Section for Polar Affairs and the High North

The section is responsible for national policy development and international work related to the environment in the Polar regions and the High North. It has special responsibility for the management of the natural environment on Svalbard, and managing the Norwegian Polar Institute, Svalbard Environmental Protection Fund and the environmental protection work of the Governor of Svalbard. The section manages the state’s ownership of Kings Bay AS and Bjørnøen AS. Developing research-based knowledge about the environment in the Polar regions is an important instrument in this work.