1992 Protected Areas of the World: A review of national systems

NORWAY

Area 323,900 sq. km (Svalbard 62,051 sq. km, Jan Mayen 380 sq. km)

Population 4,212,000 (1990)

Natural increase: 0.28% per annum

Svalbard 3,646 (1988, 2,579 of these were Soviet citizens) (Paxton, 1990)

Economic Indicators

GDP: US$ 19,895 per capita (1987)

GNP: US$ 17,110 per capita (1987)

Policy and Legislation The first Nature Conservation Act entered into force in 1910, followed by another Nature Conservation Act in 1954. The 1954 legislation was replaced on 19 June 1970 by the Nature Conservation Act No. 63. This Act was most recently amended on 14 June 1985 (The Nature Conservation Act No. 77) and remains the legal basis and main instrument for setting aside and applying protection to all conservation areas. This Act declares nature a national asset which is administered for its long-term preservation and which should only be utilised as part of a long-term comprehensive administration of resources. It gives protection to flora, fauna and natural areas.

Four categories of protected areas are covered by the Nature Conservation Act: national park, landscape protected area, nature reserve, and natural monument (see Annex). The Act provides guidelines for the regulations for the different types of protected area. Specific regulations, however, are drawn up for individual sites. The Act also makes provision for the National Council for the Conservation of Nature to act as an advisory body to the Ministry of the Environment. Conservation legislation is geared to be long-term in operation and Clause 18 gives owners and users of natural resources the right to comment upon activities proposed by specific governmental or provincial agencies, whilst the Ministry of Environment can place the resources under preliminary protection. The Department of Environment Protection is obliged to prevent all development and construction work, pollution and any kind of encroachment. Access is unrestricted, regardless of land ownership, in line with traditional Scandinavian practices. The Act makes provision for the creation of biotope reserves and bird sanctuaries in places which are of major importance to flora and fauna. Such sites do not have to fulfil the main legal requirements of any of the main protected area categories, although they are sometimes considered to be a subdivision of nature reserves in the broad sense. The Act also confers powers for interim protection of sites pending final decisions, such protection being decided by the Directorate for Nature Management, subject to appeal to the Ministry of Environment (Backer, 1991).

Legislation for flora and fauna protection outside national parks is weaker than inside, but is now covered under the Wildlife Act (No. 38) of 19 May 1981 (which enteredinto force on 2 April 1982). This Act, which completely replaces the Game Management Act, 1951 restricts hunting to certain species and within certain seasons. It also includes provisions for the protection of areas which are of essential value for game (Ministry of Environment, 1982a, 1982b). More broadly, the Wildlife Act prescribes that planning authorities shall give due consideration to the effect on wildlife habitats in their general land-use planning (Backer, 1991).

The Building and Planning Act, 1965 deals with land use planning (physical planning) at the national, provincial and community level and specifies that nature conservation interests must be considered in planning activities "to guide local planners and to harmonise plans among sectors". County plans give attention to conservation problems and coordinate local plans of the community, they are reviewed every four years (Ministry of Environment, 1982b; Poore and Gryn-Ambroes, 1980). Since 1982 this Act has been replaced by a new Planning and Building Act: three paragraphs in the new Act are of particular relevance to nature conservation. Paragraph 17 allows for national political regulations to be made for a defined area or an object such as a river to prevent the destruction of their natural quality. Work has recently been completed in analysing how these regulations might be used to protect rivers from man-made impacts, to replace the existing Norwegian Protection Plan for River Systems. Under Paragraph 20 areas such as wetlands can be given temporary protection for four years where major conflicts of land use arise. Under Paragraph 25 smaller natural areas such as bays and marshes can be regulated for nature conservation purposes at the municipal level. Such areas may be sites that do not qualify for protection under the Nature Conservation Act because of their size, ecological importance or other reasons. So far, few such areas have been designated, probably because of the compensation regulations which apply to the owner under the terms of the Act.

A new set of regulations concerning environmental impact assessment came into force on 1 August 1990 under the Planning and Building Act: prior notification of all major physical projects and projects that require a significant change in the landscape must be provided to the Ministry concerned, together with details of the project and alternatives and a preliminary assessment of its impact. Based on this notification, the Ministry may require the developer to undertake a more thorough environmental impact assessment. In addition to major building schemes, projects requiring environmental impact assessment include mining projects, the development of new agricultural land and large reforestation schemes. Among the impacts to be considered under the new regulations are the environmental impact on plant and animal life, areas of outstanding natural beauty, natural and man-made landscapes; the impact on natural resources including forest resources; and the social impact, including effects on outdoor and recreational activities (Ministry of Environment, 1990).

Other legislation includes the Forest Management Act, 1863, the Forest Protection Act, 1909 and the Forest Production and Protection Act, 1985. This latter Act authorises the designation of specific forest areas of particular importance for nature conservation or open-air recreation. Regulations on forestry practices may also be laiddown for these areas. The Directorate for State Forest and Land in the Ministry of Agriculture has established "administrative protection" in some areas, mainly those put aside as forest reserves. Most of these areas are also protected as nature reserves under the Nature Conservation Act as part of a national plan for the conservation of coniferous forest (Backer, 1991; Directorate for Nature Management, in litt., 1991).

The Shore and Mountain Planning Act (No. 103) of 10 December 1971 followed on from a temporary law passed in 1965, prohibiting house building within 100m of the seashore and making all construction along coastal and inland waters conform to land utilisation plans. This Act is now abolished and its provisions have been incorporated into the new Building and Planning Act. Other legislation already enacted or under consideration provides for the protection of 200 watercourses from hydroelectric development (the Norwegian Protection Plan for River Systems) and for restricting the use of off-road or cross-country vehicles. The Act for the Protection of Ancient Monuments, 1951 safeguards areas around natural monuments.

Other peripheral legislation includes the Open-Air Recreation Act, 1957 which deals with the creation and maintenance of recreation areas and states the right of free public access to all uncultivated areas with no buildings. To improve the accessibility of land, for example in built-up areas and along coastlines where there are many holiday homes, the state has purchased a number of areas throughout Norway which are termed public recreation areas. Such areas are not protected under the Nature Conservation Act as their designation is not primarily for conservation purposes. Such sites, however, clearly are of conservation value.

In 1980, a 13-member government-appointed committee, chaired by the President of the Norwegian Parliament, completed a report on national conservation perspectives (Protection of Norwegian Nature St. meld Nr. 68 (1980-81) Vern av norsk natur) based on the UNEP World Conservation Strategy, resulting in a subsequent report to parliament in 1981 and a proposal for a national conservation policy plan. This report was adopted by parliament as the basis for a Conservation Policy Plan. The plan requires that all relevant government authorities give greater consideration to nature conservation issues, under guidance from the Ministry of the Environment. It stresses the importance of conservation issues in regional planning, and suggests the creation of many new nature reserves to be based on regional plans. The policy plan also covers pollution, acid rain, species protection and the protection of water courses (Ministry of Environment, 1982a).

Most national parks have been created according to a plan proposed in 1964 and adopted by parliament in 1967. A second plan was put forward in 1986 and is now awaiting submission to parliament (Backer, 1991).

Svalbard came under Norwegian sovereignty at the signing of the Spitzbergen Treaty on 9 February 1920. However, citizens of the contracting parties of the Treaty have equal right to fish and hunt in the area, and to establish commercial operations. This right has been quite widely used by the Soviets. Norwegian civil and penal laws apply.In addition, some laws apply specifically to Svalbard and to Jan Mayen. A Royal Decree of 26 February 1932 established two plant protected reserves; Royal Decrees of 1 June and 11 October 1973 established three national parks, two nature reserves and fifteen bird sanctuaries (Ministry of Environment, 1981). Fairly tight regulations, covered under a Royal Decree of 28 May 1971, apply in Svalbard and Jan Mayen to economic and other activities to control interference with nature. A Royal Decree of 11 August 1978 concerns the management of game and freshwater fishes. Chapter V, Clause 14 of this Decree places restrictions on activities near cliffs used by nesting birds between 1 April and 31 August. All cultural monuments on Svalbard and Jan Mayen are protected by a Royal Decree of 21 June 1974 (Ministry of Environment, 1981).

International Activities The Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Convention) was ratified on 12 May 1977. No natural sites have been accepted, but three sites (Vistenfjord-Vega-Lovund, Kong Karlsland and Hardang-ervidda) have been placed on a tentative list of sites recommended for future consideration by the World Heritage Secretariat. The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention) was signed without reservation as to ratification on 9 July 1974, and 14 wetlands have been designated as Ramsar sites, five in Svalbard. One site (in Svalbard) has been designated as a biosphere reserve under the Unesco Man and the Biosphere Programme.

Norway is a member of the Council of Europe: 11 sites have been declared as Council of Europe biogenetic reserves. No sites have been awarded the Council of Europe European Diploma (end-1990). Norway, but not Svalbard, is also a party to the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, which it signed in 1979. The Nordic Council, of which Norway is a member state, is involved in a number of environmental protection issues: the Nordic Council of Ministers has run a series of four to five-year environmental protection programmes, the present programme beginning in 1988. These programmes cover a wide range of activities which include, among other things, bringing greater attention to nature conservation in connection with planning activities. The Council has encouraged the registration of valuable landscapes in the Nordic area, the concentration of conservation efforts towards the preservation of particularly important habitat types and the use of natural areas by the wider public for recreation purposes. It has also encouraged the development of a standardised data collection for monitoring environmental quality (Nordic Council of Ministers, 1983). Norway is also a party to the Nordic Environmental Protection Convention, which requires authorities to take into account the environmental consequences to all other parties before granting permits for environmentally damaging activities (Nordic Council of Ministers, 1978).

There are a number of transboundary protected areas, the most notable being: Femundsmarka National Park and the proposed Rogen-Langfjallet National Park (currently Rogen Nature Reserve) in Sweden; Rago National Park and Sarek/Padjelanta/Sonfjallet national parks in Sweden; and Ovre Anarjokka NationalPark and Lemmonjoki National Park in Finland.

Administration and Management A National Council for Nature Conservation was established in 1955. The first post of Nature Conservation Inspector was created in 1960. In 1965 the Administration of Outdoor Recreation and Nature Conservation was established within the Ministry of Local Government and Labour (Norderhaug, 1985).

The Ministry of Environment (Miljoverndepartementet) was created in 1972. It is responsible for the coordination of regional planning and for natural resource management (resource accounting and budgeting for energy, water, land, fish, soils and forests), for pollution control, including oil, and noise abatement, problems of waste disposal, conservation of nature and recreation areas, management of wildlife and freshwater fish, coordination of environmental research and international environmental cooperation, conservation of the country's natural heritage, improvement of residential environments and urban renewal and also the coordination of mapping of land and territorial waters (Ministry of Environment, 1983). It is also responsible for long-term management of natural resources (Norderhaug, 1985). This Ministry consists of five departments: General Coordination Department, Department of Regional Planning and Resource Management, Department of Pollution Control, Department of Natural Resources and Department of Nature Conservation and Open-Air Recreation.

The Department of Nature Conservation and Open-Air Recreation has responsibility for, amongst other things, protected areas and the administration of the provisions of the Nature Conservation Act of 1970. It is divided into eight sections. The First Nature Conservation Division is responsible for protection and conservation in pursuance of the Nature Conservation Act; it covers conservation planning, monitoring, inventories and surveys of areas and species deserving protection, it is responsible for the establishment and administration of protected areas; it also covers conservation on Svalbard, and international cooperation on conservation issues; it has a staff of ten, nine university graduates and one lawyer. The Second Nature Conservation Division covers conservation and recreation in relation to hydro-power development, and the use of watercourses; it has a staff of eight, comprising one lawyer, one forester, one civil engineer, one agronomist, one sociologist and three others. The Third Nature Conservation Division is involved with landscape protection and planning and also with environmental impact assessments. The First Open-Air Recreation Division deals with application of the Open-Air Recreation Act, the right of public access and the expropriation and protection of recreation areas. The Second Open-Air Recreation Division covers planning and research with respect to recreational areas, and also planning pursuant to the Building and Planning Act. The Division of Shore Planning and Administration administers the Shore and Mountain Planning Act. The Wildlife and Freshwater Fish Division covers the Wildlife Act and other legislation dealing with hunting and fishing. The Management Section is responsible for the care and management of protected areas (Ministry of Environment, 1983).

The First Nature Conservation Division also acts as the Secretariat of the National Council for the Conservation of Nature, a state agency affiliated to the Ministry of the Environment. Matters of importance are referred to the Minister, who also appoints two high level inspectors for nature conservation, one for north and central Norway and one for the south. At a local level, each of the 20 counties has an environmental protection department which is responsible, through the County Governor, to the Ministry of Environment. These local departments are responsible in particular for water supply, sewerage, waste disposal and pollution issues, nature conservation and open-air recreation, wildlife and freshwater fish and county mapping (Ministry of Environment, 1983). Wardens are appointed locally or by the appropriate state directorates (Directorate for State Forests). In Svalbard the Governor has overall responsibility for protected areas; he has jurisdictional, police and administrative power throughout the Archipelago (Ministry of Environment, 1981).

There are five Directorates/Institutions under the Ministry of Environment: Directorate for Nature Management, State Pollution Control Authority, Norwegian Polar Research Institute, Norwegian Mapping Authority and Central Office of Historic Sites and Monuments. The Directorate for Nature Management (Direktoratet for Naturforvaltning) has the most direct involvement with the Department of Nature Conservation and Open-Air Recreation. It was established on 1 September 1985 and is authorised to manage Norwegian nature through various laws and regulations, notably the Nature Conservation Act, the Wildlife Act, the Salmon and Inland Fishing Act and the Open Air Recreation Act; it is also involved in solving other environmental problems by cooperating with, advising and informing other governmental and private bodies. The Directorate is divided into five departments: Outdoor Recreation, Terrestrial Ecology, Aquatic Ecology, Environmental Impact Assessments and Administration. Much of the work undertaken by the Directorate is of a monitoring nature: the effects of acid rain and control measures, pollution, hunting, fish stocks, river management, public planning. It is also involved in the promotion of the aforementioned Acts, international conservation agreements and the promotion of nature to the Norwegian public. Each year it allocates funds for the acquisition and development of recreational areas in the vicinity of towns and built-up areas. At present, the Directorate for Nature Management has around 125 employees (Directorate for Nature Management, in litt., 1991).

In 1982 the Ministry of Environment had a full-time staff of 190 with about 1,000 full-time employees in affiliated institutions. The budget for the Ministry was 517 Mkr (US$ 68.8 million) in 1978, rising to 739 Mkr (US$ 1094.5 million) in 1982, but included affiliated institutions, and for the Department of Nature Conservation and Open-Air Recreation (in 1978) was 28.5 MKr (US$ 3.77 million). The latter figure includes wardening, boundary demarcation, wages, compensations and operations. The Department's budget includes 8.6 Mkr (US$ 1.12 million) for land acquisition and compensation, but most is used for recreation provision (Poore and Gryn-Ambroes, 1980). Technical staff are funded by the Department's budget whilst subordinate members are officially part of the Ministry. Research (inventories, surveys, studies) is funded by the Ministry, and carried out by contracted universities and specialistinstitutes. The Ministry takes all major management decisions, advice being given by the management authority of the area. On the ground management is the responsibility of the county advisor in the Directorate for State Forests. Management plans are being elaborated for nature reserves. With few exceptions the policy is one of non-intervention; management is passive and limited to activities connected with public use.

The Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Industry consult the Ministry of the Environment, where appropriate, whilst all major development decisions are taken by parliament, administered by the Ministry of Industry. The Forestry Act is administered by the Ministry of Agriculture, while the Water and Watercourses Act is covered by the Ministry of Oil and Energy, which is also responsible for the designation of watercourses to be protected by plenary decision in parliament (Backer, 1991).

The major voluntary society is the Norwegian Union for Nature Protection (Naturvern forbund), established in 1964, which has 36,000 members in 18 local associations (1980). It is completely independent, although partially supported by government funds, and was the most important force in Norwegian nature conservation until the National Council for Nature Conservation was established in 1955 (Poore and Gryn-Ambroes, 1980).

Systems Reviews Mainland Norway is a long, narrow country running from approximately 58*N to 71*N. It shares a long eastern border with Sweden, while to the north, in Lapland, it shares borders with Finland and a short border with the Russian Republic of the former USSR. The mainland coastline is over 20,000km long and indented, with over 53,000 islands; the total length of coastline, including islands, is some 53,069km (Ministry of Environment, 1982a). To the north the coastline borders the Arctic Ocean, to the west the Norwegian Sea and, to the south and south-west it borders the Skagerrak Straits and the North Sea. The archipelago of Svalbard lies some 700km north of mainland Norway at its nearest point. It lies between the Barents Sea in the east and the Greenland Sea in the west. The archipelago is surrounded by pack-ice in spring, while the limit of permanent pack-ice lies less than 200km north of the islands. The mainland is mountainous, with the highest peak reaching 2,469m. Its geomorphology is shaped entirely by recent glaciation, with countless, U-shaped valleys, fjords, moraines, erratics and other glacial features. Much of the mountainous area is exposed or sparsely covered with bedrock. Some glaciers remain, but in general the climate is mild, and the coastline, including the significant proportion that lies within the Arctic Circle, remains ice-free throughout the year (Duffey, 1982).

Forests cover about 30% of the country. They are mostly coniferous, and two-thirds of them are exploited commercially. Plant species diversity is highest in the south-east where there are some deciduous forests of oak, elm and lime, up to 550m. These are replaced by widespread pine and spruce forests at higher altitudes and also further north. Along the west coast, forests of birch, oak and alder predominate, together with blanket bogs and mires. Some 9% of the total land area is covered by bogs andother wetland habitats. Lakes and other open freshwater areas cover a further 5% of the country (Ministry of Environment, 1982a), but also important for wetland species is the long rugged coastline with its numerous sheltered bays, small islands and complex water courses. On the central mountains running the length of the country, alpine flora, with dwarf shrubs, predominate from 1,200-1,600m; at higher altitudes plant communities become dominated by cryptogans. In the extreme north and north-east, pine and birch give way to arctic/alpine vegetation: lichen-tundra accompanied by dwarf shrubs, grasses and rushes (Davis et al., 1986). Only 3% of the total land area is under cultivation.

About 20,000 Lapps live in the north of the country. They depend largely on reindeer husbandry for their needs.

Svalbard consists of several large islands, the largest of which is Spitzbergen, and numerous smaller islands. It is partly covered by glaciers. The land is rugged and mountainous, but with a flat coastal plain reaching a maximum width of 10km. The subsoil is permanently frozen, with permafrost reaching to a depth of several hundred metres. The vegetation comprises mainly grasses, mosses and lichens (Grimmett and Jones, 1989). The seas to the west of Svalbard are relatively productive due to a northern branch of the Gulf Stream: plant growth is more productive on the western coasts and there are numerous large seabird colonies. This contrasts strongly with the north and east coasts which are affected by a cold drift-ice stream from the north-east (Ministry of Environment, 1981).

Jan Mayen is a small isolated island positioned centrally between Norway, Greenland, Svalbard and Iceland. It is of volcanic origin, mountainous, reaching a height of 2,277m, and partly covered by glaciers. Volcanic activity, which had ceased, restarted in 1970 (Paxton, 1990). The island has a rocky landscape, with thin tundra vegetation, and holds extremely important breeding seabird populations, but has no protected areas.

The arctic explorer, Nordenshrold, first suggested that national parks be established in the Nordic countries in 1880, and in 1902 the first proposal for a national park was presented by Reusch, to be followed by other proposals by the Norwegian Conservation Society (founded in 1914) and the Norwegian Tourist Society. Despite this, the establishment of the park system started later than in other Nordic countries (1962) and even later in Svalbard (planned in 1966 and implemented in 1973). In 1955 the first National Council for Nature Conservation was appointed by the government. In 1962 the Council initiated a systematic nationwide inventory of important habitats, indigenous forest areas of high conservation interest and important botanical and ornithological habitats. They produced the first nationwide plan for national parks in 1964 (this was two years after the first national park was established). The plan covered 16 areas (630,000ha or 2% of the country's surface) although originally this was to be eight national parks and eight nature parks; the latter exclusively protective, the former for public recreation. The national park plan was well-received by parliament and adopted in 1967 as the basis for theestablishment of national parks in the country, and has now, in principle, been fully implemented. Work on a second, follow-up strategy has begun. The first national park was established in 1962. By the end of 1990 there were 17 national parks covering 1,230,500ha or 3.80% of the country's surface area; 911 nature reserves covering 143,400ha (0.44%), 70 landscape protected areas covering 432,300ha (1.33%), 280 nature monuments covering 100ha, and 68 other reserves (andre omradefredninger) covering 9,500ha (0.03%). The total area of Norway protected under the Nature Conservation Act amounted to 1.79% in 1979, 3.12% in 1984 (CoE, 1984) and 5.6% by the end of 1990. Public recreation areas now cover 43,200ha, including a stretch of islands and peninsulas along the southern coast known as the Archipelago Park (Directorate for Nature Management, in litt., 1991).

The Spitzbergen conference held in 1914 in Oslo discussed nature conservation in Svalbard and a proposal was formulated to establish a large conservation area in North Spitzbergen. In the 1960s the Norwegian Polar Research Institute reactivated the interest and in 1966 a first "study of present problems related to conservation and wildlife management in Svalbard" was completed. In 1967 an inter-ministerial task force was organised to propose practical conservation measures. In 1968, a draft plan for national parks and nature reserves was prepared (Norderhaug, 1987). In 1973, three national parks, two nature reserves and fifteen bird reserves were established (Ministry of Environment, 1981). Support for nature conservation issues in Svalbard also came from the interpretation of Article 3 and Article 8 of the Svalbard Treaty of 1920 (commercial and economic activities) in relation to Article 2 (nature conservation in Svalbard).

The Ministry of Environment is considering designating additional landscape protected areas as buffer zones around national parks. The Norwegian Society for the Conservation of Nature disagrees with the Ministry on several issues. It believes that national parks should not be restricted to state-owned land (as proposed in the 1964 plan); that there should be no recreation facilities located within national parks as this leads to the alteration of their wild character; it considers that there should be no human interference with these natural ecosystems and hence that hunting, grazing and forestry activities should be prohibited (Poore and Gryn-Ambroes, 1980). The report presented to parliament in 1981, and later adopted by parliament as the National Conservation Policy Plan, suggested the need for a new national park policy resulting in the Ministry of Environment asking the National Council to organise a study on the future of national parks. This is due to include a critical review of existing parks in relation to the biogeographic zoning and a review of areas where new national parks could be located. The most serious shortcomings have been identified as the coastal areas, in general, and the lowland regions of southern Norway.

Protective measures in accordance with the Nature Conservation Act have resulted in county conservation plans being produced by each of the new county environmental protection departments. These plans have tended to concentrate on certain types of areas, for example, wetlands, deciduous forests, mires, seabird colonies. Plans are based on comprehensive surveys and each plan is thoroughlyreviewed by all involved parties. Comments are sent to the Ministry of Environment, with the government deciding whether areas should be protected. Similar plans are to be prepared for Quaternary geological phenomena, rare minerals, fossil sites, bird cliffs, lakes and marsh reserves. It is expected that 100-150 new nature reserves will be established annually. Landscape areas of historical and cultural values are also to be protected through regional planning systems. The Ministry of Environment is coordinating with the relevant Norwegian Research Council to launch research to further develop guidelines for the long-term management of protected areas (Ministry of Environment, 1982a, 1982b). The establishment of nature monuments is of low priority in the Ministry, due to the disproportionate amount of work required to protect small areas.

Threats to protected areas and other important natural ecosystems come from numerous sources. The deciduous forests which dominated much of the southern lowlands since the last glaciation have largely been removed by man and replaced by cultivated land and grassland. There has also been a great loss of wetlands due to drainage. From 1966-1976, an average of 100 sq. km was removed every year. In 1976 a total of 4,000 sq. km of bog areas was reclaimed, representing 20% of the total area of bogs in the country. In recent years an average of 70-75 sq. km has been drained annually and subsequently used for cultivation or forestry. The threat to ecosystems, which, perhaps more than any other, has brought conservation issues to the attention of the widest range of the population, has been the development of Norway's water resources for hydro-electric schemes. The building of dams and the loss of river and waterfalls into tunnels threatened almost every large river and watershed in the country: some protected areas have been designated to prevent this, while other protected areas are themselves threatened by hydro-electric schemes (Carp, 1980; Duffey, 1982). A number of watercourses have been fully or partially protected, not by written statute, but under ordinary plenary decisions of parliament, which, although not legally binding, act as an instruction to the administration to dismiss any application for a development license. Acid deposition, notably from acid rain, is also a major problem. A recent survey showed that only 49.7% of the forest is completely free from the damage caused by acid rain. Minor or moderate damage includes 46.3%, whilst 4% is seriously damaged (Anon., 1989).

In Svalbard the natural environment is particularly prone to disturbance due to its typical high arctic features: pollutants and waste are slow to break down, tracks and scars in the land surface may remain unchanged for decades, and such damage may be increased by subsequent freeze-thaw activity. The major economic activity is coal mining, practised in various sites by Norwegian or Soviet companies. Recreation and scientific expeditions have been increasing in numbers in recent years. These generally tend to visit protected areas and pose a threat for the reason outlined (Grimmett and Jones, 1989). Oil exploration too is a potential threat. In 1973 a total of 1,259 oil claims was issued in Spitbergen, of which 668 were located in areas of high conservation value (Norderhaug, 1987).

Addresses

Nature Conservation Division (Head of Division), Ministry of Environment (Miljoverndepartementet), Myntgaten, PO Box 8013, 0030 OSLO (Tel: 2 349090/419010; FAX: 2 349560; Tlx: 21480 env n)

Department of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture, Postboks 8007, 0510 OSLO

Directorate for Nature Management (Director), Tungasletta 2, N-7004 TRONDHEIM (Tel: 7 580500; FAX: 7 915433)

Norger Naturvernforbund (Norwegian Society for the Conservation of Nature) Postboks, Hammersborg, OSLO 1

References

Anon. (1986). Copy from a Norwegian report to ECE on strategy for environmental protection.

Anon. (1989). Norway: condition of the forest. Council of Europe. Naturopa Newsletter 4: 3

Backer, I.L. (1991). Nature Conservation in Norway. Nature Conservation in Austria, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Czechoslaovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. European Parliament, Directorate General for Research, Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection Series, 17. Pp. 30-38.

CoE (1984). European Nature Conservation. Twenty years of activities. European Committee for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Council of Europe, Environment and Natural Resources Division, Strasbourg.

Duffey, E. (1982). National Parks and Resources of Western Europe. Macdonald and Company, London.

Koester, V. (1980). Nordic Countries' Legislation on the Environment with Special Emphasis on Conservation. A Survey. IUCN Environmental Policy and Law Paper No. 14. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.

Ministry of Environment (1981). Environmental Regulations for Svalbard. Ministry of Environment Document T-516, Oslo. 52 pp.

Ministry of Environment (1982a). Nature Conservation in Norway, Development of a national conservation policy plan. Ministry of Environment Document T-525, Oslo. 20 pp.

Ministry of Environment (1982b). Environmental Approaches in Norway. Ministry of Environment Document T-529, Oslo. 12 pp.

Ministry of Environment (1983). Norway's Ministry of Environment. Ministry of Environment Brochure, Oslo.

Ministry of Environment (1985). The Nature Conservation Act. Ministry of Environment Document T-558, Oslo. 13 pp.

Ministry of Environment (1989). Report to the Storting No. 46 (1988-89), Environment and Development, programme for Norway's follow-up of the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development. Ministry of Environment, Oslo. 74 pp.

Ministry of the Environment (1990). Environmental Impact Assessment in Norway. Ministry of Environment Document T-750E, Oslo. 8 pp.

Norderhaug, M. (1985). National parks and protected areas in Norway, with particularreference to the Arctic. Presented at the Arctic Heritage Symposium Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies, Banff, Canada, 24-28 August.

Nordic Council of Ministers (1978). The Nordic Environmental Protection Convention, with a Commentary. Nordic Council of Ministers, Stockholm. 14 pp.

Nordic Council of Ministers (1983). Programme for Nordic Cooperation in Environmental Protection for 1983 to 1987. Nordic Council of Ministers, Stockholm. 37 pp.

Paxton, J. (1990). The Statesman's Yearbook, 1990-1991. 127th Edition. The MacMillan Press Ltd, London and Basingstoke, UK. Pp. 949-964.

Poore, D. and Gryn-Ambroes, P. (1980). Nature Conservation in Northern and Western Europe. UNEP/IUCN/WWF. Pp. 280-290.

Waycott, A. (1983). National Parks of Western Europe. Inklon Publications, Southampton.

ANNEX

Definitions of protected area designations, as legislated,

together with authorities responsible for their administration

Title: Nature Conservation Act

Date: 19 June 1970 (Act No. 63), last amended 14 June 1985 (Act No. 77)

Brief description: A wide-ranging act covering the protection of landscape and natural environment, flora and fauna, protected areas and also compensation measures

Administrative authority: Department of Nature Conservation and Open Air Recreation, Ministry of Environment

Designations:

Nasjonal park (National park) The first national parks were established under general regulations set out in a Royal Decree (October 1967), which defined them as areas of national value with no or little known human disturbance, in state ownership reserved to "preserve large unspoiled or essentially unspoiled or singular or beautiful tracks". All national parks must be based on large tract of state-owned land but neighbouring privately-owned lands "of the same kind" may be included in a national park. It is suggested that the integrity of national parks has never been infringed. Because access is difficult there is at present no over use. No zonation system has been developed inside national parks or nature reserves, but parks may be closed to public access (seasonally or permanently). No buffer-zones exist around national parks but some areas parks are adjoined by landscape protected areas or state forests.

Specific regulations are drawn up for each national park and are signed by the Head of State. These vary from site to site but have the following common elements: domestic animal husbandry and grazing is forbidden as is the presence of domestic animals and pets (reindeer herding in some areas is permitted). Forestry is prohibited. Areas are open to the public, although parts may be closed from time to time, and access is by foot only; no payment or permits are required; no tourism development is allowed nor organised visits; sport fishing is restricted to special permit; hunting of certain species is allowed under permit, as is firewood and berry collection. All commercial and industrial activities are excluded.

Landskapvernomrade (Landscape protected area) State or private lands reserved to preserve unique or beautiful natural or cultural lands, similar to national parks except that traditional farming, grazing and restricted forestry activities are allowed under control. No activities are permitted which might substantially change the nature and character of the landscape. Further regulations concerning specific sites are drawn up and signed by the Head of State. Typically, regulations for different sites contain the following common elements: construction of buildings, roads and overhead lines, felling of large areas of trees, the clearance of land for agriculture, drainage, dumping, removal of earth and soil, use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides and the release of sewage are prohibited. The changing of forest types for silvicultural purposes is not permitted. Motorised traffic, including low-flying aircraft, is restricted. Administrative authorities may give permission for minor exceptions to these rules, for example for the extension and repair of houses used by reindeer herders on the construction of footpaths or new pistes may be permitted. Management authorities are specified in the site regulations.

They may, in some cases, act as buffer zones close to reserves or national parks.

Naturreservat (Nature reserve) State or private areas "which have unspoilt or virtually unspoilt nature or constitute special types of nature and which have special importance for science or education or which stand out by virtue of their unusual character". No human interference is allowed (with a few exceptions). Creation is based on regional conservation plans, worked out for the most important types of ecosystems or categories of objects: sites may be declared because of their mires, wetlands, deciduous forests, seabird sites or Quaternary geology. The planning is mirrored in the number of reserves established in each category. Such regional planning does not ensure representativeness at the national level. In approximately one third of reserves, public access may be restricted.

Naturminner (Nature monument) "Geological, botanical and zoological features of scientific or historic interest or which are unusual", together with "areas around the feature". Areas may also be protected which are "of specialimportance as the resort of a number of (protected animal) species". Specific measures concerning the implementation of the protection measures may be drawn up.

Sources: Anon., 1986; Ministry of Environment, 1985; Poore and Gryn-Ambroes, 1980

Title: Provisions for south Spitsbergen National Park, Forlandet National Park, North-west Spitsbergen National Park, North-east Svalbard Nature Reserve, South-east Svalbard Nature Reserve and 15 bird sanctuaries along the west coast of Spitsbergen

Date: 1 June and 11 October 1973

Brief description: Provides descriptions of the boundaries of these sites, details of the regulations covering these different sites, and the authorities involved in their administration

Administrative authority: Ministry of Environment

Designations:

Bird sanctuary Established on Svalbard pursuant to Part 4 of the Svalbard Act of 17 July 1925 (No. 11) of Article 2 of the Treaty concerning Spitsbergen of 9 February 1920, by Royal Decrees 1 June and 11 October 1973.

Regulations prohibit technical interference, construction, mining, oil drilling, quarrying and other activities which interfere with the terrain or disturb the natural environment. The seabed is protected from catching or gathering activities by divers or by the use of bottom trawl or scraper. The dumping of waste is prohibited. All mammals and birds are protected, no new species may be introduced, plants and fossils may not be removed. All traffic, including offshore traffic and aircraft landing is prohibited from 15 May to 15 August. The Government may in consultation with the Ministry grant dispensations.

Source: Ministry of Environment, 1981

Title: Establishment of two plant protected reserves in Svalbard

Date: 26 February 1932

Brief description: Gives regulations and provides detailed descriptions of the boundaries of the two sites

Administrative authority: Ministry of Environment

Designations:

Plant protected reserve All vegetation is protected against collection and destruction.

Regulations shall not prevent the carrying out of mining and other pursuits, but the destruction of plants should, in that case be avoided as far as possible without any particular difficulty or expense. If such destruction is going to be caused by the work the proper State Department should be notified in advance.

Source: Ministry of Environment, 1981

IUCN (1992). Protected Areas of the World: A review of national systems. Volume 1: Indomalaya, Oceania, Australia and Antarctic. Prepared by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. xx+352pp.

IUCN (1992). Protected Areas of the World: A review of national systems. Volume 2: Palaearctic. Prepared by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. xxviii+556pp.

IUCN (1992). Protected Areas of the World: A review of national systems. Volume 3: Afrotropical. Prepared by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. xxii+360pp.

IUCN (1992). Protected Areas of the World: A review of national systems. Volume 4: Nearctic and Neotropical. Prepared by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. xxiv+460pp.