Contested wilderness: The importance of narratives in shaping environmental and tourism governance under a changing climate in Svalbard, Norway

• Norway’s ambition is that Svalbard should be one of the world’s best-managed wilderness areas. • The notion of wilderness in Svalbard is contested by different stakeholder groups. • Stricter environmental regulations in Svalbard affect the scope of tourism activities. • A narrative approach helps to unfold different perspectives on wilderness and its management. • Robust tourism and environmental governance should integrate local expert knowledge. Narratives play an important role in shaping conflicts over land use and resource management , as different perceptions of particular places and their desired development are often at the heart of such conflicts. In this study, we examine how a conflict over proposed amendments to regulations on Svalbard can be understood through narratives. Our case study is Longyearbyen, which has recently transitioned from an economy based on coal mining to a more diversified economy, with tourism, research, and higher education as key contributing factors. These changes are driven by the Norwegian national Svalbard policy, with environmental protection and a stable Norwegian population in Longyearbyen as overall goals. Locally, the changes are communicated and adopted as strategies for becoming a sustainable tourist destination and a low carbon community. Narratives of Svalbard’s future range from playground to wilderness, from sustainable tourism to policy ambitions for strict nature conservation of the Arctic wilderness. Precisely what Svalbard’s wilderness is, and how to best maintain and protect it, remains a contested issue that is tightly connected to the narratives different actors hold of the Archipelago’s past, present, and future. Based on interviews with local tourism actors and authorities, workshops, and analysis of key policy documents, this paper investigates how diverging narratives of Svalbard and its desired future shapes responses to the regulatory process. A narrative approach allows for identifying where differences in value occur, which is key to securing legitimacy in environmental governance under changing climatic, political, and economic conditions, both in Svalbard and elsewhere.