Iceland to map wilderness areas under unified rules

Iceland will begin mapping its uninhabited wilderness areas using a single method rather than the different approaches used until now, mbl.is reports. The change follows a new regulation issued by Environment, Energy and Climate Minister Jóhann Páll Jóhannsson.

The regulation explains how the Nature Conservation Act’s definition of uninhabited wilderness should be applied when mapping such areas. It sets criteria for the impact of structures and other land use, while also taking into account the visibility of structures and how the landscape may reduce their effects.

The regulation states that the impact of wind farms will be assessed as three times greater than that of a conventional structure.

The Nature Research Institute will produce and maintain a public map of uninhabited wilderness areas under a common and transparent framework.

The mapping will primarily serve as an information resource for the authorities and will not automatically ban development or restrict land use. It will, however, provide better information for decisions on planning, land use, and the protection of landscapes and nature.

The ministry described the regulation as an important step forward for nature conservation, saying clearer definitions and a shared information base would support more reliable assessments of development projects’ effects on wilderness, particularly where impacts accumulate over time and may in some cases be irreversible.