Last Friday, tourism manager Line Renate Samuelsen was in Destination Lofoten in Kvalvika to pick human poo together with the national park manager. Lofotodden National Park has long been plagued by tourists pooping in nature – especially near streams where tourists and visitors fill their water bottles. In the same streams, high levels of scary E. coli bacteria have been found. E.coli can cause diarrhea and abdominal pain, as well as in some cases bloody diarrhoea. Last summer alone, there were around 50,000 visitors to the national park in Flakstad and Moskenes. Samuelsen brought with him the Norwegian Institute for Natural Research (NINA) and people from the Green Islands project. – You get a little nauseous – We cleaned nature of dirt and took it back with us. We can only know if the bags have an effect when the foul stools have been removed. Both what people leave behind and what that entails in terms of bacterial content in these streambeds, says Samuelsen. Visit Lofoten picks poop in Lofoten. When they were done, they had collected 40 litres. Photo: Kristian Jensen And adds: – You get a little nauseous. It’s disgusting. But we stepped up to the task and took with us what we could find. I hope it works and that people see the benefit of being a responsible guest when they visit Lofoten. Samuelsen says that there were several tourists who stopped to ask what they had in the buckets. Before the weekend, Lofotodden National Park introduced a trial project with poo bags for humans. Visit Lofoten uses shovels when picking poo in Lofotodden National Park. Photo: Private 400 bags have been placed out, in addition to a container where the full bags can be thrown away. During the trial period until 4 August, the bags will be distributed free of charge at Torsfjorden and at Innersand, at the approach gates and the start of the trail to Kvalvika. One of the first tourists to receive a bag is the German tourist Daniel Ernst, who has visited Lofoten every summer since 2008. Samuelsen hopes the trial scheme with poo bags will be a success. – I hope we get such positive results out in the national park that it can be a transfer value to other parts of Lofoten and perhaps other parts of Norway. Need more bags But the number of bags has already started to decrease. – There were so many bags on the first day, so the project is trying to get hold of more. The trial period was actually supposed to last until 4 August, but if the bags go at the same speed, it might be empty before then, says Line Samuelsen. – It is not just the national park that has problems. We have many popular hiking areas without toilets. A guest with their pride intact should pick up dirt and rubbish and help us with the goal of trackless traffic and a clean Lofoten. Good response Research leader Rose Keller at NINA has, among other things, researched visitor management in Denali National Park in Alaska. Here, a tourist puts a bag in the container in Kvalvika. Photo: Rose Keller / news She moved from the USA to Norway three years ago. Keller brought the idea of the poo bags with him from his home country. – In Lofoten and especially in Kvalvika, we have watched with concern how rubbish and poo have piled up. It is a very popular place for wild camping, and then things happen. For the last two years, NINA has checked the water quality, and both years it was clear that there was E.coli in the water. She says that the response to the poo bags has so far been good. Visit Lofoten together with German tourists who were very positive about the clean-up. Photo: Private – Of the 400 bags, there are less than 200 left. It’s really great. At the same time, Keller records short interviews and collects questionnaires from visitors to the park. – We ask about their experience of using the bags, and whether they will use them again in the future. – We also ask people if they are willing to pay for the bags, which can help the administration decide whether it is a realistic solution to a clear problem in the area, according to Keller. QR code for the survey in the research project that the Norwegian Institute for Natural Research (NINA) has in Kvalvika. Photo: Rose Keller They have ordered 200 new poo bags and the project period has been shortened by a week because the project is going so well. Keller says the bag is easy to use. Bacteria cannot get lost and the bag has an odor lock. 80 percent of the bag is biodegradable. – I will at least have a bag like this with me when I go on a trip. I am aware of the principles of trackless traffic. Rose Keller has done a lot of research into the traces we humans leave in nature. Here she works with water samples to look for traces of E. coli. Photo: Private
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Destination Lofoten picked 40 liters of human poo – news Nordland
