Reykjavík Grapevine - 04.04.2014, Page 18

18The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 4 — 2014
www.thjodminjasafn.is
Suðurgata 41 / 101 Reykjavík
Along with the permanent exhibition
that features Iceland’s history from
settlement to present day the
museum offers a variety of exhibitions
during the year, e.g. on Icelandic
silver and photography.
The National
Museum of
Iceland
Kerið
Owner:
The State and Landeigendafélagið
Geysir (“Landowners Association
of Geysir”)
Date started charging:
March 15, 2014
Cost:
600 ISK, 17 & younger get in free
Opinion on proposed Nature Pass:
"We need to raise money to build
up the site so that we can actually
welcome all these guests while
making sure that the area won't
deteriorate. Until there's a real
plan in place for the Nature Pass,
we can't form an opinion on it one
way or another. We can't look into
it until there's something final,
more than just a theory." - Landei-
gendafélagið Geysir Spokesperson
Garðar Eiríksson
Geysir
Owner:
Landeigendafélags Reykjahlíðar
ltd. (“Landowners Association of
Reykjahlíð”)
Date to start charging:
June 1, 2014
Cost:
800 ISK
Opinion on proposed Nature Pass:
“I am TOTALLY against it! I would
be very happy to see it go through
parliament, just because it's out
of the blue. It's unbelievable. It's
a joke. In my 12 years of experi-
ence, the further you get from
Reykjavík the less money you get
from the State or funds located in
Reykjavík. We can't wait 50 years
to get money to protect our area in
Reykjahlíð. That’s the key point.
Our main goal is that nature is
preserved, and we can do it much
better at home than anybody in an
office in Reykjavík.”
- Landeigendafélags Reykjahlíðar
Chair Ólafur H. Jónsson.
Dettifoss, Námaskarð
Hverir and Leirhnjúkur
On March 15, The Landowners Association of
Geysir began charging visitors an entrance fee
of 600 ISK. Everyone from tourists to politicians
were immediately outraged over the develop-
ment. Many lamented that the Iceland experi-
ence had changed for the worse, some said the
operation was ill thought-out and poorly executed
and others argued that it was simply illegal due to
the right of public access to the wilderness laws.
To calm everybody down a bit by giving them a
whole lot more to scream about, the Icelandic
State hired the Landslög law firm to sue the Land-
owners Association of Geysir to stop them from
charging visitors, at least until the government’s
Nature Pass is all figured out.
The State claims that, according to a bill of
sale from 1935, the Icelandic government is the
independent owner of a 23,048 square metre plot
of land within the 176,521 square metre area that
it owns jointly with the Landowners Association.
In fact, as the Geysir Centre website states, an
Icelander called Sigurður Jónasson bought the
Geysir area in 1935 and gave it to the Icelandic
people: “Until 1894 it [Geysir] was part of the
nearby farm Laug. Its occupants sold it then to
James Craig, who later became Minister to North
Ireland. During this period, visitors were charged
an entry fee. After further changes in ownership,
Sigurdur Jonasson bought the thermal field and
gave it as a gift to the people of Iceland.”
As a co-owner of the larger area in question,
the State asserts that The Landowners Associa-
tion of Geysir doesn't have the right to start charg-
ing a fee without its consent, especially since it is
the sole owner of all of the good bits anyway (the
State’s independently-owned plot contains the
geysers: Geysir, Strokkur and Blesi). “According
to Icelandic law, if you own land with others you
must have a meeting with all the owners before
you can decide to implement a fee, which they
haven't done,” explains Ivar Pálsson, the attorney
representing the Ministry of Industry.
The case goes to court on April 3 (the day
this issue goes to the printers). Until a verdict is
reached, The Landowners Association of Geysir
plans to continue charging admission and has
done so with the exception of the day that the
former minister of the interior and current MP
Ögmundur Jónasson announced he would be
showing up and refusing to pay admission, urg-
ing the public to join him in protest of what he
says is illegal.
The Owners
Weigh In
— Ben Smick
The landowners associations that have started
or plan to start charging visitors for access to
natural sites are in various states of scepticism,
disbelief and outrage over the government’s
proposed Nature Pass. Their opinions seem to
boil down to a general mistrust of the govern-
ment and a fear that money collected by the State
won't actually go into preserving their sites. The
vagueness of the Nature Pass plans, in particu-
lar with regard to how exactly the money raised
from the pass will be divided up and allocated
to Iceland's many natural attractions, has land-
owner associations concerned that the money
will stay close to Reykjavík and be used for other
State projects.
Here’s Where Things
Get Murky
Iceland Vs. The Landowners
Association of Geysir
Owner:
Kerfélagið (“The Kerið Association”)
Date started charging:
June 2013
Cost:
350 ISK (Note: nobody is there to collect admis-
sion during the off-peak season)
Opinion on proposed Nature Pass:
“We are completely against the Nature Pass
because we don’t believe that the government
will really use the money to preserve nature.
For example, the government tax on gasoline is
supposed to go into preserving roads, but only
a small part of that goes to its original purpose.
We think it is best that the maintenance of the
environment be in the hands of individual own-
ers, who could easily band together with their
neighbours to make passes of their own. That
way somebody visiting North Iceland doesn’t
have to pay for Kerið or Gullfoss. Rather than
trying to introduce a nationwide Nature Pass,
the government could start charging at a few
of its most frequented sites, such as Þingvellir.
For instance, if the State charged 600 ISK for
admission to Þingvellir, it would make 400 mil-
lion ISK a year. The travel industry has never
seen such money. Put 150 million of that into
the park and distribute the rest to other State-
owned sites around Iceland. Then, down the
road when their pass is working, the State could
try to convince private companies, individuals
and local communities to join."
- Kerfélagið Chair Óskar Magnússon