Impacts of increased tourism on polar environment – case studies from Svalbard and Iceland

The increasing number of visitors in polar regions and demand for outdoor extreme activities create a pressure on local fragile ecosystems. Two examples of mechanical disturbances of the glacier forefields are presented in this study to demonstrate the impacts of different frequencies of visits on the local environment. Foxfonna study site experience only minor disturbances in comparison with the Langjökull study site on Iceland. This is due to the number of tourists visiting the two localities and also the means of transportation used for reaching the ice caps. It is likely that with still ongoing increase of number of tourists coming to these localities, the anthropogenic pressure will continue to grow. The combination of human pressure and ongoing climate change can have irreversible effects on sensitive local environment especially in places easily accessible for tourists.