Forlandet National Park

Forlandet National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Map showing the location of Forlandet National Park
Location	Prins Karls Forland, Svalbard, Norway
Coordinates
Area	4,647 km2 (616 km2 land, 4,031 km2 sea)
Established	1973
Governing body	Directorate for Nature Management

Forlandet National Park lies on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. The park was created by a royal resolution on June 1, 1973 and covers the entire island of Prins Karls Forland and well as the sea around it. The Norwegian national park has an area of 616 km² and a marine area of 4031 km².

This area is recognized for the world's most northerly range of stone seals and also the world's most northerly population of common guillemot. In the region there are numerous archeological remains from Norwegian and Russian hunters and whalers.

The park has been recognised as a wetland of international importance by designation under the Ramsar Convention. It has also been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports breeding populations of barnacle geese, common eiders and black guillemots.

References

• (Norwegian) Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management on Forlandet National Park

Walrus colony on Prins Karl Forland, photographed in 2003