The Seventh Meeting of the Habitat Contact Forum (HCF VII) is an activity under the Barents Euro-Arctic Council’s Working Group on Environment (BEAC WGE), and its Nature Protection Subgroup (NPS).

The International Contact Forum on Habitat Conservation (HCF) is an arena for discussion and cooperation on habitat conservation in the Barents Region. The Forum will focus on establishment of new protected areas, management of existing protected areas, and other measures that will contribute to the conservation of biological diversity. In this way the Forum contributes to the efforts of the Barents countries to meet their obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Among the participants there will be people from environmental /nature manage­ment and conservation authorities, scientific institutions, NGOs and other stake­holders from Russia, Sweden, Finland and Norway and RAMSAR Secretariat. Approximately 50 people are invited to attend the HCF VII.

The Forum was organized by the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management in co-operation with the County Governor of Nordland.

Photo 1. Field excursion to Saltstraumen, which has the strongest tidal current in the world.

Photo 2. Field excursion to Sundstraumlian nature reserve, which is one of the largest limestone pine forests in the Salten Region. The forest is mostly herbaceous, with elements of both alpine and more southern plant species. The vascular plant flora is very diverse and there are over 220 species recorded in the area.

Photo 3. Field excursion to Tverlandet nature reserve. It is a coastal area / wetland located east of the city of Bodø. The calcareous area has very interesting vegetation, including red-listed species like orchids.

Photo 4. Field excursion to the limestone cave ― is located at Forstranda, a beach in Gildeskеl south of Bodø. The cave dates back to the last glacier period when water was squeezed into the bedrock making the limestone dissolve.