Parliamentary White Paper 22 (2016-2017) The place of the oceans in Norway's foreign and development policy.

The present White paper (Meld.St.) describes how Norwegian foreign and development policy can be used to safeguard Norway’s ocean interests and promote the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The document is divided in three parts: I. Ocean interest; II. Overall international framework; and III. Priority areas for Norway. Further, it contains the following chapters: 1. Introduction; 2. Summary; 3. Norwegian ocean interests in an international context; 4. Framework for Norway’s ocean interests; 5. Sustainable use and value creation; 6. Clean and healthy oceans; and 7. The blue economy in development policy.
The white paper highlights three priority areas of work: (1) sustainable use and value creation; (2) clean and healthy oceans; and (3) the role of the blue economy in development policy. Together with the Government’s ocean strategy, the integrated management plans for Norwegian sea areas and other important policy documents, the white paper will promote a clear and integrated Norwegian approach to ocean issues.
As regard (1) sustainable use and value creation, Norway aims at designing its foreign policy to support the further development of sustainable ocean-based industries. Norway is well-placed to benefit from the anticipated global growth in the blue economy, and has high ambitions for its traditional ocean-based industries: the oil and gas sector, maritime transport, and the seafood industry. As regards the seafood industry, the Government is calling for higher priority to be given to fisheries and aquaculture in efforts to improve global food security, and for FAO to be the main arena for policy development relating to global food security, nutrition and the right to food.
As regards (2) clean and healthy oceans, Norway will promote good solutions and action to combat the serious environmental threats facing the world’s oceans, including the preservation of species and habitat diversity in the seas and oceans. Among other things, Norway will participate actively in international efforts to combat marine litter and microplastics, and will launch a development programme with the aim of reducing marine waste and improving waste management in developing countries. When it comes to the impact of climate change on the oceans, the Government aims at maintaining its extensive international engagement and will allocate over NOK 5 billion to climate-related measures through the development assistance budget. It will also strengthen cooperation on climate issues with small island developing states that are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Other areas where the Government will be engaged include highlighting the importance of blue forests and promoting understanding of area-based management measures such as setting aside marine protected areas as a tool for conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity.
As regards (3) the role of the blue economy in development policy, it is in Norway’s interest that developing countries manage the oceans sustainably, and the Government will therefore allocate a larger proportion of the aid budget to the development of expertise on integrated sustainable management of marine resources, food security and business development. The Government will also strengthen efforts to develop cross-sectoral regional seas programmes for developing countries in cooperation with UNEP and FAO. In 2015, Norway launched The Fish for Development programme to enhance the impact of aid initiatives relating to the sustainable use of living marine resources. The Government intends to increase its allocation to this Programme to meet the demand for knowledge and management experience relating to marine resources and the oceans. The Government will also continue to provide support for sustainable small-scale fisheries, in view of the valuable contribution this sector makes to food security and poverty reduction. Another important area concerns illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and fisheries crime. In this regard, the Government will intensify its efforts to combat IUU fishing and maintain Norway’s substantial support for efforts to combat fisheries crime.