Fjölrit RALA - 05.12.1999, Page 5

RALA Reportno. 200
Preface
The well-being of the soil and what it nurtures is vital
for the future, a grim lesson from the past, a lesson we
know so well in Iceland. The fate of nature is a subject
that has always been close to my heart. I have, there-
fore, always been ready to encourage, to help, and to
challenge our people, who are devoted to the protection
of the soil.
During one of my terms of offíce, a group of people
met at the presidential residence, Bessastaðir, to discuss
the fate of Icelandic rangelands, - and the rangelands of
the world. And thus, the idea was bom to organise an
intemational workshop on rangeland desertification. It
is therefore with great pleasure that I write a few words
at the onset of these proceedings, which is a direct re-
sult of the workshop, and this meeting at Bessastaðir.
Why are there deserts in Iceland? On first impression, Iceland’s mid-ocean envi-
ronment would seem to be an ideal setting for plants to thrive and reproduce, with
more than enough rain to water them and secure the soil, and where there is certainly
no danger of them withering in the heat.
Maybe, too, the guardian nature spirits that were said to have been here when the
first settlers arrived 1100 years ago (and now illustrate our national coat of arms, the
dragon, the eagle, the bull, and the giant) could be expected to protect their home ffom
destruction, as they presumably had been doing ever since this island rose ffom the
ocean more than 20 million years ago. But no. The guardian spirits could not over-
come the combined destmctive powers of man and the hostile environment.
The Icelandic ecology is extremely sensitive, with many natural forces interacting
to make its rangelands fragile. The climate is colder than in many other countries, but
that does not make deserts, - a cooler climate often helps to preserve the moisture in
the soil. Volcanic eruptions are ffequent and often cause massive damage, but nature
is adapted to heal such wounds to its surface. And the sand ffom the glaciers, brought
down in catastrophic floods when a volcano erupts undemeath the ice mass, - yes, this
is a destmctive force, but certainly not the only one to blame for the crisis that Ice-
land’s vegetation is facing.
Nature is resilient, it can take the blows exerted on it, but only up to a point. And
when man, in times of old, not knowing the extreme ffagility of the Icelandic range-
lands and the volcanic soils, started to cut the shmblands and graze the highlands to
make his living ffom the land, the pressure became too great.
Iceland has deserts. Nearly half of the country is barren wasteland, where nature
provides neither food nor shelter ffom the howling North Atlantic winds. And we
know, with certainty, that this has not always been so. Man, in times of hardship,
aided by cooler climate and fierce natural forces, has altered the face of the country
and its ability to provide for its people.