Under the new legislation the authorities will be obliged to develop their knowledge and information on the environment. This information must be easily accessible to the public. The aim is to ensure that the public is well informed about local and national environmental issues.

The Norwegian Pollution Control Authority (SFT) and the other environmental agencies already offer a wide variety of information to the public.

State of the Environment Norway already meets legal requirements
The prize winning web service, State of the Environment Norway,  provides the most up-to-date information about the state and development of the environment. The service covers nine main areas and provides answers to questions ranging from the size of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions to the impact of hazardous substances on the fjords.

State of the Environment Norway is the product of close cooperation between the five national environmental agencies:

• The Directorate for Nature Management  
• The Directorate for Cultural Heritage  
• The Norwegian Polar Institute  
• The Norwegian Mapping Authority  
• The Norwegian Pollution Control Authority (SFT)

From national to local reporting
State of the Environment Norway presents national and regional status reports. The first local report for the municipalities will be published during fall 2002.

Norway will then possess a unique information system and be amongst the first countries in the world to publish information covering both national, regional and local environmental conditions. 

Easily accessible information
SFT has overall editorial responsibility for State of the Environment Norway and has given high priority to providing more easily accessible information. The following environmental information is available on our various web pages:

• SFT’s homepage  
• State of the Environment Norway  
• Emissions from private enterprises   
• Contaminated sites  
• List of Dangerous Substances  
• The Observation List  
• Norwegian Environmental Education Network  
• Environmental References  
• HSE – Health, Environment and Safety  
• Norwegian Environmental Assistance

For more information, please contact SFT: 

• Head of Information, Elisabeth Ørving
  Phone: 22 57 35 89, e-mail: elisabeth.orving@sft.no