Download Islands of Jan Mayen and Bouvet as parts of a serial transnational

Islands of Jan Mayen and Bouvet as parts
of a serial transnational nomination of the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge system
Norvège
Date de soumission : 21/06/2007
Critères: (viii)(ix)(x)
Catégorie : Naturel
Soumis par :
The Directorate for Nature Management The Directorate for Cultural Heritage
État, province ou région :
Norway
Coordonnées Jan Mayen Island N71 W8 30 Bouvet Island S54 25 E3 21
Ref.: 5162
Description
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a submarine mountain chain forming the boundary between the North and South American
Plates and the European and African Plates. The continents are moving away from each other and volcanic activity has
created a submarine ridge stretching from the Norwegian Sea to the southern Atlantic Ocean. In places the ridge rises
above sea level, creating islands and groups of islands belonging to five nations. The Norwegian islands of Jan Mayen
and Bouvet form the northern and southern supramarine extremities of the ridge. The other supramarine points are
islands and cliffs belonging to Brazil, Great Britain, Portugal and Iceland. All of Iceland has been created by this
geological process. The active zone stretches across the whole of Iceland, from southwest to northeast, and is clearly
visible, for example, at Thingvellir (inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2004).
Jan Mayen Island
The island of Jan Mayen is surrounded by the deep Greenland, Iceland and Norwegian Seas. Total area of land is 375
km2. The climate is arctic maritime, with frequent storms and persistent fog in the border zone between the high arctic
and subarctic transitional zones.
The stratovolcano Beerenberg (2.277 m.a.s.l.), is the northernmost active supramarine volcano in the world. Its last
eruption took place in 1985.
The geographic position, its geology below and above sea-level, and its relationship to the geophysical processes of the
atmosphere and the ocean, combines to form a particular set of environmental factors that places Jan Mayen Island in a
unique biogeographical position.
Plant societies that include endemic and rare species are found on the island. A total of 75 species of vascular plants,
180 species of mosses and 150 species of lichens (7 endemic) have been recorded to date.
A total of 98 species of birds have been recorded, 27 of which are reported to have bred here. The total breeding
population of seabirds is estimated to 270.000 pairs. The four most common are Northern Fulmars, Black-legged
Kittiwakes, Brünnich's Guillemots and Little Auks. Jan Mayen Island is regarded as an important "rescue platform" for
migrating birds.
300.000 Greenland Seals (Pagophilus groenlandicus) and 200.000 Hooded Seals (Cystophora cristata) are reported to
breed in the areas north-west of Jan Mayen. If sea-ice conditions are favourable during winter and spring, these sealpopulations also breed in the areas around Jan Mayen. The population of hooded seal is estimated to constitute 25% of
the world population.
Jan Mayen Island's cultural heritage is rich relative to its modest size (373 km², with Beerenberg taking a dominant
place). There are remains of early 17th century Dutch whaling stations and whalers graves, the foundations of one of the
1st International Polar Year (1882-83) Arctic stations, Norwegian hunting and trapping cabins from the early 20 th century,
ruins of the first meteorological stations starting in 1921, Allied and German World War II monuments and sites, and
heritage from the establishment of the current navigation (Loran) activity starting in 1959.
Bouvet Island
Located 2.400 km southwest of Cape of Good Hope, Bouvet Island is considered one of the most isolated islands in the
world. The total area of land is 58,5 km2, and the inactive shield volcano Olavtoppen (789 m.a.s.l.) is the highest point of
the island. 93% of the island is covered with permanent ice. Although volcanic activity has declined, fumaroles are still
abundant.
The climate is maritime antarctic with mean temperature -1,5oC. Fair weather is extremely rare, and with its steep and
almost inaccessible coastline the island is only visited for short periods by transitory research expeditions.
There are no higher plants on the island and the flora consists mainly of lichens and mosses. A lava shelf on the west
coast is an important nesting site for birds. Macaroni Penguins and Chinstrap Penguins are dominant species, but Adele
Penguins have also been recorded to breed. Two species of seals, Antarctic Fur Seals and Southern Elephant Seals, are
breeding on the island.
Bouvet Island's extremely tough climate and natural conditions have destroyed the small huts and flagpole that were the
first known structures to be placed on the island, in 1927 and 1929. There is no designated cultural heritage on the island
today. A container equipped as a research station was placed on the island in 1997.
Déclarations d’authenticité et/ou d’intégrité
The Jan Mayen Act of 1930 makes the basis legislation. The cultural heritage protection regulations are currently being
updated to automatically protect all heritage pre-dating 1946, as well as certain more recent sites. The whole of Jan
Mayen Island and adjacent waters are currently being evaluated for protection by Norwegian law as a unique part of
Norway's natural and cultural heritage. New environmental regulations are scheduled to be adopted in 2008.
Basis legislation: The Bouvet Island, Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land Act 1930. Bouvet Island and adjacent waters
were designated as Nature Reserve in 1971. Special access-regulations regarding the protection of breeding areas for
seals and seabirds were adopted in 2005. Due to its isolated position, Bouvet Island has been less affected by human
activities than most other maritime antarctic and subantarctic islands.
Comparaison avec d’autres biens similaires
As of today it's not considered relevant to nominate the two islands of Jan Mayen and Bouvet separately from the MidAtlantic Ridge. The outstanding universal values are considered to be connected with the Mid-Atlantic Ridge as a world
class geological phenomenon representing the growth of ocean floor and the process of continental drift. In this context
the two islands are considered important elements to fulfil the criteria of integrity in respect of wholeness. No similar
phenomena of this scale exist.
Both islands have potential to add supplementary values to the World Heritage List on topics such as geology,
ecosystems, biological diversity and cultural heritage in the Arctic and Antarctic region.
IUCN has classed Bouvet Island as a maritime antarctic island together with the South Sandwich Islands. The existing
World Heritage sites (Macquarie Island (1997), Heard and MacDonald Islands (1997)) in the Southern Ocean are classed
as subantarctic islands and differ from Bouvet Island by their relatively large number of vascular plant species. The South
Sandwich Islands are a volcanic island arc caused by the subduction of the South American Plate beneath the South
Sandwich Plate and is not considered part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge system.