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USD 1 = NOK 7.00 No. 07 - 23 February 1993
CONTENTS:
Cut wages, says head of central bank (1)
Stoltenberg plan for a new Somalia (2)
Studying the climate riddle (3)
Norwegian solution to petroleum waste problem (4)
Whittling at the welfare state (5)
Protect the arctic, say environmentalists (6)
Defence proposes sweeping changes in education sector (7)
PR campaign for whaling has little effect (8)
New hope for stroke patients (9)
Ingenious seabed garbage collector (10)
norinform/1 23 February 1993
CUT WAGES, SAYS HEAD OF CENTRAL BANK
"The increased income that Norway's wage earners have enjoyed in recent years
is something the country cannot afford. They must be prepared to take a
drop in real income if business and industry are to increase their
profitability." This assertion was contained in the annual address that
Hermod Skaanland, head of the central bank of Norway, made last Thursday; an
address generally regarded as one of the most important indications of the
Norwegian economy's general state of health. Skaanland stressed the
need for extreme caution and the necessity of continuing the present policy
of low inflation and a fixed rate of exchange. According to Skaanland,
long term stability in economic policies is the key to achieving important
political goals, such as the creation of more jobs.
On the same day that Skaanland called for restrictive measures, several of
the heavyweights of Norwegian industry presented their 1992 results. Though
state oil company Statoil posted profits of USD 230 million, a 40 per cent
drop on the 1991 figure, it could still chalk up a surplus of USD 360
million after tax. Heavy engineering concern Kvaerner registered a profit
of USD 133 million before tax, a drop of USD 25 million, despite a steep rise
in operating income of USD 190 million, which brought the total up to USD
2.86 billion. The explosives and plastic group, Dyno, trebled its profits and
ended up USD 23 million in the black. Total turnover was USD 1.1
billion, a slight decrease on the 1991 figure.
(norinform)
norinform/2 23 February 1993
STOLTENBERG PLAN FOR A NEW SOMALIA
Thorvald Stoltenberg, Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs, has proposed to
the UN Secretary General a long-term plan of action for the rebuilding
of war-ravaged Somalia. In a letter to Secretary General Boutros
Boutros-Ghali he presented a ten-point plan of both short and long term
measures. His initiative springs from a cooperation between the Norwegian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and central aid organizations in Norway. As a
consequence of the comprehensive aid programmes it has been implementing
for some time on the horn of Africa, Norway feels that it has a special
obligation to take part in the work which now lies ahead, when the world
community starts to shape the new Somalia which will rise from the ashes of
the old.
" The hunger and and civil war catastrophes which have hit Somalia are the
worst humanitarian crises that the world has seen in a very long
time. The peacekeeping operation, "Restore Hope", has admittedly led to big
improvements, but the mandate of the multinational force is a temporary
one. It is now imperative that the UN has a clear conception of what
the world community can contribute," says State Secretary Jan Egeland at
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Briefly summed up, the Norwegian plan constitutes the following:
national reconciliation, building up of democracy, disarming the bands,
enforcement of law and order, the role of the UN, assignments for the
contributor countries and for voluntary organizations, short-term
humanitarian aid, repatriation of refugees and long term development
goals. The Ministry believes that Norwegian expertise can best be put to use
in the task of building up democracy, promoting reconciliation between the
conflicting parties, contributing to the enforcement of law and order and
repatriating refugees. (norinform)
norinform/3 23 February 1993
STUDYING THE CLIMATE RIDDLE
In February,a team of researchers from Bergen in west Norway left for
the Greenland Sea, a key area in the development of global climatic
conditions. With financial support from an EC research programme, the Nordic
Council of Ministers and the Norwegian Research Council, they will make
the first comprehensive measurements of how atmospheric carbon is
absorbed in the sea and carried down into the depths.
"Through forest fires and the burning of fossil fuels, 6 billion tonnes
of carbon enter the atmosphere annually - but only half of it stays
there and contributes to global warming. The rest is absorbed by
the sea, and is transported by a current through the oceans of the world,"
says the initiator of the project, professor Ulf Lie at the University of
Bergen. "The source of this current is in the Greenland Sea. Without this
so-called carbon pump, which absorbs the carbon dioxide and carries it
down to the salt water under the ice, the global temperature would increase
2.5 degrees by the year 2000. Instead, global warming will be 0.5
degrees," he says.
The process will be investigated through a three-year interdisciplinary
project involving researchers from the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, the
Institute of Marine Research and the Universities of Bergen and Trondheim.
There will be four expeditions in each year of the programme. Expedition
leader Ola M. Johannessen from the Fridtjof Nansen Institute says that the
project will give Norway the chance to make a major contribution to
international climate research.
(norinform)
norinform/4 23 February 1993
NORWEGIAN SOLUTION TO PETROLEUM WASTE PROBLEM
A newly developed Norwegian waste treatment system could solve much of
the country's - and the world's - problems with oil waste. Thick, sticky oil
waste can be dumped into the top bin of a separator. Out of the bottom
pours pure high-grade petroleum and through another channel a disposable
mineral product - and soil. No dangerous environmental gasses leak out in
the process.
"It's a stroke of genius," says Baard Bergfall, leader of the industrial
section of the Norwegian environmental organization Bellona. The technology
was devised by Norwegian Olav Ellingsen, from Floroe, Sogn og Fjordane
county, in co operation with the state oil company Statoil. The separator
is considered to be a breakthrough for recycling of oily waste. The
system, which can process five tonnes of such "gunge" an hour, was recently
demonstrated at Statoil's Mongstad refinery.
When the inventor first presented his idea to the refinery's management,
they were highly sceptical to the concept, which seemed just too simple to
be true. "But we were soon convinced and experimental research was
initiated," says an environmental expert at Statoil, Kjell Tjessem.
A stationary system costs about USD 2 million, but a mobile model is around
USD 400,000 cheaper. The patented process has already drawn enquiries
from the Shetland Islands, Kuwait, Estonia, Brazil and the USA. The
device is being marketed by Ellingsen's company Thermodynamic Technology A/S.
(norinform)
norinform/5 23 February 1993
WHITTLING AT THE WELFARE STATE
Norway is in the process of trying to reduce state expenditure. The
government appointed Kleppe committee - whose mandate is to propose
reductions of around USD 710 million - seems poised to suggest cuts in a
number of social benefits. The proposals are expected to affect child
benefits, sick pay and agricultural subsidies in particular. Reductions of
about USD 200 million have been proposed in all of these sectors, each of
which now costs the state about USD 1.7 billion. Political sanction
for the proposals is not a matter of course; Grete Knudsen, Minister of
Social Affairs, says she sees no need for the proposed cuts in sick pay.
The Kleppe committee does not consider children's allowances to be
a particularly appropriate method of allocating state resources fairly. It
has also considered even bigger reductions in agricultural subsidies than
the 10 - 15 per cent already proposed, but came to the conclusion that the
farming sector could not tolerate more reductions in one year than those
already suggested.
Another official committee, the Christiansen committee, has been looking
into the possibility of cutting V.A.T on foodstuffs. Its conclusion
was that reductions in this sector are undesirable because of the
difficulties involved in control and in determining which goods are to be
included in the arrangement. Such a step would also conflict with official
allocation policies. Just before this year's fiscal budget was adopted, the
Labour Party, the Centre Party and the Christian Democrats agreed to try
to lower food prices through measures such as reductions of V.A.T. on food.
The Christiansen committee's report makes such a method difficult, and
other proposals are anticipated, such as higher subsidies on important
foodstuffs such as milk and meat. (norinform)
norinform/6 23 February 1993
PROTECT THE ARCTIC, SAY ENVIRONMENTALISTS
A large part of the northerly Barents Sea should be protected. This is
the demand of the environmental organizations in Norway. The area in
question is bounded by Bjoernoeya, the southernmost island of the Svalbard
archipelago in the southwest, Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land in the
northeast and northern Svalbard in the northwest. The Worldwide Fund for
Nature (WWF), Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace support the suggestion. Not
long ago, a proposal for a Russian-Norwegian zone of protection in
the area in question -"Europe's last wilderness", as it was then called - was
submitted to State Secretary Helga Hernes at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and to environment attache Yuri Petrenko at the Russian embassy in
Oslo.
"The idea is not a new one, but it is easier to realize now than it was
before," says the primus motor behind the plan, Bjoern Frantzen of WWF. He
points out that most of the waters of the northern Barents Sea are
covered in ice in the winter. Nevertheless, they are highly productive as
they are a source of food for the substantial reserves of fish further
south. The waters in question are believed to be home territory for 55,000
whales, 1.2 million seals and several thousand polar bears. In the
summer, 13-15 million seabirds make their way to this area. But it is also
under threat from many sources; radioactive waste , oil prospecting, the
fisheries, shipping and military activities. On top of all these come
environmental poisons borne by air from distant sources.
The organizations behind the proposal think that Russian and
Norwegian authorities will view it favourably. The initial goal is to get
the proposal onto the agenda of talks on Russian-Norwegian cooperation in
the Barents region. (Norinform)
norinform/7 23 February 1993
DEFENCE PROPOSES SWEEPING CHANGES IN EDUCATION SECTOR
Norway's Government proposes wide-scale changes in the educational system
for Defence personnel. In a report recently submitted to the national
asssembly, it stresses the necessity for tailoring the educational
system to the current situation facing the Defence and to the major
restructuring now taking place.
One of the proposals is closer coordination with civilian teaching schemes.
The Government proposes that the country's two military academies be
merged into one, which will be given college status and be linked to the
Norwegian network of higher education. The colleges will have a common
system consisting of four years of theoretical education, divided into two
levels, with a period of practice in between.
The automatic right to officer status after education at military academies
has been completed will also be reconsidered. This ties up personnel
in a unfortunate way, says the Government, which would prefer to restructure
parts of the syllabus in order to ease the transition to civilian life.
The question of whether to establish a common staff college for all branches
of the armed forces will also be studied and a comprehensive assessment is
to be made of the aims, role and assignments of the Norwegian Defence
College. Other proposals in the report are more instruction on
international issues, environmenal protection and economic steering.
Distance education systems will be put into use and civilian personnel
will be offered better educational possibilities in the Defence.
(norinform)
norinform/8 23 February 1993
PR CAMPAIGN FOR WHALING HAS LITTLE EFFECT
"Scientific arguments in favour of commercial whaling have little effect in
the USA. The resolution passed on 16 February in the US Congress
demonstrates the necessity of increasing our efforts to get our
message over to the decision-makers."
This statement came from Ottar Kaldhol in Norway's Ministry of Fisheries
after the US House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution
demanding that the United States oppose the resumption of commercial whaling.
The resolution was the most recent in a large number of negative responses
to Norway's plans for resuming commercial hunting of the minke whale.
Kaldhol admits that the relatively large sums of money Norway is spending on
putting its message over are having little effect. One of the strategies
Norway has used is to engage a PR firm in the USA to lobby for its policy.
"We were aware that the whale issue was no easy matter, so we are not
thinking of giving up. Norway must stand by its principle that a coastal
nation must be allowed to harvest sustainable resources, which we believe is
the case for the minke whale," says Kaldhol.
(norinform)
norinform/9 23 February 1993
NEW HOPE FOR STROKE PATIENTS
Dr Bent Indredavik, senior medical officer at the Trondheim Regional Hospital
in mid Norway, believes that a research team at the hospital has found a
"pill" which can halve the number of deaths from strokes.
Dr Indredavik announced that a three-year research project at the hospital
has given very encouraging results, reducing the number of deaths from
strokes by 50 per cent. Strokes affect 16,000 men and women in Norway every
year, and are the third most common cause of death.
Dr Indredavik's "pill" consists of a specially trained medical unit for
dealing with stroke patients. This comprises a doctor, nurses,
auxiliary nurses, physiotherapist and ergotherapist. These form a
treatment chain which provides both acute help and a rapid rehabilitation
programme. The most important part of the treatment is to get the patient
out of bed as soon as possible. This is the best way of avoiding
complications such as the blood clots which develop in the legs of up to one
third of all stroke patients.
An added advantage of the treatment is that it is cheap. The price of a
"cure" by this method is about USD 570 per patient, and the hospital saves
more than USD 7,000 on each case, as the patient's stay in hospital is
greatly reduced. Also, the number of patients who are able to care for
themselves in their own homes afterwards is increased by 40 per cent.
Dr Indredavik has received enquiries for information from 40 countries
and stroke units have been established at other Norwegian hospitals.
(norinform)
norinform/10 23 February 1993
INGENIOUS SEABED GARBAGE COLLECTOR
Einar Stroem, an inventor from Tromsoe, in north Norway, has designed a
device which may solve the problem of removing dangerous garbage -
including radioactive waste - from the seabed, regardless of how deep
it lies. The principle involved is very simple. It consists of lowering a
container to the site of the refuse, which can then be loaded by means
of compressed air. The container can be sealed at the site or sunk in
deep water. The use of compressed air is a well-known method, but
here it is combined with techniques invented by Einar Strom.
Stroem's system, which is controlled from a surface vessel, has now been
patented and he has been allocated a sum of USD 30,000 from the
Ministry of the Environment in order to carry out market research. The
ship and offshore classification society, Norsk Veritas, which has been
technical consultant on the project, has recommended the invention.
There are no limits to how much refuse a container can handle, provided it
is dimensioned for the job. Einar Stroem believes he could take on the
task of raising the Russian submarine "Komsomolets", which sank at 1,700
metres depth in the Barents Sea in 1989, by constructing a container shaped
like a dock. The problem of placing the submarine in the dock could be
solved with the aid of a belt of rollers which dig their way into the seabed
beneath the sub. In this way the "Komsomolets" could be moved without
any strain on the hull, Stroem believes. The raising operation would be
effected by gradually pumping out the seawater which had been pumped in
during the lowering of the dock. (norinform)
.