Nordic Council of Ministers

Bo Normander

The Nordic countries have agreed on a common target to halt the decline in biodiversity by 2010. This report aims at evaluating the 2010-target by presenting indicators that can describe trends in biodiversity in the Nordic countries. Our results comprise the most comprehensive documentation of land use in the Nordic countries to date. The area of important nature types such as mire, grassland and heathland have decreased significantly over the past one to two decades, whereas the area of constructed habitats, including city areas and transport networks, has grown considerably in all of the Nordic countries. Each of these trends in land use will cause biodiversity to decline. Looking into the quality aspect of biodiversity, our results reveal that two-thirds of the quality indicators presented show declines and the remaining one-third show improvements (or steady-state). Overall, our results indicate that biodiversity has declined in the Nordic countries since 1990. In particular, farmland, mire, grassland and heathland habitats show declines in biodiversity, but also the remaining habitats show negative trends. Therefore, based on the findings from this study, we conclude that it is highly unlikely that the target of halting biodiversity loss by 2010 can be achieved by the Nordic countries. Our results should be perceived as a first attempt to make an overall assessment of biodiversity in the Nordic countries. We believe that if further efforts were directed towards scrutinising existing and historic monitoring programmes and data sources, additional indicators could be calculated and hence a better knowledge base would be achieved.

State of biodiversity in the Nordic countries

Ligestilling i skolen

Kuluttajakompetenssien oppiminen – kuluttajakasvatuksen strategia

Nordic Economic Policy Review

Maria Dam

Marine mammals hold a special position in the hearts of people inhabiting Nordic Arctic areas and in coastal communities around the North Atlantic Ocean as they are an essential part of the diet and traditional life-style. However, marine mammals are in a particularly vulnerable position as regards environmental pollutants, because of the large fat stores in their bodies which serve as a "magnet" to a large number of persistent and toxic pollutants. A Nordic Council of Ministers supported collaboration between Norway, Denmark/Greenland, Faroe Island, Iceland and Sweden set out to look for possible trends in "new" contaminants in marine mammals in Nordic Arctic waters. The "new" contaminants in focus are the brominated flame retardants including the PBDEs, methoxylated PBDEs, perfluorinated compounds including the PFOS family, and polychlorinated naphthalenes. In addition, a subset of the samples was analysed for brominated dioxins and dibenzofurans. The marine mammals studied were fin whale, minke whale, pilot whale, white-sided dolphins, harbour porpoise, ringed seal and hooded seal. The study aims at giving a wide scope of the presence of these "new" contaminants in marine mammals in recent time and going back to the 1980s using samples from specimen banks.

New POPs in Marine Mammals in Nordic Arctic and NE Atlantic Areas During Three Decades

The use of economic instruments in Nordic environmental policy.

– Principles and Methodology

Product Life Cycle Assessment

David N. Barton

The emergence of the ecosystem services concept suggests that economic valuation studies are already fulfilling a role in raising awareness by demonstrating the loss of nature's goods and services using monetary indicators. In order to have future relevance in capturing value and giving support to policy-makers, valuation methods must specifically address resource accounting, priority setting, and instrument design. This report provides an overview of economic valuation methods of ecosystem services from watersheds in the Nordic countries. The study was commissioned by the Nordic Council of Ministers and conducted by The Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, The Norwegian Institute of Water Research and Sweco Norge during the period May - November 2011. The study indicates that economic valuation methods can be applied to watershed management in multiple ways. However, policy makers should be wary of "one size fits all" valuation estimates that appear ready to use across different watershed types and stakeholder interests.

Valuation of Ecosystem Services from Nordic Watersheds

The Linking Directive and the Potential for Joint Implementation in the Baltic Sea Region

Risk Assessment of Caffeine Among Children and Adolescents in the Nordic Countries

Trykt & udgivet

Anne S. Kaslegard

Klimaendringer og kulturarv i Norden

Gitte Alsing Pedersen

In-house control and the documentation of it is the basis for the assurance of compliance with legislation, in the food area and in the area of food contact materials (FCM). Safe use of FCM is a complicated area, in general, and specifically the use of printing inks and the critical points in the printing process. One of the goals for this check list is to contribute to the development of more uniform control and requirements for in-house control. Printing inks used in FCM are regulated by these general requirements and some uses are addressed more specifically , and as there is no specific legislation in the area in EU yet. In-house documentation is based on the assumption, that each link in the supply chain ensures compliance. The check lists set a frame with minimum requirements to all relevant links in the supply chain from producers to food industry and trade. The check lists are guidance to industry and trade in order to ensure compliance with the requirements in the FCM.

Check Lists for Compliance in Industry and Trade and Control by Food Inspection

Food Contact Materials and Articles, Printing Inks

Cooperation Programme for the Health and Social Affairs Sectors

Nordic Publications

Jon Erik Dølvik

utviklingstrekk og konsekvenser

Arbeidsmobilitet fra de nye EU-landene til Norden

Together we are stronger is the title agreed by the Ministers for Nordic Co-operation in February 2014 for the vision for Nordic co-operation. That summer, the vision was then set in stone by way of the decision to modernise the work of the Council of Ministers. The primary aim of this modernisation is to strengthen dynamic and relevant co-operation between member countries so that the outcomes achieved when working together truly surpass what the countries can achieve on their own. The purpose of this annual report is to highlight some examples of these outcomes, categorised into the four main areas of the vision: freedom of movement, innovation, visibility, and international engagement.

Annual Report 2014

Operations of the Nordic Council of Ministers

The project Effects of Climate Change on Cultural Heritage Sites and Cultural Environments is a collaboration between the cultural heritage administrations of seven Nordic countries: Iceland, Greenland, the Faeroe Islands, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway. The aim of the project has been to assist the cultural heritage administrators in meeting the anticipated climate change and to strengthen collaboration and network building between the Nordic cultural heritage administrators. This publication contains the main results of the project's work. The report consists of two parts, part one of which discusses the anticipated effects of climate change on cultural heritage sites and cultural environments in the Nordic countries. Part two addresses what consequences the climate change will have for the management of heritage sites and includes the project group's recommendations for handling these consequences.

Climate Change and Cultural Heritage in the Nordic Countries

Final report for the NORAP Priority Setting Workshop

Nordic Council of Ministers

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