Norway: a harvest, within the biodiversity act
Wildlife is managed under the Nature Diversity Act; only within that frame may its production be harvested.
Norway's act on hunting and trapping of wildlife (viltloven) of 29 May 1981 states its purpose in one sentence: wildlife and its habitats are to be managed in accordance with the Nature Diversity Act, so that nature's productivity and species richness are preserved. Within that frame — and only within it — the wildlife production may be harvested for the benefit of farming and outdoor life. The definition is broader than in most neighbouring countries: wildlife covers all wild-living land mammals and birds, amphibians and reptiles. The act also applies in Norway's economic zone. Management runs on five levels, listed in article 4: the ministry, the directorate, the county governor (statsforvalter), the county authority (fylkeskommune) and the municipality. That chain explains the shape of Norwegian decisions: the frame is national, implementation reaches down to the municipality.