Nordenskiöldkysten

The bird cliff at Vårsolbukta
Vårsolbukta
Gravsjøen
Kapp Martin
Nordenskioldkysten in February
Grønsteinodden at Nordenskioldkysten
Migrating Northern fulmars at Revleodden in February
Kapp Bjørset in February
Marvågen with Protektorfjellet in the background

Nordenskiöldkysten

  • Country: 
    Norway
  • Site number: 
    1968
  • Area: 
    42,992 ha
  • Designation date: 
    12-11-2010
  • Coordinates: 
    77°50'N 13°56'E
Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Overview

The Site consists of a coastal plain with many freshwater pools and, in its south-eastern part, Ingeborgfjellet, a mountain with steep cliffs harbouring breeding seabird colonies. During the breeding season little auk (Alle alle), thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) and black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) breed there. Large parts of the area are important year-round territory for the Svalbard reindeer. Foraging geese are mainly found in the moss meadows encircling the lakes scattered along the entire coastline. Most of these lakes are fringed by vegetation composed of mosses, grasses and sedges. The Site supports several rare species, such as the red knot (Calidris canutus) and the sanderling (Calidris alba). It also supports more than 10% of the Svalbard population of the barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis). The Site is also important for mammals such as the walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) and is visited by polar bears (Ursus maritimus). It plays an important role in carbon and methane storage due to its permafrost, which is between ten and 40 metres deep. There is traditional trapping activity in the area, and a trapping station is situated on Akseløya, south-east of the Site. Climate changes, increasing tourism, oil spill from ships and oil and gas development projects in this part of the Arctic are possible threats.

Administrative region: 
Svalbard

  • National legal designation: 
    • National Park - Nordenskiöld
  • Last publication date: 
    23-06-2023

Downloads

Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS)

Additional reports and documents