Between markets and geo-politics: natural resource exploitation on Spitsbergen from 1600 to the present day

Abstract

What are the driving forces behind large scale natural resource exploitation in the polar regions and how should we understand the relations between these forces? New historical-archaeological research performed during the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007–2009 on whaling, hunting and mining in Spitsbergen (1600–present) show both economic and geopolitical factors driving the development of those industries, both the whaling industries in the 17th century and 1900’s, and the mining industry of the early 20th century. However, the relation between these driving forces has differed, both between time periods and between actors. In most cases economic motives provided the main rationale for utilising resources and for government support for resource exploiters, but in some instances governments would support even unprofitable ventures in order to maintain a foothold on Spitsbergen.

Short-term monitoring of Arctic trace metal contamination based on Cetrariella delisei bioindicator in Svalbard

“…2). This observation may be associated with the influence of mining activity in the northwestern part of Wedel Jarlsberg Land [46] before the establishment of the Sør-Spitsbergen National Park. Thus, in this area, the source of trace metals accumulated in lichens seems to be not only the long-distance transport of pollutants with air masses but also the human activities.…”

Tourists and researcher identities: critical considerations of collisions, collaborations and confluences in Svalbard

“…Svalbard has a history of exploration dating back to the 16 th Century (Avango et al, 2011). Up until very recently, human activity and imaginaries of this region have been centred on the extraction and exploitation of natural resources, which also dominated the research agenda here (Roberts & Paglia 2016).…”

Energy development in the Arctic: resource colonialism revisited

“…The real boom started, however, in the 19th century when the Klondike Gold Rush brought prospectors and adventurers from all over the world to Alaska and Yukon. In the Swedish Arctic, open pit iron ore mining began at Kiruna in the 1890s and during the same time, as the international coal prices peaked, the first attempts to mine coal for commercial purposes was made on Svalbard at Bohemanflya in the Isfjorden (Avango et al, 2011;McGhee, 2007). Gold, iron ore and coal were not the only desired resources: in the later 19th century, oil prospectors started their activities in Alaska.…”