Caution

There must be no traffic in Svalbard that harms, degrades, or any way mars (for instance, with leftover rubbish) the natural environment or human artefacts, or that needlessly disturbs humans or animals.

• Basically, all animals and birds are protected and shall not be disturbed.
• All flowers and plants are protected and shall not be picked.
• All traces of human activity older than from 1945 or earlier are protected. Human graves (or remains of them), human skeletal remains, crosses and inscriptions are all protected regardless of their age. The same applies to bones and hunting gear on slaughtering sites for walrus and beluga, and spring gun installations used for polar bears. Protective monuments are surrounded by a 100 metre wide security zone, within which it is prohibited to pitch tents, light fires or in any way mar human artefacts.
• Throwing away rubbish in the wilds is prohibited.
• It is prohibited to burn anything but clean paper and wood.

Traffic restrictions

Some areas are subject to date-dependent restrictions. This applies to:

• 15 bird reserves

where there should be no traffic during the nesting period, 15 May to 15 August. The traffic ban also applies within a 300 metre zone surrounding islands (see map).

• The island Moffen to the north of Spitzbergen

which represents an important resting ground for walrus and a nesting place for birds. It is prohibited to land on the island between 15 May and 15 September. The traffic ban also applies within a 300 metre zone surrounding the island (see map).

• Kong Karl's Land

which is an important breeding ground for polar bears and is closed to traffic all year-round. Here, the traffic prohibition also applies within a 500 metre zone surrounding islands.

• The southern part of Bjørnøya

which harbours important nesting grounds for seabirds, and were all traffic is prohibited from 1 April to 31 August. For boats larger than 40 feet, the prohibition also applies within a zone of 1 nautical mile from land (see map).

• An area on the north-eastern part of Bjørnøya

where all traffic is banned from 15 June to 31 August out of consideration for nesting birds (see map).

• Virgohamn

where there are important human artefacts and where all traffic is prohibited. The Governor may permit visits to Virgohamn on certain conditions. Please contact the Governor for further information (see map).

• Gravneset i Magdalenefjord

Where a fenced-in area surrounding a burial ground is off bounds.

You can find maps of the different areas under " Maps and Forms" in the main menu to the left.

For restrictions limiting the use of snow scooters, please refer to the headings " Use of Snow Scooters".