Norwegian Institute for Water Research


The Norwegian Institute for Water Research is an environmental research organisation which researches, monitors, assesses and studies freshwater, coastal and marine environments and environmental technology.

Services and research

NIVA's areas of work include environmental contaminants, biodiversity and climate related issues. NIVA's research reports can be accessed through BIBSYS, and all reports from 1956 until 2015 are available for download. Some of the more widely read articles are also made available by Sciencenordic.com and forskning.no. The institute has twelve sections, led by research managers: Aquaculture, Biodiversity, Innovation, International projects and cooperation, Chemicals, Effects of climate change, Laboratory services, Environmental contaminants,
Environmental monitoring, Environmental technology and Measures against pollution.
In 2012 NIVA was in the news after its scientists developed a method of studying drug use in cities though analysis of sewage.

Organisation

NIVA was founded in 1958 and in 2015 is a non-profit research foundation. Its board is appointed by the Norwegian Ministry of the Environment, the Research Council of Norway and its employees. NIVA's Head Office is at the Oslo Innovation Centre in Oslo, with regional offices in Bergen, Grimstad and Hamar, as well as a large scale research facility in the Oslo Fjord. The organization is certified with ISO9001, and laboratory activities are accredited in accordance with ISO17025.
NIVA has about 200 employees. Two-thirds of these have educational backgrounds in water sciences and more than half work in research.

Subsidiaries

NIVA has several wholly and partly owned subsidiaries: