Smiling students and an equally cheerful tourism manager show off plastic buckets with lids.
It may look like they have found the golden fishing spot or the secret one moltemyra in nature powerful Lofotodden National Park.
The smiles are genuine, but the impression is deceiving. In the buckets are fresh and year-old human faeces from tourists and hikers in the new (2018) national park at the far end of Lofoten – past the fishing village of Reine.
Last year there were 50,000 tourists in the terrain of the national park in Moskenes and Flakstad municipalities.
Many have to go to the bathroom along the way. In Lofotodden, the opportunity is the bare mountains and nature otherwise. This summer’s attempt to get tourists to use poo bags – plastic sacks with chemicals and leak-proof foil on the outside – is being followed with great interest by other national parks and hiking areas.
CLEANING UP THE TOILET: Ingrid Myklebust (with shovel) and Line Samuelsen (with plastic bag) cleaning up the mess at the open-air toilet by the hiking trail in Lofotodden National Park. Photo: Kristian Jensen/The green islands. view more
In the week before the poo bag experiment started on Friday 7 July, “hunters” collected from Norwegian Institute for Nature Management (NINA)the project The green islands, Destination Lofoten, the national park’s own people and students around 40 liters of human poo in the terrain.
The manure tools are shovels and plastic bags. And then the nature detectives only explored two of the 20 kilometers of paths in the steep terrain.
Thomas reveals: This is great!
E. coli
Last week, project participants collected a new 25 liters of male poo. Samples of drinking water sources in the national park in the last couple of years show a flourishing of E. coli bacteria from feces. It is not good news for diarrhea and stomach problems.
– Very good response among tourists, report both researcher Rose Keller at NINA and manager Line Samuelsen at Destination Lofoten.
Many have used the poo bags, taken them back and put them in containers.
BUCKET FULL: Not berries, but human poo was Line Samuelsen’s catch in the national park. Photo: Ingrid Myklebust. view more
– We have already ordered 200 new bags. Those who have used them are very satisfied. They say they are easy to use. Now we hear that the Lyngsalpene in Troms are also planning such an attempt, says NINA researcher Rose Keller to Dagbladet.
FROM ALASKA TO LOFOTEN: Rose Keller had the idea for poo bags from a national park in the USA. Photo: Private. view more
She comes from the state of Oregon on the US west coast. When she started as a researcher at NINA three years ago, she brought the poo bag idea with her from her previous workplace Denali National Park in Alaska.
USA: No bag, no entry
– In some national parks in the USA, tourists now have to sign for such a bag before being allowed into the park, says Keller.
Why not build outdoor areas in Lofotodden National Park as well?
National park manager Ole-Jakob Kvalshaug has the answer:
– In such an area, there should be as few human traces as possible. And outhouses must be emptied. Boats and ships largely do not come close to land. And vehicles can’t get through the steep terrain here. A helicopter would have been the only option, he explains.
Can lie for years
How long does it take for human traces of faeces to break down in the open?
Professor Vigdis Vanvik at the Department of Biology explains i The NRK program Upturn last weekend:
STOOL: Rigmor Solem, senior adviser in the Norwegian Nature Conservancy, wants a concrete type of littering to be brought to life. Reporter: Jeanette N. Vik / Dagbladet Show more
– Dope paper can be broken down in two to four weeks. This requires that the tissue paper is buried in soil with a rich content of microorganisms.
– But on the mountain ground here and sandy beaches where people camp, there are few microorganisms. It can take a long time, perhaps years, before the doping paper disappears.
– No, it is bad manners to leave toilet paper outside. Bury it or preferably take it with you.
NOT LIKE THIS: Toilet paper clearly visible outside the path. It can remain for a long time, according to the professor. Photo: Rose Keller/NINA. view more
Orange peel worse
And she is stricter when it comes to leaving wet wipes with plastic content, banana peels and orange peels in nature:
– Orange and banana peels often take two years or longer to break down. It is connected to the fact that the shells contain pesticides with substances we do not want back in nature.
2023-07-17 14:34:00
#Picking #tourist #poo
