SE: Small Scale Sustainable Management in the Arctic

Question 1

Where is Svalbard?

Answer 1

• It is a group of islands in the Arctic Circle, north of Norway

Question 2

What is Svalbard promoting?

Answer 2

• Sustainable tourism

Answer 3

• Over 60% of Svalbard is protected
  e.g. there are strict limits on the use of off-road motorised vehicles, and tour operators and visitors have to get permission to visit the nature reserves

Answer 4

• Different zones have different levels of protection - nature reserves allow very little access while tourism areas have few regulations

Answer 5

• Ny-Alesund is the most northerly settlement in the world and is run by a company called Kings Bay AS
• The population is mostly made up of scientific researchers
• The company and researchers have taken actions to limit the impact of tourism on the area
  e.g.
• Cruise ships are required to tell passengers about the rules visitors have to follow e.g. not disturbing nesting birds or leaving little
• Visitors have to stick to the 1.5km path around the settlement and there are lots of boards with environmental information to make tourists aware of the issues
• The ships are only allowed to remain anchored for a few hours - reduces the amount of pollution from e.g. diesel fumes entering the local environment

Answer 6

• More recently there has been a ban on the most polluting fuels by cruise ships - means that bigger cruises ships are now unable to visit