Iceland review - 2016, Page 58

56 ICELAND REVIEW
RIGHT TO ROAM
The freedom to traverse the country is an integral part of Iceland’s
national identity. How will the new Nature Protection Act impact the pub-
lic’s right to access the wilderness? Halldór Lárusson discusses.
PHOTOS BY PÁLL STEFÁNSSON.
On a stunning day in the mid-
dle of April, I was hiking up
the gently-sloping mountain
Skjaldbreiður, the volcano which spewed
much of the lava that forms Þingvellir
National Park. The sun was out and
I paused to marvel at the view over
the Þingvellir plains, which provides a
graphic illustration of the theory of plate
tectonics. It is one of the few places in
the world (which isn’t at the bottom
of the sea) where you can observe the
North American and the Eurasian tec-
tonic plates moving apart, grindingly
slowly. As I took in the view, a number of
4x4s with huge tires drove slowly past me
with their diesel engines roaring. When
they reached the top of the mountain,
heavyset middle-aged men dressed in
slippers and lumberjack shirts stepped
out, relieved themselves (no, I am not
making this up), got back in their jeeps,
turned around and drove past me again
on their way down, looking for the next
mountain to “conquer.”
PROTECTING NATURE…
The story illustrates a debate taking
place these days in Iceland about the
right to roam, access to land, and the
new Nature Conservation Act which was
passed by parliament in November.
The new act secures the public’s right
to roam on uncultivated land, but, at the
same time, it gives landowners the right
to restrict access when deemed necessary
to prevent damage from too much traf-
fic, both from pedestrians and vehicles.
Changes were also made to the law on
off-road driving.
The passing of the new law was a
remarkable feat. All political parties were
unanimous in their support, which is not
something we have come to expect in a
parliament which has been noted main-
ly for unusually robust disagreements
between the government and opposition.
Given the unanimous support, it was
a surprise to find strong criticism in the
days after the law was passed, mainly
from Samút, the umbrella organization
representing a number of travel associ-
ations, including the 4x4 club. The crit-
icism seems to assume that private land-
owners can now restrict access as they
please, which is not the case. Landowners
will have to demonstrate that this is done
out of necessity and not just on a whim.
As to the restrictions on the right to
drive cars off-road, these are subject to
further review which will take place over
the next 12 months. There is no doubt,
though, that this will be hotly debated.
...WHILE ALLOWING ACCESS
FOR ALL
The right to roam the land has always
been an important part of the Icelandic
identity. But it is not unique to Iceland.
Instead, it originated in Ancient Rome,
and was based on the idea that shared
resources like the air, the sea and the