Terra Nullius, Svalbard: Cold Shore

"Norway now finds itself in the most serious security situation since 1945."

"[Svalbard has for too long been seen by nations as a place where] everyone who wants to can come up and do almost whatever they want."

"That's not the fact. This is Norwegian sovereign territory. So we're making that a bit clearer."

Eivind Vad Petersson State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway 

The Svalbard Archipelago   Photo: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images

 

Following World War 1, Norway's claim to the Arctic archipelago and its islands was officially recognized. The Svalbard Treaty of 1920 banned the presence of activity linked to the military while granting all other nations choosing to sign on to the agreed-upon treaty access to hunting, fishing, mining and land ownership. Over the years, close to fifty countries added their names to the treaty which allowed them access.

 

Of late, studies of the geology of Svalbard and the ocean floor surrounding it have identified vast amounts of copper, zinc, cobalt, lithium and rare earth elements buried in the ocean floor. These are eagerly-sought-after minerals that power electric car battery technologies and wind turbines. It was  generally taken that the Svalbard Treaty granted signatories rights to its surrounding seas and seabed. Until January 2024 when Norway's governing party announced it would pursue deep-sea mineral exploration in an enormous sweep of its seabed.

 

The remote, frigid island, viewed as hostile to human life on a prolonged basis where minus 34 Celsius temperatures were not unknown, were initially home to Norwegian miners and Russian fur trappers. Longyearbyen, Svalbard's largest town, these days boasts candlelit restaurants, hotels, daily flights to the mainland, and is home to 2,500 people from 50 countries. According to the town's mayor, a surge in investment, official visits and strategic attention has recently focused on Svalbard.

 

 

Recently, the Energy Ministry of Norway publicly declared that Norway's goal in exploiting the natural geology of the area had a defined purpose; the goal of "profitable and sustainable" pursuit of seabed minerals, including the seabed around Svalbard. As Norway moves toward consolidating its sovereign rule over the island, its attitude toward foreigners and civil rights has hardened. Foreigners since 2021 were able to cast a vote in the political arena. 

 

That changed when authorities declared that voting in local elections would be off limits to foreigners living on Svalbard if they had not lived on Norway's mainland for the previous three years. "Should have been done a long time ago", said Mr. Petersson. The Svalbard Treaty guaranteed "equal access, not equal rights", he said, pointing out that in other countries foreigners are not given the right to vote. 

 

Svalbard is located about 800 kilometers from the North Pole, one of the only places on Earth where instant connection is possible with polar-orbiting satellites, leading to uninterrupted, clearer feeds and faster downloading speeds; more advantageous than anywhere else on the planet. In fact SvalSat, the world's largest satellite downloading station is based on Svalbard. 

 

Telecommunications domes of KSAT, Kongsberg Satellite Services, on a mountain near Longyearbyen. Photo: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images 

Fur traders from the Pomor region in northwestern Russia arrived at Svalbard some 300 years ago. The Soviets established several coal mining towns in Svalbard a century ago and had signed the Treaty. Of the mining towns, only one, Barentsburg, remains and still operates minimally. Once there was a population of 1,000, now reduced to around 300. One Russian official claimed the archipelago should be renamed the "Pomor Islands".

 

A powerful radar system monitoring space weather and the atmosphere is at the service of Chinese scientists. Data gathered from this equipment have been shared with the China Research Institute of Radiowave Propagation, a Chinese defense organization. Members of the U.S. House Select Commission on the Chinese Communist Party are convinced China is performing military research on Svalbard in defiance of the Treaty proscription. 

 

Outside the Yellow River Station where the Chinese scientists live a pair of granite lions stands guard.  

Norway ordered the Chinese to remove the lions, each of which weighs 900 kilograms, installed 20 years ago when the Chinese government agents arrived on Svalbard. For the first time last summer, the archipelago's sole university,   the University Center, operated by the Norwegian government, barred entry to Chinese students, identified by Norwegian intelligence agencies as a potential security risk. 

 

Criticisms of China's activities represent "nothing but distortion of facts and groundless speculation", according to officials at the the Chinese Embassy in Norway. As for the lions standing guard, they continue to remain where they were placed two decades earlier. 

"While the Russian geopolitical threat remains paramount, Chinese encroachments facilitated by an isolated Russia may complicate the Arctic security landscape in the longer term. The coast guard agencies of Russia and China recently signed a cooperation agreement on strengthening maritime law enforcement to great fanfare in Murmansk, a city on Russia’s western flank close to Norway."

"Moreover, when all other Arctic coast guard agencies suspended their participation in the Arctic Coast Guard Forum, Russia invited China to join the forum—clear signs of China’s expanding presence in the High North."

"As Iris A. Ferguson, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for arctic and global resilience, has put it, Chinese efforts aim “to normalize its presence and pursue a larger role in shaping Arctic regional governance and security affairs.”"

Center for Strategic and International Studies  

The world’s northernmost Lenin statue looks over the abandoned Russian city of Pyramiden on Svalbard, summer 2018. Photo: Alina Bykova

 

Dracunculiasis -- Guinea-worm disease

 

"We think about President Carter's legacy [and his push to get to zero cases]." 

"These might not be seen as the No. 1 problems in the world, but they are the No. 1 problems for people that suffer from these diseases."

"So we continue to charge ourselves with his mission of alleviating as much pain and suffering as we can."

Adam Weiss, director, Carter Center Guinea worm eradication program 

 

"Dracunculus medinensis (D. medinensis), a type of parasitic worm, causes guinea worm disease. The larvae live in stagnant (nonmoving) water, like ponds or shallow wells. They infect copepods, bug-like crustaceans that are almost too tiny to see. Copepods are sometimes called water fleas."

"If you drink water that copepods live in, D. medinensis larvae can get into your stomach and intestines. They move through the walls of your insides to other parts of your body. Eventually (usually about a year later), an adult worm starts pushing its way through your skin. They need to get to the outside of your body to release eggs into water. Adults can grow up to 3 feet (1 meter), so it can take a long time for them to work their way out of your body."

Cleveland Clinic

 

 

In 2025, came the good news of a historic low in Guinea worm infections now seen only in three countries. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter who established The Carter Center with its mandate to eradicate the dread disease with its launching in the 1980s, was said to have wanted to outlive its eradication, to enjoy the completion of a goal he had set. Back then in the mid 1980s, the parasite was known to afflict millions of people in developing countries.

 

In the year just passed, four human cases were reported in Chad, four in Ethiopia and two in South Sudan. Animals too can become infected and among animals infections continue to number much higher but have slightly declined in some countries. There were 15 cases of Guinea worm reported in 2024 in Angola, Cameroon, and Central African Republic while Mali reported zero cases two years running.

 

If and when Guinea worm is finally eradicated, it will join smallpox as the only two human diseases that medical science succeeded in freeing the world from. The worm's larvae are laid in water, so the contaminated water becomes the vector in infecting people and animals who consume that water. Once the larvae enters the body it grows for a year and can grow up to a metre in length, with the diameter of spaghetti.

 

Once the worm has reached maturity it seeks to exit the host body and it does this through the medium of a blister. Depending on the length of the worm, its exit can take a long time, during which time excruciating pain wracks the infected person. When infected people -- or animals -- who suffer from the condition immerse themselves in water in an effort to ease their pain, the worm takes the opportunity to deposit its larvae, in an ongoing cycle. 

 

Infections can also occur when people consume fish or amphibious creatures that have themselves consumed the larvae. The Carter Center specializes in educating the public, training volunteers, and distributing water filters in affected areas. No treatment exists for Guinea worm, although medication can be used to alleviate pain and suffering.

 

The development of diagnostic tests is next on the agenda for the Carter Center's eradication program. The benefits of testing before an infected person or animal becomes symptomatic are linked to minimizing or eliminating opportunities for the worms to continue infecting water sources with their larvae.  

A jar containing Guinea worms AP file

"Imagine drinking a simple sip of water and unknowingly setting a timer for one of the most bizarre and painful biological ordeals on the planet. Guinea worm disease, caused by the parasite Dracunculus medinensis, has haunted humanity for millennia. Its modus operandi is as unsettling as it is intricate. The story of its near-eradication, led by the heroic efforts of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and a coalition of determined organizations, is a testament to what global cooperation can achieve—even without the aid of modern medical marvels like vaccines or miracle drugs."

"Guinea worm disease begins when someone in a rural, water-scarce region drinks from a stagnant pond teeming with tiny water fleas infected by Guinea worm larvae. Once ingested, these larvae migrate through the digestive tract, eventually pairing up for a little love in your body. While the male dies after its job is done (a grim version of “mate and die”), the fertilized female has big plans: she grows to about a meter long—yes, meter—and prepares to leave her host, which, unfortunately for us, involves excruciating pain."

"A year after infection, the female worm heads to the surface of the skin, creating a blister that feels like it’s on fire. Naturally, the victim seeks relief by submerging the affected body part in water. That’s the worm’s cue to release a soup of larvae, ensuring its species’ survival. The cycle begins anew, unless interventions like water filtration or behavior change interrupt it."

History of Vaccines tribute to former President Jimmy Carter