Natural areas have been granted a wide variety of protections, according to local, national and international standards – but Greenland takes the cake on a national level.
Northeast Greenland National Park is the largest national park in the world. Created by the Danish government in 1974, it was later expanded in 1988. The park now encompasses an area of 972,000 km2 – larger than many individual countries (compare that to Yellowstone National Park, which covers a mere 8,983 km2).
Some 80% of the area is covered by the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the second largest body of ice in the world.
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There are few permanent residents. Around 40 people inhabit a variety of research stations posted along the coast and a naval unit that operates using dog-driven sleds patrols parts of the region.
The Inuit settlement of Ittoqqortoormiit is the only permanent settlement. While some residents still make their living hunting native wildlife, others have turned to the tourist industry. And many young people leave. Economic instability – and the threat of polar bears – are a constant for the approximately 350 citizens.
The park is home to a wide variety of Arctic wildlife. In addition to polar bears, it hosts Arctic foxes, musk oxen, walruses and several species of seal – as well as 90% of the Greenland wolf's (a sub-species of grey wolf) total population.
The coastal areas are home to narwhals and beluga whales as well as a range of avian species including ducks, geese, gulls, skuas, puffins and shorebirds such as sandpipers and plovers.
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Top image: a musk ox in Geologfjord, Northeast Greenland National Park. Credit: Getty