Icelandic musician Björk and renowned environmentalist Andri Snær Magnason have called for better protection of Iceland’s wilderness
Björk called a press conference yesterday at Iceland’s Airwaves festival to call for a halt on development on the country’s Central Highlands, a part of the Icelandic wilderness with little environmental protection. The conference was held in collaboration with Gætum Garðsins – roughly translated to “protect the park” an organisation which seeks to preserve Iceland’s highlands.
“The concept of the infinite energy of Iceland is on par with other myths from Iceland like elves and trolls. You cannot simply plug into a volcano. Iceland has already harnessed its nature for energy production close to the maximum and the only way this proposal could work would be to build more power plants. While energy for the cable does not seem available, about five factories are being discussed or planned – making it almost impossible to imagine where all the energy can come from without damaging something incredibly wild and fragile.” Says environmentalist and writer Andri Snær Magnason, “Some of the plans would bring grave environmental consequences – destroying nesting places of pink-footed geese and habitat for the great north atlantic salmon, as well as some of the greatest waterfalls in the wilderness of Iceland or simply the rare tranquility of untouched wilderness.”
The musician has released the above video to the world that suggests that up to 80% of Iceland’s tourism is based on the countries natural attractions with half of that tourism centred specifically on the central highlands.
With the travel industry being one of the largest revenue generators for Iceland and the threat to the wilderness seemingly irreversible and immediate Björk calls for “the world to support us against our Government”.
Take a look at the video above and let Björk tell the story herself. You can sign the petition at Heart of Iceland.