Norway

Friends of the Earth Norway / Norges Naturvernforbund (Norwegian Society for the Conservation of Nature) was founded in 1914 and is Norway’s largest environmental conservation organisation with a total of about 28,000 members. This includes 23 000 adult members, 1,000 donors / supporters, 6,000 members of the independent youth organisation Nature & Youth (Natur og Ungdom) and 4,000 members of the independent children’s club, The Eco-Agents (Miljøagentene). Friends of the Earth Norway / Norges Naturvernforbund is a nationwide organisation with branches in all counties, and more than one hundred local groups scattered throughout Norway. Nature & Youth has 140 and The Eco-Agents 30 local branches.

All members can participate in the decision-making process through their local and county branches and the general meeting every second year. We believe that public participation is necessary to save our environment. Consequently information work is high on the organisation’s agenda. This work is aimed at strengthening public environmental awareness, concern and practice. Friends of the Earth Norway / Norges Naturvernforbund works with the whole range of important environmental issues. This does not exclude the ability to react quickly to new challenges and focus sharply on new relevant issues when they occur. To secure this we have a staff in Oslo of about 20 full and part-time employees, who work in close contact with the groups and many volunteers all over the country. Friends of the Earth Norway issues one publication: “Natur & Miljø” (Nature & Environment) to all members twice a year.