National park in the Icelandic highlands is for future generations

This article is by Þorgerður María Þorbjarnadóttir and Egill Hermannsson from the Association of Young Environmentalists in Iceland. It is published here to support the founding of a national park in the Icelandic highlands. Follow the Association and the Icelandic Environmental Conservation Organisation on Facebook.

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Egill Hermannsson and Þorgerður María Þorbjarnadóttir from the Association of Young Environmentalists in Iceland — Egill Hermannsson
and Þorgerður María Þorbjarnadóttir from the Association of Young Environmentalists in Iceland

Look to the future and create a national park in the Icelandic highlands

When we look to the future, we must consider the past. The number of travellers has increased, and they are increasingly visiting the Icelandic highlands. We also see untouched wilderness under threat all over the world. More flow of information and social media has made predicting the number of travellers more difficult. If we are going to protect unspoiled natural wonders, we must need a framework, a plan for protecting the environment.

Participation of local authorities is guaranteed

All the land that which has been allocated for the planned national park is already designated as national land. The local authorities now already must consult the office of the prime minister when it comes to planning. This arrangement will simply be turned over to the regional protection plan. Elected officials of the local authorities will also be able to shape the protection plan.

Don’t let the Icelandic highlands wait

It is maintained that the co-operation with the Prime Minister’s office regarding the national lands is working well. If that is supposed to change, something else needs to replace it. However, national areas all over the country are neglected. For how long can the highlands wait while so many travellers visit them?

The national park will protect nature

The primary purpose of the national park is to protect the nature and history of the Icelandic highlands. It should also make it more accessible without harming the area’s environment. There has been extensive collaboration to find the balance between the interests of humans and nature in the bill, which creates the national park.

A history of collaboration

In 2016 then minister for the environment, Sigrún Magnúsdóttir created a committee which was to look at the prerequisites for the founding of the national park. This committee had eight members and a chairperson. They included representatives from the Association of Local Authorities, the Bláskógarbyggð municipality and the Þingeyjarsveit municipality.

Two years later the current minister of the environment Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson founded another committee for the founding of the highland national park. This had representatives from the Association of Local Authorities. A representative from the Bláskógabyggð local authority stood behind the findings of the committee. The work of the committee was regularly published online, and all its work can be found on the web site of the Icelandic government.

Leverage the national park for the travel industry

There are conflicting interests, so everybody won’t get what they want. However, there are many opportunities for local authorities to get a national park. For example, the Ríki Vatntajökuls in Hornafjörður has leveraged the Vatnajökull national park to develop the travel industry in the area. Ríki Vatntajökull is a joint project of 80 companies that are connected with the travel industry.

See the opportunities

We want people to look at the opportunities. The discourse about the national park is based on misunderstandings. Firstly, it has been maintained that the use of highland pastures will be limited by the national park. The bill about the highland national park is clear. Land use, such as grazing, hunting, fishing is allowed by the right holders. When the bill talks about the sustainable use of resources, the current rules are the reference point. The creation of the highland national park does not change this.

Access by the locals is guaranteed

It has also been said that the access of the local people to their land will be limited. However, the bill for the founding of the national park states that it should ‘facilitate co-operation with associations and volunteers about the issues regarding the national park.