Norsk vannkraft og «den doble miljøutfordringen»

Climate change mitigation concerns are increasingly important with respect to developing Norwegian hydropower, as
well as a focus on improving the environmental status and biodiversity of watercourses. These tendencies are reflected
in European and Norwegian political guidelines on energy and water and present a potential «dual environmental challenge
» involving climate and biodiversity objectives in hydropower projects. Norway has imposed a moratorium on further
construction of large hydropower, whilst small-scale hydropower development is encouraged. However, it is not selfevident
that small-scale hydropower projects are better in environmental terms than larger schemes, and Norwegian hydropower
producers face stricter requirements for documentation of environmental impacts. Based on recent case studies
of hydropower projects, we discuss relevant political and administrative operational modes. A key conclusion is that
greater documentation will contribute to development of more adequate environmental knowledge. This in itself will
constitute a key element in addressing the dual environmental challenge.