On Friday, His Majesty King Harald of Norway delivered a speech to the Norwegian Nature Conservation Association’s national meeting. This was the first major public event that His Majesty has attended following a period of sick leave and his return to the regency. Due to the ongoing public health emergency, the Nature Conservation Association’s national meeting was conducted digitally. The association was founded in 1914 and is Norway’s oldest nature and environmental protection organization with its more than 100 county and local teams across the country.
In his speech, His Majesty said: “To take care of nature is to take care of ourselves and those who come after us. You in the Nature Conservation Association know this better than most. Fortunately, many young people today are involved in nature conservation. It gives me hope for the future. It also gives good reason for optimism, on behalf of nature, to know that the Nature Conservation Association has over 30,000 members, spread all over the country. I would like to thank each and every one of you for your commitment to preserving biodiversity and stopping negative climate change.”
King Harald continued: “The pandemic that is still raging around us shows how vulnerable we are. Destruction of nature contributes, among other things, to humans and animals coming unnaturally close to each other. History has shown us that this is not a viable option, neither for the animals nor for us humans. I hope and believe that the experiences from the last year will increase the awareness of taking care of nature and our planet. Because in doing so, we also take care of ourselves and those who come after us.”
The members of the Norwegian Society for Nature Conservation work with a wide range of issues within environmental and nature conservation, but especially with the areas of nature conservation, climate, energy and transport. The organisation has been involved in fighting for many of the laws that today are crucial for the protection of nature. The classic nature conservation with conservation of nature areas and species is still a core area for the organization, but the work with climate, energy and transport has become increasingly extensive and is now a central part of the Nature Conservation Association’s work.
