Managing visitor sites in Svalbard: from a precautionary approach towards knowledge-based management

Hagen, Dagmar; Vistad, Odd Inge; Eide, Nina E.; Flyen, Anne-Cathrine; Fangel, Kirstin

doi:10.3402/polar.v31i0.18432

Cited by 50 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…It is rather strikingly that no aliens were observed at tourist landing sites presently, as sites with rather low human activity in the Antarctic harbour aliens (Chown et al 2012). The explanations may be that the numbers of visitors to most tourist landing sites have been low until recently (Hagen et al 2012b) and that most visited sites are in climatically less favourable regions. It is likely, therefore, as tourism expands and climate warms, more aliens will establish in the future at landing sites around Svalbard.…”

Section: Implications For Managementmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Past Arctic aliens have passed away, current ones may stay

Alsos¹,

Ware

Elven

2015

Biol Invasions

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Increased human activity and climate change are expected to increase the numbers and impact of alien species in the Arctic, but knowledge of alien species is poor in most Arctic regions. Through field investigations over the last 10 years, and review of alien vascular plant records for the high Arctic Archipelago Svalbard over the past 130 years, we explored long term trends in persistence and phenology. In total, 448 observations of 105 taxa have been recorded from 28 sites. Recent surveys at 18 of these sites revealed that alien species had disappeared at half of them. Investigations at a further 49 sites characterised by former human activity and/or current tourist landing sites did not reveal any alien species. Patterns of alien species distribution suggest that greater alien species richness is more likely to be aligned with ongoing human inhabitation than sites of transient use. The probability of an alien species being in a more advanced phenological stage increased with higher mean July temperatures. As higher mean July temperatures are positively correlated with more recent year, the latter finding suggests a clear warming effect on the increased reproductive potential of alien plants, and thus an increased potential for spread in Svalbard. Given that both human activity and temperatures are expected to increase in the future, there is need to respond in policy and action to reduce the potential for further alien species introduction and spread in the Arctic.

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Section: Implications For Managementmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Nevertheless, there is to our knowledge no compulsory biosecurity control measures in any Arctic region. While there is some indication that these are needed to minimize introduction and spread of aliens (Ware et al 2012;Wasowicz et al 2013), more knowledge is needed to design efficient measures (Hagen et al 2012b). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Past Arctic aliens have passed away, current ones may stay

Alsos¹,

Ware

Elven

2015

Biol Invasions

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“…Research is by nature based on past or present observations, whereas decisions give direction for a future in which the circumstances always are more or less unknown. Besides, in environmental issues, the scientific knowledge of an area tends to be scattered, or anecdotal (Hagen et al 2012), and can never cover all aspects of nature.…”

Section: Scientific and Monitoring Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to Hagen et al (2012), there is a conflict potential among stakeholders if the precautionary principle is seen as a substitute for using existing knowledge. It can be argued that the precautionary principle is based on the shortcomings of science and research (Resnik 2003).…”

Section: The Precautionary Principlementioning

confidence: 99%

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Communities of practice in the management of an Arctic environment: monitoring knowledge as complementary to scientific knowledge and the precautionary principle?

Nyseth

Viken

2015

Polar Record

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This article engages with knowledge management in governing vulnerable polar areas and tourism. Since the 1870's Svalbard has been a cruise tourism destination. Due to less ice during the summer period, the number of tourists visiting the remote northeast corner of the archipelago has increased significantly and the potential negative impact on this vulnerable natural environment has become an issue. The standard modes of managing these areas have either been to apply the precautionary principle or measures based on scientific evidence. As management models, both principles are however, for a number of reasons contested. This paper argues for a third model, partly practiced based on a form of monitoring knowledge circulating in 'communities of practice' developed over time. This form of knowledge constitute viable expertise for governing and management of the environment-tourism nexus in the areas but needs to be acknowledged as a complementary management platform. The article demonstrates how such monitoring can be done, and suggests some principles for developing monitoring knowledge for administrative and management puposes.2

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Arctic Mackenzie Delta channel planform evolution during 1983–2013 utilising Landsat data and hydrological time series

Vesakoski

Nylén

Arheimer

et al. 2017

Hydrological Processes

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Arctic deltas, such as the Mackenzie Delta, are expected to face major climate change and increased human influence in the near future. Deltas are characterised by highly dynamic fluvial processes, and changing climate will cause considerable evolution of the riverine environment.The changes are difficult to predict with existing knowledge and data. This study quantified channel planform change of the Mackenzie Delta , analysing its temporal and spatial patterns. We addressed the main obstacle of research on large remote areas, the lack of data, by developing a unique work flow that utilised Landsat satellite imagery, hydrological time series, remote sensing-based change analysis, and automatic vectorisation of channels. Our results indicate that the Mackenzie Delta experienced constant evolution but at a highly varying rate over the 30 years. The study demonstrates that the magnitude and duration of flood peaks and the presence of spring ice breakup floods determine the rate of Arctic delta planform change.Changing winter conditions and spring flood magnitudes may therefore affect the stability of Arctic deltas. However, no clear trends towards decreased recurrence or magnitude of spring floods or increased instability of the delta plain have yet been observed in the Mackenzie Delta.The delta plain was most dynamic at the beginning and at the end of the examined period, corresponding to intense flooding, whereas the rates of change were subtle during the low-flood period 1994-2007. The largest changes have occurred along the wide Middle Channel and in the outermost delta. Relative to their size, however, smaller meandering channels have been highly dynamic. Hotspots of change in the delta plain are located in anastomosing and braiding channel segments and, at the local scale, in point bars and cut-banks along meandering channels. Our study describes how Landsat satellite data can be utilised for advancing fluvial geomorphological research in remote areas. However, cloudiness in the delta restricts production of dense time series with simultaneous coverage of the whole area and requires manual preprocessing.

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Managing visitor sites in Svalbard: from a precautionary approach towards knowledge-based management

Cited by 50 publications

References 7 publications

Past Arctic aliens have passed away, current ones may stay

Past Arctic aliens have passed away, current ones may stay

Communities of practice in the management of an Arctic environment: monitoring knowledge as complementary to scientific knowledge and the precautionary principle?

Arctic Mackenzie Delta channel planform evolution during 1983–2013 utilising Landsat data and hydrological time series

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