Case Study: Sustainable Tourism in Svalbard
Location
- Svalbard, Norway is part of a group of islands (archipelago) in the Arctic Ocean
- Svalbard means 'the land with the cold shores'
- Located between mainland Norway and the North Pole (74° and 81° north latitude), it contains areas of unspoilt, raw Arctic wilderness of glaciers and tundra sheltering polar bears, Svalbard reindeer and Arctic foxes
- The largest island is Spitsbergen, with a permanent population of approximately 2700, of which 2300 live in Longyearbyen, the administrative centre of the islands
- Svalbard is known for the Northern Lights which are visible during winter, and the 'midnight sun', where it is daylight for 24 hours a day during the summer
- Svalbard's climate is:
- Cold all year round
- Summer temperatures average between 3°C and 7°C
- Winter sees temperatures between -13°C and -20°C, with Longyearbyen often reaching temperatures as low as -40°C
Map of Svalbard
History
- First inhabited by whalers, who arrived roughly 400 years ago
- These were followed by coal miners, who extracted large quantities of coal for export
- The Svalbard Treaty of 1942, which recognised Norway’s sovereignty, allowed anyone to live on the islands without a visa
- This has led to a shift in demographics with English, Thai, German and Italian people now living in Svalbard
- With the change in government policy during the 1980s, tourism has become the main industry in Svalbard
- As a result, casual workers along with academics, scientists and diplomats are the latest residents
Tourism
- 60% of Svalbard is covered by snow and ice with more than half being covered with glaciers of varying size
- Just 6-7% of Svalbard is covered with any type of vegetation, it has a very short growing season, a lack of precipitation, and barren ground soil
- Svalbard is the highest latitude where visitors can see the disappearing Arctic ice. Tourists can take wilderness expeditions to see polar bears along with extreme ski and snowmobile adventures, and kayaking to see glaciers
- It is a popular destination (approx. 70,000 tourists) of which 30,000 arrive on cruise ships and the harbour has been enlarged to accommodate large cruise ships
- This brings in much-needed money, which is returned to Svalbard’s economy, and aids in supporting the remote location and its people
- Tourism provides jobs for locals, providing accommodation and acting as tour operators. This allows people to support their families
- The sea ice no longer freezes around Svalbard and cruise ships can dock in the winter, extending the tourist season to all year round
- The longer tourist season boosts the local economy and provides more opportunities to remain sustainable
- The most common way to travel to Svalbard is by plane and has daily flights to and from the mainland
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Svalbard's energy comes from coal mining, and most of its consumer goods are imported to the island
How is it sustainable?
- Difficult to achieve, but the aim is to reduce the overall environmental footprint and make better sustainable choices to balance economic growth with environmental protection
- Over 60% of Svalbard islands are protected in some way
- Strict limits on the use of vehicles
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Tour operators and visitors have to get permission to visit nature reserves
- Different zones have different levels of protection with nature reserves allowing very little activity
- Longyearbyen has achieved the certification 'Sustainable Destination' and has committed to reducing the negative effects of tourism through schemes such as:
- Electric snowmobiles charged using 100% renewable energy
- Fishing with hybrid, silent boats
- No picking flowers, to protect the vulnerable flora
- All visitors to Svalbard pay into the Svalbard Environmental Protection Fund through their airline tickets. Resources from the fund are used to protect Svalbard’s natural environment
- Buying locally made goods such as knives, chocolates, woollen garments, wooden cutting boards, soap, art and jewellery
- Encouraging rental of equipment instead of buying for a single trip
- Local companies have made changes such as:
- Energy for the Svalbard Brewery is from burning waste from its production processes and any surplus energy is used for heating and hot water in Longyearbyen
- Investments in solar and wind power systems help charge boats, and snowmobiles which contributes to more environmentally friendly transport solutions both for residents and tourists
- The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is located in Longyearbyen and opened in 2008 and can store millions of seeds as a global backup if seeds are lost due to events such as mismanagement, natural disasters, and sabotage
- Hotels are built on stilts and constructed from sustainable wood, triple-glazed and well-insulated to prevent heating of the permafrost below the foundations. Water is heated before entering the hotel to stop it from freezing and renewable energy is used to run the hotel
- Visits to the most northerly settlement of Ny-Alesund are limited and tourists are not allowed to disturb nesting birds or leave litter
- Visitors have to stick to the 1.5km path around the settlement and any cruise ship can only remain anchored for a few hours to reduce environmental pollution from the ships
- Recently a ban on the most polluting fuels was put in place and it has meant that large cruise ships are unable to visit areas around Svalbard
