Jan Mayen island (3199)
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (to Norway), Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: D1a
Year of last assessment: 2014
National site name: Jan Mayen
Central coordinates: Latitude: 70.9898, Longitude: -8.4377
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 2277
Area of KBA (km2): 6418.76834
Protected area coverage (%): 73.09
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: A mountain island, situated about 1,000 km west of Bodø on the Norwegian mainland and 450 km east of Greenland. Volcanic ash covers large parts of the island, and Beerenberg volcano (2,277 m; inactive and covered with a glacier) dominates the rocky tundra landscape. There is very little vegetation. The island was annexed by Norway in 1921.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.
Additional biodiversity: There are large and highly important breeding colonies of seabirds; other notable species include Rissa tridactyla (4,000-17,500 pairs), Sterna paradisaea (500-1,000 pairs) and Fratercula arctica (1,000-10,000 pairs). A total of 96 species have been recorded on the island, mainly as vagrants.
Delineation rationale: Identical to protected area (Jan Mayen Nature Reserve).
Habitats
Land use: nature conservation and research | not utilised
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 33 | |
| Marine Neritic | 33 | |
| Grassland | 33 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: No threats are known.