National Parks in IcelandDevelopment and Operation

Sigþrúður Stella Jóhannsdóttir

Park Management – The Value of Knowledge

and Education

Egilsstaðir 11. október 2010

• Protected Areas – an overview

• Governance

• Staffing

• Protected Areas – examples

• The Value of Our Protected Areas and a

Need for the Future.

• Questions for tomorrow.

Content

Designated

TotalBefore

1960

1960-

1969

1970-

1979

1980-

1989

1990-

1999

2000-

2009 2010-

National Parks 1 (1) (1) 0 0 2 0 3 (5)*

Nature Reserves 0 1 24 5 6 5 0 41

Natural Monuments 0 2 13 14 3 5 0 37

Country Parks 0 0 7 2 3 7 0 19

Habitat Protection

Areas 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2

Other Areas 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2

1 3 (4)

45

(46) 21 13 21 0 104

* Two became part of Vatnajökull National Park in 2008.

Protected Areas in Iceland

Number and size

hectaresNumber of areas

2010Categories Size (ha)Snæfellsjökull NP 16.694Nature Reserves 294.922Natural Monuments 6.587Habitat Protection Areas 2.172Country Parks 42.040Other Areas, special act* 1.615.772Total 1.978.187

Categories and size

*Þingvellir NP, Vatnajökull NP, Mývatn Laxá Reserve

and Breiðafjörður Reserve Source: Environment Agency

Ministry of Environment

Environment Agency

(UST)– Snæfellsjökull NP

– Nature Reserves (41)

– Natural Monuments (37)

– Habitat Protection Areas (2)

– Mývatn Nature Reserve.

(Special Act)

Country Parks (19) –

Municipalities

Governance

Ministry of Prime Minister

The Þingvellir Committee

Þingvellir National Park

Þingvellir was declared a national park in 1930. A law was passed designating Þingvellir as “a protected national shrine for all Icelanders, the perpetual property of the Icelandic nation under the preservation of parliament, never to be sold or mortgaged.”

www.thingvellir.is

Governance cont.

Ministry of Environment

Board of Directors of Vatnajökull NP

Regional Committees,

North, East, South and West

Created in 2008

Skaftafell (1967)

Jökulsárgljúfur (1973)

Enlarged in 2009

NE

SW

Governance cont.

The proposed size of the NP

North

East

South

West

Created on June 7th 2008

The size from end of June 2009

Vatnajökull National Park

The Breiðafjörður Committee

Breiðafjörður Reserve

Created 1995

Governance cont.

Year 2009

Permanent Seasonal Annual Other

Þingvellir NP 3,6 10 7,6

3* weeks volunteer work

Contractors work

Vatnajökull

NP 9,5** 46 18,2 332* weeks volunteer work

Snæfellsjökull

NP (UST) 2 5 3 10* weeks volunteer work

Other

Protected

Areas (UST) 3 11 5 146* weeks volunteer work

Total 18,1 72 33,8

*UST volunteer work, total of 596 volunteer weeks. 105 weeks to other areas than PA.** 2010 permanent employees were 11,5.

Staffing in Protected Areas

1 Þingvellir

1 Skaftafell

Permanent Staffing 1993

1 Snæfellsjökull

2001

3 Þingvellir

1 Jökulsárgljúfur

1994

1 Skaftafell

2002

1 Hornstrandir

Nature Reserve

(UST)

2 Snæfellsjökull

NP (UST)

1,5

Reykjavík

(VÞ)

3,6 Þingvellir1 Surstey

Nature

Reserve

(UST)

1 Mývatn Nature Reserve UST

1 Mývatn (VÞ)

2 Jökulsárgljúfur

(VÞ)

2 Egilsstaðir (VÞ)

2 Skaftafell (VÞ)2 Kirkjubæjarklaustur

(VÞ)

1 Höfn (VÞ)

2010

Foreign visitors to Iceland

Visitation

Visitation in the Future?

Þingvellir National Park

• Created 1930

• Enlarged 2004

• UNESCO World Heritage Site 2004

• Visitation 500.000

• Management Plan 2004-2024

Þingvellir National Park

Mynd: Snævarr Guðmundsson

• Created 2001

• Visitation ?• 100.000 from abroad

• 70.000 Icelandersto Snæfellsnes peninsula.

• Management Plan2010 - 2020

Snæfellsjökull National Park

Skaftafell

www.vatnajokulsthjodgardur.is

• Created 1967

• Visitation 250.000

• Vatnajökull NP from 2008

Skaftafell

Jökulsárgljúfur

• Created 1973

• Visitation 130.000+

• Vatnajökull NPfrom 2008

Jökulsárgljúfur

Skaftafell

• Created 2008

• Oversees other protected areas.

• Visitation

• Management Plan Proposal

Vatnajökull National Park

www.vatnajokulsthjodgardur.is

• Created 1974

• New Act from 2004

• Ramsar Area

• Visitation to Mývatn

Area 200 – 250.000

• A Draft Management

Plan

• Staffing

Permanent 1

Seasonal 35 weeks

Mývatn Laxá Nature Reserve

• Created 1975

• Visitation 6.000

• Staffing

– Permanent 1

– Seasonal 6 weeks

Hornstrandir Nature Reserve

• Created 1965

• Enlarged 2006

• UNESCO World

Heritage Site 2008

• Staffing

– Permanent 1

– Seasonal 1-2

Surtsey Nature Reserve

• Created 1979

• The most visited site

in the Highlands

• Visitation 100.000 +

• Staffing

– Permanent 0

– Seasonal 1

Fjallabak Nature Reserve

JökulsárgljúfurThe Value of Our Protected Areas

• Unique resources.

• Important for

– science,

– education and

interpretation,

– recreation and tourism,

– rural development,

– and more.

JökulsárgljúfurThe Need in Our Protected Areas

• The Subject; resources, visitors and society.

– Pressure

– Knowledge, research and monitoring.

JökulsárgljúfurThe Need in Our Protected Areas

• The Framework; laws and regulation, administration,

funding and staff.

– Administration

– Funding.

– Staff.

– Professional background.

JökulsárgljúfurThe Need in Our Protected Areas

• The Tools; planning and management.– Planning frameworks and Management Plans

– Staffing

– Partnerships and public involvement.

– Information, interpretation and education.

– Monitoring.

– Management effectiveness.

JökulsárgljúfurQuestions

How can we systematically increase research

and monitoring on PA resources, their

visitors and society to improve the PA

management and planning effectiveness?

JökulsárgljúfurQuestions

How can we bridge the cap between science

and the public concerning the value of PA

and decisions concerning PA management?

JökulsárgljúfurQuestions

How can we strengthen cooperation between

research institutes, educational institutes

and administrational institutes so to improve

and increase the professional background

of PA Management?

Questions

– Natural and Cultural Resources.

– Social factors.

– Economic factors.

– Management .

Management is an ongoing

process.

How can we assess Management Effectiveness of Protected Areas concerning?

The framework for assessing management effectiveness of protected areas

Stolton, 2008

JökulsárgljúfurQuestions

How can we increase the professional

capacity of our administration and our staff

and in what channel should we put

education in PA Management in?