IUCN MANAGEMENT CATEGORY II (National Park)

IX (Biosphere Reserve)

BIOGEOGRAPHICAL PROVINCE 1.17.09 (Arctic desert and icecap)

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION Part of north and north-east Greenland including the terrestrial ice between Petermann Glacier in the north-west and Kong Oscars Fjord and Rypefjord in the south-east and the adjacent sea. 71`00'-83`00'N, 11`39'-63`00'W

DATE AND HISTORY OF ESTABLISHMENT Established on 22 May 1974 under the provisions of the Conservation Act for Greenland Part IV No. 266, and Executive Order on the National Park in Northern and Eastern Greenland, dated 25 June 1976 and ratified 12 November 1980 in the Landstingslov on Nature Conservation in Greenland. Extended by 27,200,000ha in 1988. Approved in January 1977 as an international biosphere reserve under the Unesco man and the Biosphere Programme and includes two Ramsar sites designated in 1988.

AREA 97,200,000ha

LAND TENURE Greenland and Home Rule Authorities' Department of Environment and Nature.

ALTITUDE Sea-level to 3,000m on the ice cap.

PHYSICAL FEATURES Features vary from desert-like plains and gentle slopes to mountain ranges. The mountains consist of late pre-Cambrian to lower Palaeozoic rocks which were faulted during the Mesozoic period. In the north, pre-Cambrian rocks are only exposed south of Victoria Fjord, most being covered by younger deposits from the Carboniferous to Tertiary periods. The east includes the western part of the Caledonian Fold Belt, forming a folded mountain chain in the Ordovician/Devonian period. The beginning of the Tertiary period saw volcanic activity in both the north and east forming granite rocks at Mestersvig. The coasts are characterised by islands, peninsulas and deep fjords blocked by Polar pack ice for most of the year. At 80`N Peary Land is the most northern ice-free land mass (Ghisler, n.d.).

CLIMATE Subject to a high Arctic continental climate, with severe winters with snow cover for eight months and large icebergs immobilized by the frozen sea. Mean summer temperature is about 6`C in the south and 2.8`C in the north due to large masses of pack ice drifting from the Polar basin. The mean annual temperature lies in the range -9.8`C to -16.7`C (De Bonneval, 1976). Winter temperatures may drop to between -30` and -50`C. Mean annual precipitation which decreases to the north is between 100mm to 430mm. For example, Peary Land in the north has 200mm annual precipitation, while to the south it increases to 430mm. The whole area experiences polar night and mid-night sun, ranging from 2.5 months in the south to 5 months in Peary Land (Silis, 1989).

VEGETATION The growing season is short and most of the park is ice-covered or barrenbut there are large areas with various high-arctic plant communities which include white Arctic bell-heather, Wulff's braya and high-arctic spider plant; shore and marsh vegetation; fell-field; grassland; heathland; moving soils vegetation; and freshwater vegetation which includes willow Salix arctica, dwarf birch Betula nana, crowberry Empetrum sp., bilberry Vaccinium sp., Cassiope sp., mountain avens Dryas sp. and grasses and sedges. The flora contains 200-300 species including some endemic species such as Saxifraga nathorstii (Fredskild, n.d.).

FAUNA The park is a major breeding area for polar bear Ursus maritimus (V) and musk ox Ovibos moschatus. Other terrestrial mammals include arctic fox Alopex lagopus, grey wolf Canis lupus (V), migrating from Ellesmere Island, stoat Mustela erminea, collared lemming Dicrostonyx torquatus groenlandicus and Canadian arctic hare Lepus arcticus. Marine mammals include Atlantic walrus Odobenus rosmarus, and ringed seal Phoca hispida along all the coasts, bearded seal Erignathus barbatu, harp seal Pagophilus groenlandicus and hooded seal Cystophora cristata in the southern fjords. Narwhal Monodon monoceros (K) and white whale Delphinapterus leucas (K) occur.

There are many species of birds breeding in the summer including great northern diver Gavia immer, barnacle goose Branta leucopsis, pink-footed goose Anser brachyrhynchus, common eider Somateria mollissima, king eider S. spectabilis, gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus, snowy owl Nyctea scandiaca, sanderling Calidris alba, knot C. canutus, ptarmigan Lagopus mutus and raven Corvus corax (de Bonneval, 1976).

CULTURAL HERITAGE Archaeological evidence shows that settlement occurred from about 3000 B.C. in at least four migrations by Inuit, or Eskimo people. Climatic change led to specialized Stone Age cultures displacing them, which in turn were succeeded by trappers from Denmark and Norway (Silis, 1989).

LOCAL HUMAN POPULATION Forty people inhabit the permanent stations and airport at Mesters Vig (Fredskild, 1986). Some 200 settlements used during the summer are located in Peary Land and a similar number between Nordostrundingen to Scoresbysund (Anderson, n.d.).

VISITORS AND VISITOR FACILITIES Access is difficult and there is a lack of facilities (de Bonneval, 1976).

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND FACILITIES Since the nineteenth century there have been numerous expeditions through North-east Greenland studying geology, climatology, glaciology, flora, fauna and archaeology. Since World War II important geological investigations have been carried out by the Greenland Geological Survey. The whole area has been mapped by the Copenhagen Map and Land Registry Office (formerly the Geodetic Institute). There is an earthquake monitoring station at Danmarkshavn and research on the polar bear population is sponsored by the Danish government, Danish Research Council and WWF (Silis, 1989).

Weather stations are situated at Danmarkshavn and Station Nord. A number of huts exist, built by expeditions and trappers, in most parts of the park, with an airfield at Mesters Vig and airstrips at Station Nord, Daneborg and Danmarkshavn (Brondsted, n.d.).

Zackenberg Station opened in 1997. It is located 25 km northwest of the military outpost Daneborg. The station is owned by Danish Polar Center and operated in cooperation with Greenland and Danish institutions. Inaddition to research projects a comprehensive environmental monitoring programme is operating at Zackenberg. The station is available for use year round, but currently it is staffed only for a 100 day period from late May to early September ( further information www.zackenberg.dk or Station Manager Dr. Morten Rasch, Danish Polar Center, Strandgade 100H, DK 1350 Copenhagen K, or e-mail: mr@dpc.dk)

CONSERVATION VALUE There is a need to preserve a pristine environment and provide protection for renewable resources, scenery, geology, wildlife and archeological sites (Silis, 1989).

CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT Access to the park is strictly controlled by permit. In the National Park Executive Order (Anon, 1984), management objectives for the park are to conserve the natural state, encourage research and provide access for the public. Regulations include the total protection of fauna and flora but the Thule and Scoresbysund districts have been permitted access to hunt and fish using traditional methods. The removal of archeological remains, interference with flowing water, the erection of buildings and the dumping of rubbish is prohibited (Vibe, n.d.).

MANAGEMENT CONSTRAINTS The natural ecosystems remain largely undisturbed. There is sufficient surveillance staff for such a large area. The reindeer disappeared due to migration in 1900 to West Greenland in the search for an adequate food supply, this caused the wolf to disappear in 1934 as the reindeer is its main source of food (Vibe, n.d.).

STAFF No personnel are permanently assigned to protection, maintenance or research. The military sledge patrol, 'Sirius', operates as rangers and the police in the area for the Danish government.

BUDGET No information

LOCAL ADDRESSES Department of Environment and Nature, The Greenland Home Rule Authories, P.O. Box 1614, DK-3900 Nuuk, Greenland, tel: 299-345000, fax 299-325286

REFERENCES Anderson, G.E. (n.d.) The National Park in North-east Greenland. Greenland Newsletter. 31 pp.

Andreasen, C. (n.d.). Historical artifacts in the National Park. Greenland Newsletter. Pp. 14-16.

Anon (1984). Guidelines on Greenland Expeditions. Ministry for Greenland and Secretariat of the Commission for Scientific Research in Greenland. Second edition. 16 pp.

Brondstend, H. (n.d.). Administration of the National Park and access to it. Greenland Newsletter. Pp. 6-9.

De Bonneval, L. (1976). North East Greenland National Park. Parks 1 (1): 9-11.

Fredskild, B. (1986). The National Park in north and east Greenland. Greenland Botanical Survey. Unpublished. 1 pp.

Ghisler, M. (n.d.). Geology and Mineral Deposits in the National Park. Greenland newsletter. Pp. 26-31.

Silis, I. (1989). The World's Greatest National Park - North and East Greenland. GreenlandHome Rule Authorities. Department of Environment and Wildlife. 21 pp.

Vibe, C. (n.d.). History and Creation of the National Park. Greenland Newsletter. Pp. 4-5.

Vibe, C. (n.d.). The Animals of the National Park. Greenland Newsletter. Pp. 22-25.

DATE 1977, revised August 1986, reviewed December 1990.

DOCUMENT