Adapting to environmental hazards in Norway: Confusion over legal responsibility results in stalled action and greater risk of disaster

Abstract

In Norway, legal responsibility for adapting to environmental hazards is divided between landowners, municipalities and the national government. However, specific responsibilities often break down in practice. In this short paper, we adopt a legal dogmatic approach, along with a literature review, to better understand legal responsibility for adapting to quick-clay landslides in Norway, which are increasing in occurrence across the country due to climate change. We find that confusion around legal responsibility for adaptation has resulted in the deferring of responsibility and stalling of action. In practice, this has left many landowners at greater risk of disaster. Four key factors contribute to confusion: 1) ambiguity in relevant legislation and policy; 2) limited awareness and legal knowledge among the landowners and municipalities; 3) complexity associated with coordinating the multitude of actors and institutions involved; and 4) lack of capacity to plan for and implement adaptation. We provide interventions that aim to address the contributing factors, in order to facilitate government action on adaptation.