âOil versus fishâ in northern Norway: perspectives of the market, the law, and the citizen

A. Blanchard

âOil versus fishâ in northern Norway: perspectives of the market, the law, and the citizen

In: The ethics of consumption

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A. Blanchard

A. Blanchard University of Bergen, Centre for the Study of the Sciences and the Humanities, Allegaten, 34, Postboks 7805, 5020 Bergen, Norway; anne.blanchard@svt.uib.no

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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 94â99

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.3920/9789086867844_017

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The coastal marine area constitutes one of humanityâs most important food baskets. However, food production must compete with other uses of scarce coastal resources, demanding high-stakes tradeoffs. This paper focuses on one particularly heated trade-off: that of âoil versus fishâ in the Lofoten area of northern Norway. Lofoten is an important spawning ground for numerous fish species, but also contains petroleum reservoirs estimated at 1,300 billion barrels. In order to highlight the complexity of this trade-off this paper examines it from three broad perspectives: the market, the law, and the citizen. From a market perspective, the âoil versus fishâ trade-off is relatively simple, and can be reduced to a single monetary measure. Petroleum resources are today worth more than fish, and have brought 2,800 billion NOK to the Norwegian state since 1970. From this market perspective the trade-off is framed as a technical issue: the best decision is to allow oil production in Lofoten, and trust in the ability of current and future technologies to deal with an oil spill. From the perspective of the law, the trade-off is governed by the âBarents Sea â Lofoten Management Planâ of 2006, and its updated version of 2011. This policy document recommends a precautionary approach to petroleum activity in the Lofoten area, which extends to a moratorium on petroleum activities, and suggests standards for minimum environmental harm, such as the âzero dischargeâ of chemical substances to sea. Finally, from the citizensâ perspectives, the trade-off is more complex. Indeed, it does not implicate only one measure, but as many measures as there are citizens concerned; ranging from culture, to identity, socio-economic development or the protection of natureâs intrinsic value. The best political decision is less straightforward as it needs to take into account these various arguments and measures. These three perspectives show the âoil versus fishâ trade-off as multifaceted, and in making a decision, all of these perspectives need to be taken into account.

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The ethics of consumption

The citizen, the market, and the law

E-Book ISBN:: 9789086867844

Publisher:: Wageningen Academic

Print Publication Date:: 01 Nov 2013

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- Life Sciences

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âOil versus fishâ in northern Norway: perspectives of the market, the law, and the citizen

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The ethics of consumption

The citizen, the market, and the law

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âOil versus fishâ in northern Norway: perspectives of the market, the law, and the citizen