Ideas for a national park in Þórsmörk
View over Þórsmörk from the hiking trail over Fimmvörðuháls. When you walk down to Þórsmörk, the breathtaking nature appears. mbl.is/Kristinn Magnússon
The municipal council of Rangárþing East is working on exploring the feasibility of creating a national park in the Þórsmörk area.
The Committee on Planning and Environment proposed to the municipal council that it be requested that the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Affairs begin to consider the feasibility of declaring Þórsmörk and the surrounding area a national park and that a cooperation group of the ministry, the municipality, Land and forestry, and other stakeholders be established to discuss this.
As a public land, it would also be necessary to ensure the involvement of the Prime Ministry to the group. The committee's protocol states that the main role of the group would be to evaluate the pros and cons of establishing a national park in the Þórsmörk area, including the social impact, the impact on the development of tourism, the environment, and the economic impact.
The municipality has confirmed this protocol and has entrusted the municipality to continue to work on the matter.
Mt Valahnúkur in Þórsmörk.
Needs to be done with the local community
Elvar Eyvindsson, chairman of the Rangárþing East Committee for Planning and Environment, told Morgunblaðid that the matter is still in the conceptual stages. “I think Þórsmörk has a special place in the hearts of all Icelanders and we want to know what the pros and cons of declaring Þórsmörk a national park. But I think everyone agrees that this will never be done unless it is done in terms of the local community. We have only had a word with Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson (Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate) and he agrees on that,” Eyvindsson said.
There are three national parks in Iceland, the National Park of Þingvellir, Vatnajökull National Park, and Snæfellsjökull National Park. The first two are subject to special laws, but according to the Nature Conservation Act, large natural areas that are not protected and contain a special or typical biosphere, minerals, and/or landscape can be protected as national parks. The importance of the area in cultural or historical terms should also be considered.
A Certain Image
Elvar says the local authorities also want to know what it would change for the area if Þórsmörk was defined as a national park. “There is a certain image of a national park. There are a lot of tourists coming to Þórsmörk and it’s a place that people can get to but we also need to be careful to preserve the area. It’s a pearl in between the mountains here,” he says.
He adds that many good things are being done in Þórsmörk, both in the forestry and tourism sectors, but it is possible to imagine that it will be possible to manage better what will be done there if Þórsmörk becomes a national park. But it is also necessary to clarify what would follow, such as funding, and what conditions need to be fulfilled.
Eyvindsson says that to begin with the area is limited in size and they are thinking about Þórsmörk itself and possibly Básar. “But if this happens and proves successful, the area mig be expanded. But first, answers to various questions are needed so that the locals can assess the pros and cons,” Elvar Eyvindsson concluded.
