News

The Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) with strong collaborators received a million NOK grant from the Norwegian Research Council´s BYFORSK program.

The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM Convention) requires ships to manage their ballast water to remove, render harmless, or avoid the uptake or discharge of aquatic organisms and pathogens within ballast water and sediments. The convention entered into force September 8th 2017.

Pollution levels in many Chinese lakes have declined somewhat from high levels in the past decade, helped by billion-dollar investments in urban sewers and waste water treatment.

Researchers from the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), in collaboration with their Chinese colleagues, recently found a new chemical compound which has evaded the attention of environmental research and regulation for several decades.

The greatest scientific achievements have always been the most humane and the most aesthetically attractive, conveying that sense of beauty and elegance which is the essence of science at its most successful. Since 2010, Norecopa has awarded a prize for outstanding efforts to advance "the 3Rs" - Replacement, Reduction & Refinement - in connection with animal research. This year’s award has been awarded Adam Lillicrap, Research manager at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA).

The latest findings from the largest European project in the emerging science of wastewater analysis are presented December 13th by the Europe-wide SCORE group, in association with the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA). The project analyzed wastewater in over 50 European cities in 18 European countries in March 2016 to explore the drug-taking behaviors of their inhabitants.

On December 2nd 2016, the Coast Guard Marine Safety Center issued the first U.S. Coast Guard Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) Type Approval Certificate to Norwegian manufacturer Optimarin AS after a detailed review of the type approval application determined the system met the requirements. The system has been tested in close cooperation with NIVA.

Fragmented environmental legislation, vertical and horizontal inconsistencies, and a weak rule of law highly affect our pathway towards a sustainable development of our marine resources and environment. A recent seminar gathered experts to discuss the effects of fragmented environmental law, shared experiences from different areas of marine and coastal environmental and natural resources law and from selected European countries, and discussed potential avenues to tackle identified challenges.

As a result of Myanmar's democratization process in recent years, Norway has started collaboration on nature and water resource management with Myanmar. NIVA has played a central role in the work.

River invertebrates react the same way to decreasing glacier cover wherever in the world they are, say scientists who have evaluated more than one million of them in diverse regions with shrinking glaciers, to determine the impact of global environmental change.

Data from Norwegian monitoring programs make the basis for a suggested EU ban of certain chemicals in personal care products.

Researchers at NIVA have recently published a review on pesticide levels and environmental risk in aquatic environments in China.

What goes in must come out, no matter whether you it is eaten or snorted For the first time, a NIVA led research project reveals the truth of European illicit drug use.

Current environmental risk assessment data requirements are not sufficient for all aquaculture medicines.

In Norway, the aquaculture industry is economically very important, therefore possible threats, such as parasitic infections from sea lice, are important to control.

Many different methods have been developed to monitor microplastics, although the lack of standardisation limits comparability. It is vital to carry out standardised monitoring to acquire a baseline understanding of microplastic contamination in the Norwegian environment. A new project aimed to identify suitable methods for monitoring microplastics in blue mussels and sediments - with sampling stations around the coast of Norway.

Several important marine habitats in the European oceans are about to disappear. No complete mapping of existing or threated marine habitats in Europe are available, nor a full overview of the restoration potential of degraded habitats. These are the objectives of the EU financed four-year MERCES-project.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill constituted an ecosystem-level injury in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Much oil spread at 1100–1300 m depth, contaminating and affecting deepwater habitats. In this review, NIVA and American partners summarize the environmental research literature on the accident.

Birch forest is currently expanding in mountain regions and far north. This trend is related to climate warming and reduced grazing pressure. A recent study shows that increased birch forest cover at high elevations promotes climate warming.