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An Icelandic Wilderness
With a dramatic and heterogeneous landscape of chillingly
cold glacial rivers and secretive waterfalls, imposing glaciers, striking lava
fields and the odd volcanic eruption (remember the flight disruption associated
with the eruption of the nearby Eyjafjallajökull volcano in 2010?), the ‘Tolkien-esque’
Thórsmörk Valley in the south-western interior Highlands of Iceland appears to
have it all. But there is something else that lurks within the rugged mountains
that appears to be threatening the integrity of this unique landscape…….can you guess what it is?
An Idyll under Threat?
With a name translating as ‘Thor's Woods’ by virtue of
the thin veil of dwarf birch and willow woodland found cloaking the hidden
glacial valleys, Thórsmörk is fast becoming a priority destination on the
‘bucket-list’ for tourists and hikers from all over the world. Even the cast
and crew of the acclaimed ‘Game of Thrones’ television programme have visited
the area to carry out filming! So whilst the economic benefits associated with
more visitors is no doubt welcome news for the Icelandic Tourist Board, the
demand for nature-based outdoor recreation opportunities in the wilderness
areas of Iceland continues to increase and visitor use patterns have seen an
unprecedented exponential rise.
Some rather gloomy key findings from their seminal
academic paper published in 2013 by Dr Rannveig Ólafsdóttir and Dr Micael
Lundstrom from the University of Iceland evidenced for the first time the
extent of damaging trampling impacts on hiking trails originating from the
increased numbers of people walking in Thórsmörk and the nearby Fjallabak
Nature Reserve1. Making the national news, a third of all hiking trails
surveyed were classified as in ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’ condition, with the extreme
seasonality, dizzying elevation and poor planning from decision makers deemed
as having an additive and deleterious impact upon undisturbed soft soils and vulnerable
native moss heath plant communities.
At current levels of demand, the considerable pressure
of anthropogenically derived recreational activities including hiking clearly threatens
the ecological integrity of one of Europe’s most aesthetic wilderness areas.
Above – trail re-profiling and brashing on eroded trails on
the 25 km Skógar hiking trail from that runs south from the Thórsmörk Valley
over the Fimmvörðuháls pass. Image: J.
Littlemore, July 2014.
Indeed, whilst the ecological impacts of on mountainous
areas of Europe have long been understood2, the approaches taken to
manage such activities vary. With the recognition that the extent of true Icelandic
wilderness diminished by 70 % in the last 80 years there remains an exigent
requirement to provide pro-active management advice so that multi-purpose
objectives can be managed in a sustainable way.
Co-ordinated Trail Restoration
Working with the Iceland Forest Service and the
Environment Agency of Iceland, the Icelandic Tourist Board remain fully aware
of the sensitive nature of the wilderness environment so have thankfully allocated
generous funding for the management of environmental issues at key tourism
sites, especially through supporting individual environmental projects.
For example, at Thor’s Wood the Iceland Forest Service
is tackling environmental issues by co-ordinating a trail maintenance programme
that is popular with volunteers of all ages who orignate from all over the
world3. Dr Hreinn Óskarsson and Chas Goemans of the Iceland Forest
Service have managed the area and programme respectively for many years and
supervise staff and volunteers who carry out upland path management measures
including trail re-profiling, improving drainage, turfing and seeding, building
steps and boardwalks and installing interpretative media. Moreover, this work
is of considerable merit as Thórsmörk is the destination end point of the very
popular Laugavegur trail that starts in the famed hot springs area of Landmannalaugar
located 55 km to the north.
Above – Interpretative signage to dissuade the lateral
spread of human trampling of vulnerable moss heath vegetation communities near
Landmannalaugar. Image: J. Littlemore,
July 2014.
A Positive Way Forward
On a recent visit to the area to carry out a
reconnaissance for a future expedition on behalf of the Brathay Exploration
Trust (BET)4, it was heartening for the authors to meet with Chas, Hreinn,
Rannveig and others and share not only their enthusiasm for the Icelandic
wilderness but also their stoic resilience in trying to seek a balance when it
comes to managing this area for the ever increasing numbers of visitors.
Future projects will aim to gauge the sensitivity of
vegetation stands to hiker impacts, facilitating the production of coarse scale
Geographical Information System (GIS) maps indicating areas of ecological
sensitivity which will assist with habitat zoning and trail management.
Additional work may examine the most appropriate methods for re-vegetating
eroded trails at higher elevations using various combinations of trampling
tolerant plant species and fertiliser applications. Such baseline data
focussing in on recreation ecology impacts should liberate meaningful
management criteria that could build a case for proposing ‘limits of acceptable
change’ but more perhaps more importantly mitigate existing impacts through
ecological restoration, ensuring a long-term sustainable future for the trail
environ.
Balancing Conflicts with Compromise
and Common Sense
So like anywhere else in the world the trick evidently
lies in not allowing the burgeoning recreational use to compromise the special
qualities that attract visitors to the Icelandic Highlands in the first place.
If linear routes are maintained and well planned,
then the majority of hikers will keep to them. In addition, with a combination
of pro-active management and visitor education, one hopes that the aesthetics
of Thor’s Wood and surrounds will remain indefinitely for future generations
and for even more hikers (and the odd film cast and crew) to enjoy!
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the BET who generously
funded their trip to Iceland as part of an initial reconnaissance expedition.
They would also like to acknowledge the wisdom of Graham Barrow, whose initial
discussions led to the trip.
Further Information
1 Olafsdottir, R. &
Runnstrom, M.C. (2013) Assessing hiking trails condition in two popular tourist
destinations in the Icelandic highlands. Journal
of Outdoor Recreation & Tourism 3-4,
57-67
2 Bayfield, N.G. &
Barrow, G.C. (eds) (1984) The Ecological Impacts of Outdoor Recreation on
Mountain Areas in Europe and North America. R.E.R.G Report No. 9.
