Natural resources and the environment 1998

Statistics Norway compiles statistics on important natural resources and the state of the environment, and develops methods and models for analysing relationships between the environment, natural resource use and economic developments. The annual publication Natural Resources and the Environment gives an overview of this work.

Natural Resources and the Environment 1998 contains updated resource accounts for energy and the latest figures for emissions to air. These are followed by articles and updated statistics on transport, waste management, water supplies and waste water treatment, agriculture, forests and forest damage, and fishing, sealing and whaling. New features in this year's edition are figures for land use in urban settlements and results from the surveys of living conditions showing the extent to which people consider themselves to be annoyed by noise and air pollution.

The book also describes results from Statistics Norway's research into resource and environmental economics. The 1998 edition includes articles on the eco-efficiency of various branches of industry, the benefits of voluntary environmental agreements, the environmental costs associated with waste management and various aspects of the Nordic energy market. Finally, the appendix provides more detailed statistics in the form of tables.

Statistics Norway would like to thank the people and institutions who have supplied data for Natural Resources and the Environment 1998.

The report is a joint publication by the Division for Environmental Statistics, Department of Economic Statistics, and the Resource and Environmental Economics Division, Research Department, and was edited by Henning Hoie. The editorial committee also included Annegrete Bruvoll and Karin Ibenholt. Janet Aagenws (Introduction, Chapters 1, 2.5-2.7, 5.5-5.6, 10 and 12) and Alison Coulthard (remainder) have translated the Norwegian version into English.

Statistics Norway,

Oslo/Kongsvinger 2 July 1998

Svein Longva