Iceland review - 2015, Page 26

24 ICELAND REVIEW
PHOTO BY PÁLL STEFÁNSSON.
WE ARE ALL RANGERS
How is it possible to show so little
respect for the fragile nature of
Iceland? Off-road driving, off-
road hiking with large groups, camping
outside designated areas etc., is far too
common. Whether it’s in the mountains, on
black lava fields, on top of glaciers, around
lakes, in the barren highlands or the scarce
woodlands, nature has no way of defending
itself. I have hiked in remote areas and
come across litter—and to my surprise
nobody stopped to pick it up. The most
visible trash, like plastic bottles, cigarette
butts, tissues and even tins are left for the
next tourist to pass. People may reason:
“Why should I clean up after someone else
when it was no fault of mine?”
With the rapid growth of tourism in
recent years, the flow of traffic of all
kinds of vehicles in Iceland’s highlands has
increased immensely. Bigger and better cars
are now able to reach otherwise inaccessi-
ble destinations throughout the year, not
only in the summertime as it used to be.
Cars not equipped to travel the highlands
can cause unforeseen damage.
Urgent matters have to be dealt with,
including off-road driving, camping in ran-
dom locations, and building cairns, which
can all leave scars in the sensitive soil, tak-
The fingerprints of increased tourism are starting to show in
remote places around the country. We must all take responsibility
to protect Iceland’s environment, Ragnhildur Zoëga argues.
ing years to recover. This is the case every-
where but because of the harsh Icelandic
climate the vegetation here is particularly
fragile and cannot easily be repaired once
damaged. Littered grounds should be easy
to deal with, but sadly litter attracts more
litter—people might think that if someone
else has treated the environment badly,
perhaps it doesn’t matter if they do too.
While no penalties currently exist for lit-
tering in Iceland, those who drive off-road
and damage the environment can expect a
hefty fine.
We must all contribute to keeping the
country clean and in its best shape. The
Environment Agency of Iceland doesn’t
have the capacity to put a watch on every
post—and frankly it shouldn’t need to.
We are all responsible for protecting
Iceland’s environment: travel companies,
tour guides, locals and visitors; not to
mention politicians. Iceland’s unspoiled
wilderness is one of the country’s main
attractions, let’s keep it that way. *
Ragnhildur Zoëga is a specialist in Art and Culture
at Rannís – The Icelandic Centre for Research and
has worked as a ranger in Vatnajökull National
Park, near Lake Mývatn in Northeast Iceland.
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