A total of 356.2 million will be set aside for forest protection in next year’s state budget. This means that less than half will have to be routed to protect the forest in 2025.
It is a serious misprioritization by the government, believes the Norwegian Forest Owners’ Association.
– Before the ink in the nature report is dry, the government proposes to more than halve the allocation for voluntary conservation. This is completely unrelated, says Per Skorge, managing director of the Norwegian Forest Owners’ Association.
The association believes that the cut is brutal and in stark contrast to the government’s own nature report.
– It is completely incomprehensible that the government does not take environmental work in the forest more seriously. The forest owners offer land for protection, but the government says no thanks. We fear that the proposed cut will reduce support for voluntary protection, says Skorge.
Gudmund Nordtun, managing director of Glommen Mjøsen forest, does not understand the cut. According to him, everyone agrees that voluntary protection is a model that works well.
– You get a protected forest, and you get to replace the landowner. And it is a system with a low level of conflict, Nordtun adds Nations.
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