Svalbard

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SECTIONS:

Forest Cover | Forest types | Breakdown of forest types | Change in Forest Cover | Primary forest | Forest designation | Disturbances affecting forest land | Protected areas | Biodiversity - Wildlife | Biodiversity - Plants | Value of forests | Production, trade and consumption of forest products | Environment | Land use / Resources | Economy | Population / Demographics | Infrastructure | Health | References | Books

Books

[an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive] Svalbard: Environment Environment - current issues NA Environment - international agreements ice floes often block the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic Svalbard: Land use / Resources Land use (%) arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (no trees, and the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (2001) Natural resources coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, phosphate, wildlife, fish Svalbard: Economy Economy - overview: Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The treaty of 9 February 1920 gives the 41 signatories equal rights to exploit mineral deposits, subject to Norwegian regulation. Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal companies have mined in the past, the only companies still mining are Norwegian and Russian. The settlements on Svalbard are essentially company towns. The Norwegian state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the local infrastructure. There is also some hunting of seal, reindeer, and fox. Economic aid - recipient $8.2 million from Norway (1998) GDP - real growth rate (%) NA% Svalbard: Population / Demographics Population (July 2005) 2,701 Population growth rate (%) (2005) -0.02% Population density (people/sq km) (2005) 0.0 Total fertility rate (children born/woman) NA Ethnic groups (%) Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998) [an error occurred while processing this directive] Svalbard: Infrastructure Telephones - main lines in use NA Telephones - mobile cellular NA Roadways (km) total: NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km Svalbard: Health Life expectancy at birth (years) total population: NA years male: NA years female: NA years Infant mortality rate NA HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate (%) 0% (2001) Svalbard : References & Data Sources  Environment, Land use / Resources, Economy, Population / Demographics, Infrastructure, Health -- CIA World Factbook, 2005  Forest Cover, Forest types, Breakdown of forest types, Change in Forest Cover, Primary forests, Forest designation, Disturbances affecting forest land, Value of forests, Production, trade and consumption of forest products -- The FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS's Global Forest Resources Assessment (2005) and the State of the World�s Forests (2005, 2003, 2001)  Protected Areas, Plant and animal biodiversity -- United Nations Environment Programme - World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). 2004. World Database on Protected Areas.  Biosphere reservers -- United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) - Man and Biosphere Program. 2004. UNESCO - MAB Biosphere Reserves Directory.  RAMSAR sites -- The Bureau of the Convention on Wetlands . 2005. The Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.  World Resources Institute's EarthTrends web site  The 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species  Population Data -- United Nations Population Fund  With additional analysis by Rhett Butler of mongabay.com