Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
This is the largest virgin forest in Norway, close to the border with Russia and Finland. The landscape is flat, with some ridges, and is covered by boreal coniferous forest (this being the westernmost limit of the Siberian taiga) and mires, with numerous fish-rich lakes.
Breeding species include at least 10 of the 15 species in Europe that are restricted to the boreal biome (when breeding)˜an eleventh such species,
Emberiza rustica, may also breed irregularly˜as well as a wide variety of wildfowl and waders, and
Haliaeetus albicilla (a species of global conservation concern which, however, does not meet IBA criteria).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
There is some logging and re-afforestation. Plans for a road in the area, cutting through the Pasvik valley to Finland, are currently shelved. Two administratively-protected forest areas (state-owned) lie within the IBA. Plans to extend the National Park exist. The Nature Reserve is adjacent to the Pasvik Zapovednik across the border in Russia, and the Norwegian and Russian authorities have cooperated in planning these protected areas.
National Partial
International None6,660 ha of IBA covered by National Park (Øvre Pasvik, 6,660 ha). 1,910 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Pasvik, 1,910 ha).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Øvre Pasvik (Norway). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/øvre-pasvik-iba-norway on 22/11/2024.
