Connect: GRID-Arendal Annual Report 2017

Reaching out Raet National Marine Park in southern Norway The rugged, pink granite islands of Sørlandet, or southern Norway, attracts tens of thousands of summer visitors. People come for the sea and the sun but most have little notion of what lies below the blue waters. Raet National Marine Park was established on the island of Tromøy last year, the newest addition to Norway’s network of marine protected areas, and the first on the southern coast. Besides being an area of great natural beauty, Raet boasts a wide variety of plant and animal life. It is also an area with a rich cultural history and historical significance. GRID-Arendal led a team that produced a report on the State of the Environment in the Raet National Marine Park. This report on Raet Park included an assessment of knowledge gaps and potential future environmental risks to be considered by regional management authorities.

GRID-Arendal Managing Director Peter Harris (l) presents the Raet report to former Norwegian Environment Minister Vidar Helgesen.

Raet National Marine Park opens on a sunny Norwegian summer day on the island of Tromøy.

30