List of protected areas of Svalbard
Encyclopedia
Svalbard
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...
is an Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
wilderness archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
comprising the northernmost part of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. There are twenty-nine protected natural areas
Protected area
Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...
, consisting of seven national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
s, six nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
s, fifteen bird sanctuaries and one geotope
Geotope
Geotope is the geological component of the abiotic matrix present in an ecotope. Example geotopes might be: an exposed outcrop of rocks, an erratic boulder, a grotto or ravine, a cave, an old stone wall marking a property boundary, and so forth....
protected area. In addition, human traces dating from before 1946 are automatically protected. The protected areas make up 39800 square kilometres (15,366.9 sq mi) or 65% of the land area, and 78000 square kilometres (30,116 sq mi) or 86.5% of the territorial waters
Territorial waters
Territorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending at most from the baseline of a coastal state...
. The largest protected areas are Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve
Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve
Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve is located in the north-eastern part of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. The nature reserve covers all of Nordaustlandet, Kong Karls Land, Kvitøya, Sjuøyane, Storøya, Lågøya, Wilhelmøya, Wahlbergøya and a small section of the north-east corner of Spitsbergen...
and Søraust-Svalbard Nature Reserve
Søraust-Svalbard Nature Reserve
Søraust-Svalbard Nature Reserve is located in the south-eastern part of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. The nature reserve covers all of Edgeøya and Barentsøya in addition to a number of smaller islands, including Tusenøyane, Ryke Yseøyane and Halvmåneøya...
, which cover most of the areas east of the main island of Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Constituting the western-most bulk of the archipelago, it borders the Arctic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea and the Greenland Sea...
, including the islands of Nordaustlandet
Nordaustlandet
Nordaustlandet is the second-largest island in the archipelago of Svalbard, Norway, with an area of . It lies north east of Spitsbergen, separated by Hinlopenstretet. Much of Nordaustlandet lies under large ice caps, mainly Austfonna and Vestfonna, the remaining parts of the north being tundra...
, Edgeøya
Edgeøya
Edgeøya, occasionally anglicised as Edge Island, is an uninhabited Norwegian island in southeast of the Svalbard archipelago; it is the third largest island in this archipelago. An Arctic island, it forms part of the South East Svalbard Nature Reserve, home to polar bears and reindeer. Its eastern...
, Barentsøya
Barentsøya
Barents Island is one of the smaller islands in the Svalbard archipelago, lying between Edge Island and Spitsbergen. Barents Island has no permanent human inhabitants. Named for the Dutch explorer Willem Barents , it is a part of Norway.An Arctic island, around 43 per cent its area of is glaciated...
, Kong Karls Land
Kong Karls Land
Kong Karls Land or King Charles Land is an island group in the Svalbard archipelago, in Arctic Ocean. The island group covers an area of and is made up of the islands of Kongsøya, Svenskøya, Abeløya, Helgolandøya and Tirpitzøya....
and Kvitøya
Kvitøya
Kvitøya is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, with an area of . It is located at , making it the easternmost part of the Kingdom of Norway...
. Six of the national parks are located on Spitsbergen. Ten of the bird sanctuaries and the Moffen Nature Reserve are located within national parks. Five of the bird sanctuaries are Ramsar sites and fourteen of the bird sanctuaries are islands. Svalbard is on Norway's tentative list for nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The supreme responsibility for conservation
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
lies with the Norwegian Ministry of the Environment
Norwegian Ministry of the Environment
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of the Environment is a Norwegian ministry established in 1972. The ministry is responsible for environmental issues in Norway. It is led by the Minister of the Environment, Erik Solheim...
, which has delegated the management to the Governor of Svalbard
Governor of Svalbard
The Governor of Svalbard represents the Norwegian government in exercising its sovereignty over the Svalbard archipelago .The position reports to the Norwegian Ministry of Justice, but it maintains all Norwegian interests in the area, including environmental protection, law enforcement,...
and the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management
Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management
The Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management is Norway's national governmental body for preserving Norway's natural environment, including establishing and regulating national parks and other protected areas...
. The foundation for conservation was established in the Svalbard Treaty
Svalbard Treaty
The Treaty between Norway, The United States of America, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Great Britain and Ireland and the British overseas Dominions and Sweden concerning Spitsbergen signed in Paris 9th February 1920, commonly called the Svalbard Treaty or the Spitsbergen Treaty...
of 1920, and has been further specified in the Svalbard Environmental Act of 2001. The first round of protection took force on 1 July 1973, when most of the current protected areas came into effect. This included the two large nature reserves and three of the national parks. Moffen Nature Reserve was established in 1983, followed by four national parks, three nature reserves and one geotope protection area between 2002 and 2005.
Three primarily terrestrial mammalian species inhabit the archipelago: the Arctic fox
Arctic fox
The arctic fox , also known as the white fox, polar fox or snow fox, is a small fox native to Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and is common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. The Greek word alopex, means a fox and Vulpes is the Latin version...
, the Svalbard reindeer, and 3,000 polar bear
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
s. There are 15 to 20 types of marine mammals, including whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
s, dolphin
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
s, seals
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
and walrus
Walrus
The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...
es. About 30 types of bird are found on Svalbard, most of which are migratory. The Barents Sea
Barents Sea
The Barents Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of Norway and Russia. Known in the Middle Ages as the Murman Sea, the sea takes its current name from the Dutch navigator Willem Barents...
is among the areas in the world with most seabird
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
s, with about 20 million individuals during late summer. Sixteen bird species are on the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
. In particular, Bjørnøya, Storfjorden, Nordvest-Spitsbergen and Hopen
Hopen
Hopen is an island in the southeastern part of the Svalbard archipelago . Hopen was discovered in 1613, probably by Thomas Marmaduke of Hull, who named it after his former command, the Hopewell....
are important breeding grounds for seabirds. Svalbard has permafrost
Permafrost
In geology, permafrost, cryotic soil or permafrost soil is soil at or below the freezing point of water for two or more years. Ice is not always present, as may be in the case of nonporous bedrock, but it frequently occurs and it may be in amounts exceeding the potential hydraulic saturation of...
and tundra
Tundra
In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...
, with both low, middle and high Arctic vegetation
Arctic vegetation
In the Arctic, the low tundra vegetation clothes a landscape of wide vistas, lit by the low-angle light characteristic of high latitudes. Much of the Arctic shows little impact from human activities, making it one of the few places on earth one can see intact ecosystems. Those who have had the...
. There have been found 165 species of plants on the archipelago, although vegetation only covers 10% of the island group. Low precipitation gives the archipelago a steppe
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
climate; however plants still have good access to water because the cold climate reduces evaporation. The growing season
Growing season
In botany, horticulture, and agriculture the growing season is the period of each year when native plants and ornamental plants grow; and when crops can be grown....
is very short, and may last only for a few weeks.
National parks, nature reserves and geotope protection areas
The following lists contains all national parks, nature reserves and geotope protection areas in Svalbard. It includes the protected areas' name, type, total size, size of the land area and size of the marine area, excluding freshwater, in square kilometers and square miles.| Area | Type | Established | Size km2 | Size sq mi | Land km2 | Land sq mi | Marine km2 | Marine sq mi | | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bjørnøya Nature Reserve | Nature reserve | 2981.3 | 1,151.1 | 177 | 68.3 | 2805 | 1,083 | ||
| Festningen Geotope Protected Area Festningen Geotope Protected Area Festningen Geotope Protected Area is located at the outermost edge of Grønfjorden's mouth to Isfjorden on Nordenskiöld Land, Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. The profile is a cliff which runs along the coast from Kapp Starostin to Festningsodden. It covers an areas of , of which is on land and ... |
Geotope protection area | 16.6 | 6.4 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 1 | ||
| Forlandet National Park Forlandet National Park Forlandet National Park lies on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. The park was created by a royal resolution on June 1, 1973 and covers the entire island of Prins Karls Forland and well as the sea around it... |
National park | 4626.8 | 1,786.4 | 616 | 237.8 | 4018 | 1,551.4 | ||
| Hopen Nature Reserve | Nature reserve | 3185.6 | 1,230 | 46 | 17.8 | 3140 | 1,212.4 | ||
| Indre Wijdefjorden National Park Indre Wijdefjorden National Park Indre Wijdefjorden National Park is located in a steep fjord landscape in northern Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. It covers the inner part of Wijdefjorden—the longest fjord on Svalbard. The national park was established on 9 September 2005 and covers , of which is on land and is sea... |
National park | 1127.1 | 435.2 | 745 | 287.6 | 382 | 147.5 | ||
| Moffen Nature Reserve | Nature reserve | 8.8 | 3.4 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve is located in the north-eastern part of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. The nature reserve covers all of Nordaustlandet, Kong Karls Land, Kvitøya, Sjuøyane, Storøya, Lågøya, Wilhelmøya, Wahlbergøya and a small section of the north-east corner of Spitsbergen... |
Nature reserve | 55354.3 | 21,372.4 | 18663 | 7,205.8 | 36691 | 14,166.5 | ||
| Nordenskiöld Land National Park Nordenskiöld Land National Park Nordenskiöld Land National Park lies on Spitsbergen island in the Svalbard archipelago, Norway. The park was opened in 2003 and otherwise consists of the isfrie Reindalen.-References:... |
National park | 1362.3 | 526 | 155 | 59.8 | 1207 | 466 | ||
| Nordre Isfjorden National Park | National park | 2952.1 | 1,139.8 | 2050 | 791.5 | 904 | 349 | ||
| Nordvest-Spitsbergen National Park | National park | 9870.5 | 3,811 | 3684 | 1,422.4 | 6189 | 2,389.6 | ||
| Ossian Sars Nature Reserve Ossian Sars Nature Reserve Ossian Sars Nature Reserve is located at the inner-most part of Kongsfjorden on Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. It was created on 26 September 2003 to preserve the mountain Ossian Sarsfjellet and the surrounding vegetation. The nature reserve covers . Hiking is permitted, but tenting is not.The... |
Nature reserve | 12.1 | 4.7 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Sassen-Bünsow Land National Park Sassen-Bünsow Land National Park Sassen – Bünsow Land National Park lies on Spitsbergen island in the Svalbard archipelago, Norway. The park was opened in 2003 and includes both glaciers and several glacially carved valleys. The sealer/whaler Hilmar Nøis built the hunting station Fredheim on the north side of the Sassen river... |
National park | 1230.5 | 475.1 | 1157 | 446.7 | 73 | 28.2 | ||
| Søraust-Svalbard Nature Reserve Søraust-Svalbard Nature Reserve Søraust-Svalbard Nature Reserve is located in the south-eastern part of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. The nature reserve covers all of Edgeøya and Barentsøya in addition to a number of smaller islands, including Tusenøyane, Ryke Yseøyane and Halvmåneøya... |
Nature reserve | 21825.9 | 8,427 | 15426 | 5,956 | 25436 | 9,820.9 | ||
| Sør-Spitsbergen National Park Sør-Spitsbergen National Park Sør-Spitsbergen National Park lies on south end of Spitsbergen island in the Svalbard archipelago, Norway. The park was opened in 1973 and includes Wedel Jarlsberg Land, Torell Land and Sørkapp Land. Over 65% of the region is covered with glacier or permanent ice and snow.-References:... |
National park | 13177.3 | 5,087.8 | 5030 | 1,942.1 | 8198 | 3,165.3 |
Bird sanctuaries
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| † | Ramsar sites |
| Area | Size km2 | Size sq mi | | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blomstrandhamna Bird Sanctuary Blomstrandhamna Bird Sanctuary Blomstrandhamna Bird Sanctuary is a bird reserve at Svalbard, Norway, established in 1973. It includes the skerry in the bay Blomstrandhamna in Haakon VII Land. The protected area covers a total of 580,000 square metres.... |
0.6 | 0.231661295155521 | |
| Boheman Bird Sanctuary Boheman Bird Sanctuary Boheman Bird Sanctuary is a bird reserve at Svalbard, Norway, established in 1973. It includes islands south of the peninsula Bohemanflya in Oscar II Land. The protected area covers a total of 2,076,000 square metres.... |
2.1 | 0.810814533044324 | |
| Dunøyane Bird Sanctuary Dunøyane Bird Sanctuary Dunøyane Bird Sanctuary is a bird reserve at Svalbard, Norway, established in 1973. It includes islands west of the strait Dunøysundet in Wedel Jarlsberg Land. The protected area covers a total of around 11.9 km2.... † |
11.9 | 4.6 | |
| Forlandsøyane Bird Sanctuary Forlandsøyane Bird Sanctuary Forlandsøyane Bird Sanctuary is a bird reserve at Svalbard, Norway, established in 1973. It includes the islands Forlandsøyane at Prins Karls Forland. The protected area covers a total area of around 5,400,000 square metres.... † |
5.4 | 2.1 | |
| 2.4 | 0.926645180622084 | ||
| Guissezholmen Bird Sanctuary Guissezholmen Bird Sanctuary Guissezholmen Bird Sanctuary is a bird reserve at Svalbard, Norway, established in 1973. It includes islets at Kapp Guissez in Haakon VII Land. The protected area covers a total area of around 400,000 square metres.... |
0.4 | 0.154440863437014 | |
| Hermansenøya Bird Sanctuary Hermansenøya Bird Sanctuary Hermansenøya Bird Sanctuary is a bird reserve at Svalbard, Norway, established in 1973. It includes island of Hermansenøya at the west coast of Oscar II Land. The protected area covers a total area of around 4,200,000 square metres.... |
4.2 | 1.6 | |
| Isøyane Bird Sanctuary Isøyane Bird Sanctuary Isøyane Bird Sanctuary is a bird reserve at Svalbard, Norway, established in 1973. It includes the islands of Nordre Isøya and Isøykalven in Wedel Jarlsberg Land. The protected area covers a total area of around 2,300,000 square metres.... † |
2.3 | 0.888034964762831 | |
| Kapp Linné Bird Sanctuary Kapp Linné Bird Sanctuary Kapp Linné Bird Sanctuary is a bird reserve at Svalbard, Norway, established in 1973. It includes areas between Randvika and Fyrsjøen on Nordenskiöld Land. The protected area covers a total area of around 1,900,000 square metres.... |
1.9 | 0.733594101325817 | |
| Kongsfjorden Bird Sanctuary Kongsfjorden Bird Sanctuary Kongsfjorden Bird Sanctuary is a bird reserve at Svalbard, Norway, established in 1973. It includes islands and islets in Kongsfjorden, Haakon VII Land. The protected area covers a total area of around 7,100,000 square metres.... † |
7.1 | 2.7 | |
| Moseøya Bird Sanctuary Moseøya Bird Sanctuary Moseøya Bird Sanctuary is a bird reserve at Svalbard, Norway, established in 1973. It includes the island of Moseøya, south of the island Danskøya, part of Albert I Land. The protected area covers a total area of around 1,400,000 square metres.... |
1.4 | 0.540543022029549 | |
| Olsholmen Bird Sanctuary Olsholmen Bird Sanctuary Olsholmen Bird Sanctuary is a bird reserve at Svalbard, Norway, established in 1973. It includes the islet of Olsholmen off Wedel Jarlsberg Land, Spitsbergen. The protected area covers a total area of around 461,000 square metres.... |
0.5 | 0.193051079296268 | |
| Plankeholmane Bird Sanctuary Plankeholmane Bird Sanctuary Plankeholmane Bird Sanctuary is a bird reserve at Svalbard, Norway, established in 1973. It includes the islets of Plankeholmane south of Prins Karls Forland, Spitsbergen. The protected area covers a total area of around 1,600,000 square metres.... |
1.6 | 0.617763453748056 | |
| Skorpa Bird Sanctuary Skorpa Bird Sanctuary Skorpa Bird Sanctuary is a bird reserve at Svalbard, Norway, established in 1973. It includes islets off Harpunodden in Albert I Land, Spitsbergen. The protected area covers a total area of around 1,100,000 square metres.... |
1.1 | 0.424712374451789 | |
| Sørkapp Bird Sanctuary Sørkapp Bird Sanctuary Sørkapp Bird Sanctuary is a bird reserve at Svalbard, Norway, established in 1973. It includes the island of Sørkappøya and other islands off Sørkapp Land, Spitsbergen. The protected area covers a total area of around 36,000,000 square metres.... |
36 | 13.9 |