Natural Diversity Act §§ 8-12) or the effect of the operation on the World Heritage Site West Norwegian Fjord Landscape. For those measures that are assessed as requiring application according to the conservation regulations, the protected area board must assess the Natural Diversity Act §§ 8-12. In addition, any impact on the world heritage area will be a factor in the assessment of whether a dispensation should be granted.
You can read more about this under the Documentation tab and political Process Documentation under the name; Decisions of complaints regarding aquaculture facility in Raudbergvika – Geiranger – Herdalen Conservation area.