Interreg 3B: Coastatlantic Atlantic Coast (Wester Ross) Project COMPARATIVE STUDY: Coastal zone planning in Hordaland, Norway Report on study visit in 2006 by Angus MacHattie and Colin Wishart Highland Council Planning & Development Service CONTENTS Introduction 3 Purpose of the study visit 3 Features of the programme 3 National overview – coastal planning in Norway 4 Key facts about the country 4 Responsibilities of the different tiers of government 4 Economic factors 6 Enabling mechanisms for coastal planning 7 Key coastal planning issues 9 Regional case study – coastal planning in Hordaland 11 Hordaland county 11 Key coastal planning issues in Hordaland 13 Local case study - Austevoll Kommune 14 Characteristics of the area 14 Features of the Austevoll Kystsone Plan 15 Evolution of the combined terrestrial and marine plan, key drivers 17 Conclusions, lessons learned 17 Role of local authorities and central guidance 18 The Two Brooms Coastal Plan v. Austevoll Kystsone Plan 18 - public and agency involvement 19 - information base 19 Institutional frameworks and training for ICZM 19 Potential for further Scotland-Norway collaboration on coastal planning 20 Acknowledgements 21 2 Introduction PURPOSE OF THE STUDY VISIT This report sets out the findings of a two-day study visit and workshop held in the Hordaland county of Norway in late August/ early September 2006. The event was conceived as part of the Atlantic Coast (Wester Ross) project which set out to develop and test – on a demonstration basis - an integrated coastal zone plan for the Two Brooms area in Highland. The Norwegian experience of coastal planning was referred to at various times in the early publicity and consultation phases of this project. This was to provide examples of what integrated CZ plans could look like in practice and to give a frame of reference against which the Two Brooms plan could be compared. The purpose of the visit/workshop (a series of technical meetings over 2 days) was to discuss recent progress and new techniques in coastal planning with Norwegian experts in this field who are working at both regional and district levels. Particular attention was given to Highland Council’s recent experience of preparing a new coastal plan for the Two Brooms area. The main interest in Norway was coastal plans recently prepared in the county of Hordaland and discussions around the lessons learned from each of the two regions. Highland Council first established professional links with coastal planning specialists in Hordaland when the two councils worked together on the Interreg 2C Norcoast project during 1998-2000. A small member-officer group from Highland subsequently visited in 2003. Hordaland is one of the most advanced regions in Europe in terms of coastal planning practice and its geography and planning issues are similar to those of Highland. The Highland Council, for its part, has much experience of developing plans to deal with aquaculture. Through its local initiatives and contributions to national working groups it is seen in the UK as one of the pioneers in the now rapidly evolving field of coastal and marine policy. It is therefore worthwhile for these two regions to maintain contact and to exchange experience and ideas which can help to raise awareness and standards of practice on both sides of the North Sea. The fruits of this dialogue can, in turn, be relayed to other regions in the two countries and in the wider Atlantic Arc and North Sea areas. FEATURES OF THE PROGRAMME Day one of the programme started with an excursion to the Austevoll archipelago and municipality via the Krokeide to Hufthamar ferry. Issues discussed included examples of planning in the shoreline area, sites under pressure for development, and public outdoor recreation areas. On the Austevoll archipelago there was a presentation about the Austevoll municipality’s spatial plan. This was followed by a visit to Fiskarfagskulen (the college for navigation and education of fishermen) with a presentation by the college’s director Håvard Rabben. Also in Austevoll a visit was made to the Institute of Marine Research which specialises in research for aquaculture and marine species. The Institute, set up after the collapse of herring stocks in the 1970’s, is one of the largest and most advanced research facilities of its type in Europe. The visit concluded with an inspection of the coastal settlement of Bekkjarvik. On day two there was a seminar in the Hordaland County Council HQ in Bergen which took as its theme ‘Spatial planning in Norway and Scotland’. This was attended 3 by officials from the county council and a range of other bodies. The seminar started with an introduction to spatial planning in the coastal zone of Norway and Hordaland by Marit Rødseth who is the group leader for municipal cooperation in Hordaland County Administration. Colin Wishart and Angus McHattie provided an overview of the current state of coastal planning in Scotland, covering the range of ongoing initiatives and focusing in more detail on the experience of the Atlantic Coast (Wester Ross) Project. The meeting then heard about wider experiences with coastal zone planning in Norway from Knut Bjørn Stokke who is a researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research. Håkon Kryvi, who works for the Environmental department at the county governor’s office, provided an overview of environmental impacts in the coastal zone of Hordaland. Rune Rosland from the University of Bergen provided some background information on education in coastal zone planning in courses run by the university. Many sectors are involved in coastal management in Hordaland and the seminar heard from county officials Øivind Høiness, Jan Hausken, and Inge Døskeland how GIS is being developed as a decision support system for coastal zone planning and sustainable economic development in Hordaland. The seminar concluded with discussions on the prospects for a new international project on developing best practice in coastal zone planning. National overview - coastal planning in Norway KEY FACTS ABOUT THE COUNTRY Norway has a population of about 4.6 million, which is similar in size to that of Scotland but in a country with four times the area. It is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. The 165 members of the Norwegian parliament, the Storting, are elected from the 19 counties for 4-year terms according to a system of proportional representation. The county and municipality levels of administration have similar status, though complementary roles. Central government has the overriding authority and supervision of county and municipal administration. The 19 counties consist of 434 municipalities which vary significantly in size, topography and population. More than half of them have less than 5,000 inhabitants; eight have more than 50,000 inhabitants. Around three quarters of the Norwegian population live on the coast, which is more than 83,000 kms in length due to the many long fjords and numerous small islands. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DIFFERENT TIERS OF GOVERNMENT The framework for the activities of the county councils and municipalities is laid down by the parliament (Storting) through legislation and decisions regarding local government financing. It also determines the division of functions between the different levels of government. Government can only assign new functions to local government by means of legislation or decisions made by the Storting, however, it is an important principle that the counties and municipalities may voluntarily assume tasks or functions which have not been assigned to others by law. 4 Diagram 1: Norway’s counties The county councils are responsible for regional development issues, upper secondary schools, specialist health services, dental care, children’s welfare institutions and institutions for the care of drug and alcohol abusers, county roads, public transport and museums. The municipalities are responsible for local development issues and the organisation of land use (eg allocation land for industrial/commercial use or housing), primary and lower secondary schools, nurseries/kindergartens, child welfare, public libraries, primary health care, financial support for welfare clients, care for the elderly and disabled, fire departments, harbours, municipal roads, water supply, sewage, and waste disposal Since the 1960’s considerable changes have been made to the distribution of functions between the three levels of government. The biggest of these changes has been the transfer of authority and functions from the counties to the municipalities. Local government services represent two thirds of Norway’s production of public services and as such are an important factor in the country’s economy. Further changes in the way that local government in Norway operates are anticipated, but specific details of how this may affect coastal issues were not available at the time of the visit. 5 ECONOMIC FACTORS Ever since Vikings left home waters in the ninth century, Norway has drawn strength from the sea. Today its merchant and oil-tanker fleets are among the world's largest, its fishing fleet lands Western Europe's biggest catch and it is the world’s leading producer of farmed salmon. These facts reflect the scale and quality of Norway’s coastal and marine natural resource as well as its culture of sea-faring. For example, Norway’s total production of farmed salmon in 2005 was estimated at 582,000 tonnes. This compared with 129,600 tonnes in Scotland, which is the second largest European producer. Wealth from oil and gas in the North Sea, first tapped in the early 1970’s, subsidizes substantial public health and welfare programs in Norway. Recession required austerity in the 1980s, but since then Norway has enjoyed a higher economic growth rate than many other European countries. In 2002 Norway was the world's third largest oil exporter. However, abundance in other natural resources, particularly hydroelectric power and fisheries, has also helped to fuel this growth.