Large increase in new members in Hordaland
We have seen an influx in new members in Naturvernforbundet with more joining every day, also regionally in Hordaland.
Ola MoenThe Norwegian Society for the Conservation of Nature (Naturvernforbundet) is experiencing an explosive increase and constantly receiving new members. In total the last few weeks we have gotten 1400 new members. This is the largest increase in new members in Naturvernforbundets history! We also see this exciting development in Hordaland, and since December we have received over 250 members! Normally we see 30-60 new members each month. As of January 16th we have 4097 members, and have reached our goal of surpassing 4000 total members in Hordaland.
– The increase in members is both nice and scary at the same time, says leader Tom Skauge.
– Nice, because we need members who can stand against the powerful forces who over and over again want to ruin our nature. Active members are one of our most important resources to stand up against powerful actors with money.
– Scary, because so many of these new members are probably because so many of us are learning about the rapid destruction of our nature. Even though we developed a strategy a few years ago to stop just this piece-by-piece destruction, there were few – if any – who had the imagination to predict how much nature has been ruined in Norway the last five years, like the NRK programme “Oppsynsmannen” shows (in norwegian).
– A lot of people are also surprised and deeply shocked over how none of our arguments were heard in the recent ruling regarding dumping waste in Førdefjorden.
The fight for clean fjords
The causes for increased membership are likely complex. Recently Naturvernforbundet and Nature and Youth (Natur og Ugdom) lost the case regarding Førdefjorden in Oslo district court. They sued the state for giving permission to dump up to 170 million tons of mining waste in the fjord. The environmental organisations must pay 1,4 million NOK in court costs, but we’re not giving up! The fjord is not a dumping ground!
Nature on the agenda
We in Naturvernforbundet have talked a lot about how we are losing nature, bit by bit. This fact is something more people are realising, and could be one of many reasons for the increase in membership Naturvernforbundet and support for our work. In NRK’s recent investigative case Norge i rødt, hvitt, og grått (in Norwegian), they show a map of Norway covered in sport of destroyed nature. They have mapped the landscape and used artificial intelligence to analyse the pictures, on the hunt for large and small pictures of natural areas being developed.
In conjunction with the mapping, the TV-show Oppsynsmannen was published on NRK. There, host Bård Tufte Johansen relays this loss of nature in an accessible and tragicomic way. He wants to save the environment, and investigates how nature often loses terrain to new cottages, windmills, industry, and roads. Each project doesn’t seem so large in and of itself, but collectively we lose a lot of nature every year. About the area of a football field disappears every hour, all year around.
Welcome to Naturvernforbundet!
Maybe you are one of those new members? Thank you so much, and welcome! If you have time and want to contribute more, we have many activities where you can volunteer, as well as local chapters and groups.
Naturvernforbundet is an inclusive organisation. Our local chapters adn groups are formed by members, and it means a lot that you specifically want to join! We appreciate everyone, with unique skills, personalities, and experiences.
Get to know us. On this page we’ve gathered information about our history, what we stand for and what we work for. Please contact us if you have any questions.