4 SCOPE OF THE REPORT
5.2 The roles of biodiversity for food and agriculture
The Norwegian government considers securing a safe, nutritionally adequate and culturally acceptable supply of food a priority. In this context, it formally recognizes, through its national biodiversity policy and action plan (White paper Nr.42 (2000-2001), the importance of
maintaining the diversity of domesticated, wild, cultivated and uncultivated species; it
acknowledges the value of life-sustaining processes and ecosystem services (e.g. soil formation, cleansing of air and water, regulation of carbon and nitrogen cycles); and it appreciates the ability of the environment to mitigate the effects of environmental pressures such as pollution.
The knowledge of biological diversity, including biological diversity for food and agriculture, has steadily increased over the past ten years. This has contributed to raising awareness on its
importance among those who conserve and use this diversity, as well as among policy makers and the broader public. Furthermore, through the principle that each sector is responsible for
integrating environmental concerns into its sectorial policies, Norway seems to be truly committed to the maintenance of biodiversity. Even so, it is also recognized that there are quite a few cross-sectoral challenges that need to be addressed. At times, trade-offs favoring the maintenance of biodiversity in one rather than in another sector need to be made (for example, wildlife policies protecting predators in sheep grazing areas; infrastructure expanding at the expense of farmland and farmland biodiversity).
Over the past decades, land use changes seem to have been the major factor behind the loss of biodiversity for food and agriculture in Norwegian production systems. Some of these changes are the result of the steady decline in number of farmers and the abandonment of traditional farming practices. These have had an impact on the status of many components of biodiversity for food and agriculture, including associated biodiversity species, as well as on the delivery of ecosystem services. The abandonment of outfield grazing practices, for example, has led to the overgrowth of a large proportion of former grazing areas. This has had a negative effect on the diversity of herb, clover and grass species, as well as of their associated, open landscape-dependent, species.
5.2.1 Increased recognition of the value of ecosystem services
Many research activities have been undertaken to improve the country's knowledge about, and to strengthen policy development on, ecosystem services and their role in sustainable food
production. In 2013, a government-appointed expert commission published a report entitled Natural Benefits-on the value of ecosystem services (NOU 2013.10). In the Commission's opinion the state of Norwegian ecosystems is relatively good, even if Norway’s biological diversity and Norwegian ecosystems are under a series of pressures (e.g. land use change, climate change, ocean
acidification and invasive species). According to the Expert Commission’s report, particularly the state of forest and open lowland ecosystems deserve more attention. The state of these ecosystems was rated at 0,4-0,6 with a reference state of 1. The report also identified a great need for research and knowledge development and recommended to, inter alia, improve knowledge about biological diversity and ecosystem services, including by strengthening the monitoring of Norwegian
ecosystems, populations and species. The report also encouraged the establishment of a special research programme that would look into biological diversity, ecosystem functions and ecosystem services and the connections between them, including from an interdisciplinary perspective. Such a programme would contribute to improving the integration of biological diversity and ecosystem services considerations in decision-making processes. The outcomes of this report are being used as a basis to improve natural resource management in Norway.
5.2.2 Increased activities on associated biodiversity
The Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre (Artsdatabanken) plays a key role in raising awareness on the importance of associated biodiversity and their role in the delivery of ecosystem services. In 2013, the Centre released a publication on the state of knowledge of insect pollination in Norway (Totland et al., 2013). This publication highlights that the number and diversity of pollinators in Norway is declining and that seed production of many plant species either depend on or is favoured by insect visiting flowers (i.e. it is estimated that the seed production of 80% of Norwegian wild plant species is pollination-dependent).
In 2014, in the context of the FAO Global Pollination Project, the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) published an assessment report of Norwegian pollination deficits (Åström et al., 2014). This report includes a brief description of the pollination deficits measurements that were performed in two crops (i.e. commercial apple orchards and red clover seed production) for two seasons by NINA, the PolliClover project and NIBIO. Through these measurements, Norway gained significant experience in working with the pollination deficit protocol.11
Research is also being undertaken on the distribution and diversity of associated biodiversity species living in forests. Research in this field is highly relevant, as approximately 60% of the 31,000 species12 in mainland Norway are believed to be associated with forests (Gjerde, I., Brandrud, T.E., Ohlson, M. & Ødegaard, F., 2010). When mapping the spread and occurrence of Norway's 30 main tree species, for example, the Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute also identified their pollen and seed dispersal vectors. Insects were among the main pollen vectors and birds and mammals were identified as the main seed dispersal vectors, next to water and wind (Myking & Skrøppa, 2001).
11 The FAO Global Pollination Project seeks to build capacity for pollination studies internationally. It adds information to the knowledge base of the International Panel for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and implements the Pollination deficit protocol, which outlines a unified method to investigate pollination and measure pollination deficits in various agricultural systems around the world (Vaissière et al. 2011). The Pollination deficit protocol is being
implemented in Norway, its applicability to Nordic conditions is being analyzed and its strength in relation to alternative research strategies is being evaluated.
12 Including invertebrates, fungi, lichens and bryophytes and excluding micro-organisms.
5.2.3 The values of wild food resources
Norway also has a significant diversity of wild foods, including a broad variety of berries, edible fungi, wild fruit trees and wild animals, such as different types of deer, birds and fish. While those who harvest wild foods through hunting and picking essentially do so for leisure, it should be mentioned that some harvesting activities, in particular hobby fishing and hunting are also revenue-generating. In 2009, for example, the wild game meat value was estimated at about USD 78 million, with the value of moose meat accounting for approximately USD 47 million. In the same year, Norwegian forest owners earned more than USD 29 million by selling their hunting rights, with additional income being generated by providing hunting-associated services, such as renting out cabins (SSB, 2009). "Recreational use of private property" has also become a lucrative source of income for riparian landowners, who lease their fishing rights, especially for wild salmon fishing, and provide other services, such as accommodation, food and guiding tours. In 2008, 80%
of the riparian land owners leased their fishing rights in one form or another. The remaining 20%
indicated they either wanted to fish themselves, or that they considered the value of their fishing rights to be too low. The average net income generated from leasing fishing rights was slightly less than USD 5,000 per owner per year, a figure that significantly varied per owner based on the type of ownership, the form of lease and the quality of the fishing rights (Stensland, 2011).
Wild foods play a particularly important role in the diet and lifestyle of reindeer herding Sámi13. Before the 20th century, the traditional Sámi diet was composed almost exclusively of foods of animal origin (mainly reindeer) with the addition of fish and plant foods (e.g. cloud- and
lingonberries) when available (Haglin, 1991). During the last century, the diet of many Sámi has progressively become more like the diet of the non-Sámi populations in Norway, with an increased intake of carbohydrates from plant foods and a decreased consumption of meat protein. Recent
surveys have found that the dietary patterns of the population in Norway tend to vary by
geographic area rather than by ethnicity (Sámi or Norwegian). There does however seem to be a clear link between ethnicity and dietary pattern among the Sámi population living in the interior parts of the country. This part of the Sámi population still obtains most of its protein intake from reindeer meat supplemented by lake fish, thereby having a significantly lower incidence of iron deficiency to the Sámi living in coastal regions (Haglin, 1999; Fagleg analysegruppe for samisk statistikk, 2009). Generally speaking, Norwegian Sámi were found to have a higher intake of fat, table sugar, and coffee compared to non-Sámi Norwegians (Nilsen et al., 1999) and a lower intake of fruit and vegetables, with the exception of berries when they are available (Haglin, 1991; Haglin, 1999; Nilsen et al., 1991). Their consumption of dairy products is also lower (Ross et al., 2006).
13 Throughout this questionnaire, most of the information that is provided on the Sámi relates to reindeer herding Sámi.
Photo: Still today, the protein-‐rich reindeer meat is the staple food of most reindeer herding Sámi; their blood is used to produce sausages. Other sources of protein in the Sámi diet include wild birds and fresh water fish that are consume boiled, grilled, dried, smoked or salted. Photo: Ragnar Våga Pedersen/NIBIO
Studies have shown that some types of traditional foods, such as reindeer meat and fresh cod, are particularly rich in essential nutrients. Some of these foods may however also contain
contaminants. Contamination with persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals has been quite extensively documented for fish and other forms of seafood and more recently also for reindeer.
Generally speaking, reindeer meat across Norway contains very low levels of pollutants, even if parts of South Sámi reindeer areas of Trøndelag were heavily polluted with radioactive cesium after Chernobyl. The effects of this pollution are still affecting the food safety risks with reindeer meat in these areas. The consumption of fish liver from fish caught in the fjords is not recommended due to its content of hazardous substances. The extent to which food safety issues in relation to traditional foods has affected the Sámi people's choices in terms of food and eating habits, is not known (Fagleg analysegruppe for samisk statistikk (2013)).