Økt legitimitet til konsekvensutredninger i Norge – Kan økt bevissthet om organisering og endrede roller styrke tilliten til ordningen?

This essay problematizes roles in environmental impact assessments (EIAs), with the Norwegian EIA regulations as the outset for discussions about trust, legitimacy and quality in EIAs. While Norwegian regulations formerly included rules for the organisation of EIA and defined clear roles for its execution, the current regulations lack definitions of roles, and instead focus on procedure and topical quality. The lack of focus on roles in EIA regulations are in stark contrast to concern for impartiality in public decision-making in general. The paper includes examples of actors assuming more than one role in an EIA process. They are for instance combining the roles of developer and expert assessor, NGO and expert assessor. I argue why this mixing of roles can weaken important objectives for EIAs, such as being participatory, transparent and credible. The Nordic countries organise the EIA processes differently. In Sweden and Denmark, regional state authorities lead and organise EIAs, while in Norway this is left to the developer. The various models provide a good basis for further discussion on how to best organise EIAs to ensure their independence and credibility. More research is needed to reveal the underlying causes of the organisational changes in Norwegian EIA, e.g. within the framework of post-normal science, asking questions not only about good or bad quality, but also the more interesting what kind of quality EIAs should possess. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), trust, legitimacy, organisation, formal roles, expertise, qualitypublishedVersio

Assessing recreation specialization to guide nature-based tourism development: A hybrid choice model of birder destination preferences

Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Birding is a growing nature-based tourism activity, and a better understanding of birder preferences could support tourism development and species conservation. Using a hybrid choice modeling approach, we analyzed birding destination preferences and how they vary by recreation specialization. This approach allows a continuum of specialization rather than allocating birders into discrete segments. A sample of 205 birders recruited in the 2017 summer season in Varanger, Norway, completed an online choice experiment with scenarios that included five systematically-varied destination attributes: Birding quality, bird diversity, landscape scenic quality, facilitation (e.g., trails and specialized guides), and a visitor fee. The hybrid choice (HC) model explained preference heterogeneity better than the attributes only multinomial logit (MNL) or random parameters logit (RPL) models. Birding quality, landscape scenery, and a medium level of facilitation were significant predictors in all models, while high bird diversity was significant only in the RPL and HC models. Interaction terms in the HC model indicated that birding quality, bird diversity, and the highest level of facilitation (specialized guides and birding hides) were more important for “more specialized” birders than for “less specialized” birders. Findings allow destinations to target birder segments more deliberately, while also assisting in planning and management decisions.Assessing recreation specialization to guide nature-based tourism development: A hybrid choice model of birder destination preferencespublishedVersio

Angling destination loyalty – A structural model approach of freshwater anglers in Trysil, Norway

For many Nordic winter destinations attracting customers in the summer is a challenge. Angling is one of the summer activities that can help develop year-round tourism at a destination. Knowing which factors influence angling destination loyalty and how to manage these factors for different market segments is therefore important. We investigated how destination image, place attachment and satisfaction influenced anglers’ destination loyalty through a structural equation model. Data are from a survey of 379 tourist anglers at the popular winter destination Trysil in southeast Norway. Our results show that increasing loyalty to an angling destination managers and tourism development actors can foremost influence the image and satisfaction level of anglers. This could be done through information campaigns to anglers combined with improving angling quality. On a larger area like in Trysil one should manage for diversity in regulations to avoid marginalizing certain angler groups and create conflicts.publishedVersio

Significant increase in negative impacts on vegetation and soils at informal campsites in a Norwegian national park in the period 1988–2020

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On-site communication measures as a tool in outdoor recreation management: a systematic map protocol

Background: Communication is a central tool in managing the balance between outdoor recreation and environmental protection. Several studies have evaluated diferent communication measures in nature area case studies, but rarely are these measures compared across contexts. We systematically map the literature guided by the question, what is the evidence base of on-site communication in outdoor recreation to change human behavior towards a more sustainable direction? Taking vulnerable natural areas as our starting point, we map distribution and abundance of communication measures, study design and outcome-related themes. Methods: The target population for our mapping review (hereafter review) are outdoor recreationists and naturebased tourists who visit natural or near-natural settings. We will examine the studies that have crafted written, oral and visual intervention measures to change behavior by using persuasion, education and information instead of legal restrictions or bans. Some examples of challenges addressed with communication measures are proper waste disposal, using designated trails, minimizing wear and tear at campsites, avoid disturbing wildlife, and encouraging appropriate and safe behavior. No geographic restrictions will be applied but we will focus on protected areas. We will search publication databases for peer-reviewed published articles using internet and specialist searches to identify grey literature in English. We will screen frst by title, followed by abstract and fnally full text. For each article selected for full-text screening, metadata will be extracted on key variables of interest. The extracted data from the coding will be used to group and compare the studies to reveal knowledge gaps and knowledge clusters. We will briefy describe fndings from the included studies. The review will help identify what type of human behavior researchers have addressed with communication in nature management and conservation. In addition it will highlight which communication measures are frequently used in each behavioral context. It will identify which frameworks and communication theories have been the basis for designing intervention measures and provide support to practitioners and researchers in future framing and implementation of communication measures in natural settings. Messaging studies, Persuasion, Human behavior, Nature-based tourism, Visitor management in national parks, Communication theorypublishedVersio

Efficacy and safety of an inactivated vaccine against Salmonid alphavirus (family Togaviridae)

AbstractPancreas disease (PD) in salmonid fish is caused by an infection with Salmonid alphavirus (SAV) and remains as one of the major health problems in the European fish farming industry. Sequence studies have revealed a genetic diversity among viral strains. A subtype of SAV (SAV3) is causing an epizootic in farmed salmonids in Norway. Here we evaluate efficacy and safety of an inactivated virus vaccine based on ALV405, a strain of SAV3 that was isolated from Norwegian salmon. The vaccine provided an average relative percent survival (RPS) of 98.5 in an intraperitoneal challenge model, and induced nearly total protection against PD in a cohabitant challenge model. It provided significant protection against SAV-induced mortality also in a field trial under industrial conditions. Local reactions seen as melanization and adhesions in the visceral cavity were less severe than those induced by two commercial vaccines. Finally, we demonstrated that the protection is not impaired when the ALV405 antigen is combined with other viral or bacterial antigens in a polyvalent vaccine. The results confirm that efficient and safe protection against SAV infection and development of PD is possible using an inactivated virus vaccine, both alone and as a component in a polyvalent vaccine

Assessing incidental bycatch of seabirds in Norwegian coastal commercial fisheries: Empirical and methodological lessons

-Unintentional bycatch, waterbirds, small vessel fishery, gillnetts, longlines, Northeast Atlanti

Multi-criteria decision analysis in Bayesian networks-Diagnosing ecosystem service trade-offs in a hydropower regulated river

The paper demonstrates the use of Bayesian networks in multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) of environmental design alternatives for environmental flows (eflows) and physical habitat remediation measures in the Mandalselva River in Norway. We demonstrate how MCDA using multi-attribute value functions can be implemented in a Bayesian network with decision and utility nodes. An object-oriented Bayesian network is used to integrate impacts computed in quantitative sub-models of hydropower revenues and Atlantic salmon smolt production and qualitative judgement models of mesohabitat fishability and riverscape aesthetics. We show how conditional probability tables are useful for modelling uncertainty in value scaling functions, and variance in criteria weights due to different stakeholder preferences. While the paper demonstrates the technical feasibility of MCDA in a BN, we also discuss the challenge

Combined cognitive and vocational interventions after mild to moderate traumatic brain injury: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background A considerable proportion of patients with mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) experience long-lasting somatic, cognitive, and emotional symptoms that may hamper their capacity to return to work (RTW). Although several studies have described medical, psychological, and work-related factors that predict RTW after TBI, well-controlled intervention studies regarding RTW are scarce. Furthermore, there has traditionally been weak collaboration among health-related rehabilitation services, the labor and welfare sector, and workplaces. Methods/design This study protocol describes an innovative randomized controlled trial in which we will explore the effect of combining manualized cognitive rehabilitation (Compensatory Cognitive Training [CCT]) and supported employment (SE) on RTW and related outcomes for patients with mild to moderate TBI in real-life competitive work settings. The study will be carried out in the southeastern region of Norway and thereby be performed within the Norwegian welfare system. Patients aged 18–60 years with mild to moderate TBI who are employed in a minimum 50% position at the time of injury and sick-listed 50% or more for postconcussive symptoms 2 months postinjury will be included in the study. A comprehensive assessment of neurocognitive function, self-reported symptoms, emotional distress, coping style, and quality of life will be performed at baseline, immediately after CCT (3 months after inclusion), following the end of SE (6 months after inclusion), and 12 months following study inclusion. The primary outcome measures are the proportion of participants who have returned to work at 12-month follow-up and length of time until RTW, in addition to work stability as well as work productivity over the first year following the intervention. Secondary outcomes include changes in self-reported symptoms, emotional and cognitive function, and quality of life. Additionally, a qualitative RTW process evaluation focused on organizational challenges at the workplace will be performed. Discussion The proposed study will combine cognitive and vocational rehabilitation and explore the efficacy of increased cross-sectoral collaboration between specialized health care services and the labor and welfare system. If the intervention proves effective, the project will describe the cost-effectiveness and utility of the program and thereby provide important information for policy makers. In addition, knowledge about the RTW process for persons with TBI and their workplaces will be provided. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03092713. Registered on 10 March 2017