Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, signed an amendment to the regulation on Vatnajökull National Park. It provides for its enlargement by three hundred square kilometers in its northern part.
According to the information provided on the website of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, after the changes, Vatnajökull National Park will cover 14,967 square kilometers.
“The park will be enlarged with land in the county of Þingeyjarsveit, the area that has been added to the national park is 299 km2 of uninhabited land east of Bárðdælaafréttur. The area added to the national park extends from the borders of the municipalities of Þingeyjarsveit and Skútustaðahreppur and the road to Skjálfandafljót.
The western boundary of the enlarged area includes a potential power plant construction area that is included in the energy conservation and use plan.
Preparations for the expansion of the area were carried out in close cooperation with Þingeyjarsveit and in agreement with the administration of the Vatnajökull National Park “ – we read in the announcement.
The area is also said to be of great importance to the short-beaked geese. Especially in the northern part of the area, almost 10 percent of the Icelandic population of this species of geese nest.
According to Guðmundur Inga Guðbrandsson, Minister of Environment, uninhabited areas of Iceland are of great value.
“43% of Europe’s untouched wilderness is in Iceland, so it is our duty not to degrade these spaces. Thanks to the enlargement of the National Park, much of the country’s wildlife is now protected , and thanks to the action of the local authorities of Þingeyjarsveit, some 300 km2 of uninhabited wildlife will be added to the national park. At the same time, we strengthen rural areas by creating jobs thanks to projects related to the creation of a national park in this area “ Guðmundur Ingi said.
mmn / visir.is
Source: Yle
