Abstract in English
Seabed mining on the Norwegian continental shelf: Possible consequences in light of the Svalbard Treaty and Norwegian management of the maritime areas around Svalbard. 

In 2020, the Solberg government initiated a process for allowing mining operations on the Norwegian continental shelf. About a third of the area in question in 2024 overlaps with the continental shelf and the Fisheries Protection Zone around Svalbard. While there is broad agreement that Norway has sovereignty over Svalbard and thus can decide whether to permit commercial mining activities on the seabed in this area, there is a dispute as to whether the Svalbard Treaty’s provisions apply for Norwegian exercise of authority.

This article discusses the consequences allowing seabed mining in this area may have, both for questions concerning the interpretation of the geographical scope of the Svalbard Treaty and the potential for conflict between Norway, other states and actors.Three possible outcomes are discussed: (1) that Norwegian interpretation of the Svalbard Treaty and rights to the resources on the continental shelf around Svalbard are further challenged; (2) that Russian fisheries in the Fisheries Protection Zone resist for fear of negative environmental impact from the mineral industry; and (3) that Norway faces pressure and criticism from other states, and especially from the EU, because seabed mining is believed to have major, yet unknown, environmental consequences.