Background

The Norwegian government has formulated as a goal that Ny-Ålesund is to be developed into a leading international Arctic environmental research and monitoring station.

The Norwegian Ministry of Environment White Paper no. 42 "Norwegian Polar Research", 1992-93, states that:

• A prerequisite for Ny-Ålesund continuing to attract Norwegian as well as foreign scientific activities is that the local human impacts on the environment are kept at a very low level.

• Other activities in the area must adapt to the conditions set by scientific research and monitoring.

The following Mission Statement for Ny-Ålesund was thus adopted by the Ny-Ålesund Science Managers Committee, 24 August 1997:

1. serve as an international station for scientific research and monitoring;

2. encourage international scientific cooperation;

3. give priority to scientific research and monitoring that is dependent on the near pristine environment or unique qualities of the Ny-Ålesund area, in particular research related to long range pollution, climate change and polar ecology;

4. preserve the near pristine environment of the Brøgger Peninsula and the Kongsfjorden area, as well as the cultural heritage of Ny-Ålesund;

5. keep local human environmental impacts at the lowest possible level so as not to jeopardize scientific research and monitoring;

6. give scientific research and monitoring priority over other local human activities, such as tourism and commercial fishing;

7. be a prime example of the sustainable operation and development of a research station in the polar regions.

The success of the station will be judged on its scientific merits and achievements.