Threats to the Arctic environment
The Arctic environment is very vulnerable, and even minor disturbances can cause lasting damage. In Svalbard and Antarctica, Norway is responsible for the management of some of the last untouched wilderness areas in the world, and therefore plays a key role in efforts to safeguard these areas for future generations. Wilderness areas have a high intrinsic value and are also crucial for the conservation of biological diversity.
The Arctic is rich in natural resources, both in the sea and on land. These resources include some of the world’s largest commercial fish stocks, large reserves of oil and gas, important mineral deposits and timber from forests.
The Arctic is particularly vulnerable to climate change. There is a good deal of evidence that climate change in the Arctic will be more dramatic and less predictable than was previously thought, and that some of its impacts will first become apparent in this region. Winds and ocean currents transport environmentally hazardous substances to the polar regions, where they cause serious problems for both for certain marine mammals and seabirds and for people who rely on these animals as part of their diet. It has recently been shown that killer whales in waters off North Norway have accumulated high concentrations of a number of hazardous substances in their body fat. In fact, concentrations of PCBs, insecticides and brominated flame retardants are even higher than they are in polar bears. Research also shows that concentrations of brominated flame retardants in seabird eggs in the Arctic have been rising over the past 20 years.
Changes such as habitat fragmentation are a serious threat to biological diversity. One of the goals adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development was to achieve a significant reduction in the current rate of loss of biological diversity by 2010. This is also an important element of Norway’s environmental policy.
However, pressure on the Arctic environment is growing as more and more of the region is affected by human activities such as tourism and large-scale industrial exploitation of natural resources. The pace of developments has been increasing in recent years. It is essential to ensure that greater use of natural resources does not create major new environmental problems. High environmental standards are particularly important in the extraction and transport of oil and gas, but care must also be taken when utilising other natural resources such as timber, fish and minerals.
Svalbard
Svalbard is part of the Kingdom of Norway, although the Svalbard Treaty, which entered into force in 1925, also gives other countries extensive rights. Citizens from signatory countries to the Treaty have the same rights as Norwegian citizens to engage in industry, mining, fishing, hunting and other maritime and commercial activities.
All visitors to Svalbard are subject to strict rules designed to ensure their safety and protect the environment and cultural heritage. Tour organisers must inform the Governor of Svalbard of all tour plans well ahead of the start of the season, and present proof of insurance to cover any search and rescue operations should the need arise. Individual travellers must notify the authorities of any trips they plan to make.
At the beginning of 2005, 1 645 Norwegians were resident in the two settlements Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund, up from 1 125 in 1990.
Protected areas
Large parts of the Svalbard archipelago are protected. The very first protected areas were two plant protection areas that were established in 1932. By 2005, there were six national parks, 21 nature reserves (including 15 special bird reserves) and one protected geotope. In addition, several of the protected areas were enlarged from 1 January 2004 as a result of the extension of Norway’s territorial sea from four to 12 nautical miles. The protected areas now total about 39 000 km2 on land and 76 000 km2 at sea. The national parks are open for outdoor recreation activities that do not involve the use of motor vehicles. In special cases, for example for scientific purposes, the Governor’s Office may permit limited use of snowmobiles, aircraft, or helicopters.
According to the Svalbard Environmental Protection Act, all traces of human activity dating from 1945 or earlier are protected as part of the cultural heritage.
Species conservation
A number of the species found in Svalbard have suffered from centuries of indiscriminate hunting and slaughtering. This resulted in dramatic reductions in their numbers. Better management and conservation has allowed the recovery of populations of large mammals, including walrus, polar bear and Svalbard reindeer. The Arctic fox population also appears to be within safe biological limits. The numbers of barnacle geese, pink-footed geese and brent geese have also risen since 1980. However, the brent goose population is still very small, and it is uncertain whether it is viable.
Norway has set ambitious goals for management of the Arctic environment, one of which is for Svalbard to be one of the best-managed wilderness areas in the world.
In June 2001 the Svalbard Environmental Protection Act came into force. This Act is designed to preserve a virtually untouched environment in Svalbard with respect to continuous areas of wilderness, landscape elements, flora, fauna and cultural heritage. Within this framework, the Act allows for environmentally sound settlement, research and commercial activities.
Environmental cooperation with Russia
Russia still needs assistance to deal with the serious environmental problems it is facing in the High North, and that also affect important Norwegian interests. The state of the environment in the Barents Sea also depends to a large extent on Russian environmental management and the environmental standards set for activities in areas under Russian jurisdiction. At the eleventh meeting of the Joint Norwegian-Russian Commission on Environmental Protection in February 2005, it was agreed to make the marine environment a priority area for cooperation in the years ahead.
Antarctica
Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, highest and driest continent on earth. Almost 99 per cent of the continent is covered by an ice sheet. Its average height above sea level is approximately 2 500 metres, and the average temperature is - 60º C on higher ground and -10º C near the coast.
Norway has claimed Dronning Maud Land (1939), Peter I Island (1931) and Bouvet Island (1931) as Norwegian dependencies. Bouvet Island lies north of 60° S, and is therefore not strictly speaking part of Antarctica.
The Norwegian Polar Institute is responsible for Norwegian environmental management in Antarctica and on Bouvet Island.
Environmental protection in Antarctica
Antarctica is the least spoiled wilderness in the world. When the Antarctic Treaty was first adopted, environmental protection was not on the agenda. Since then, however, this has become a more and more important element of the Antarctic cooperation, and an Environmental Protocol to the Treaty was adopted in 1991. The parties to the Environmental Protocol have committed themselves to the comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment, to limiting and monitoring human impacts on the environment, to giving priority to scientific research and to thorough impact assessments of all types of activity. The Protocol bans all mineral resource activities. One important element of the Antarctic cooperation is the exchange of information between the parties about their activities. The Antarctic Treaty and the Environmental Protocol provide the basis for unprecedented global cooperation to protect a vulnerable environment. Antarctica is now a continent devoted to peace and science, and is protected as part of our natural heritage now and in the future.
Norway has played an active role in cooperation under the Antarctic Treaty and the Environmental Protocol, and has thus been involved in developing the comprehensive environmental protection framework for the continent. More than 200 recommendations have been adopted at consultative meetings, most of them dealing with human activities and the protection of the natural environment and cultural heritage.
Norway also has a long tradition of research in the Arctic. In February 2005, Queen Sonja of Norway officially opened the Troll research station in Dronning Maud Land as an all-year facility.
By the Norwegian Ministry of the Environment