Vatnajökull National Park - Dynamic Nature of Fire and Ice

The government agency Vatnajökull National Park (Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður) is the primary state agency responsible for implementing the park legislation, and is an effective organization, supported at all levels by the Icelandic government, local municipalities and businesses. There is mature governance in place together with experienced staff responsible for management employed on a long-term basis, including a strong complement of permanent and temporary staff. There is a comprehensive management strategy and action plan in place, that have achieved a notably high level of local input to decision making, and which are subject to regular review and updating. (World Heritage Committee, 2019)

At the time of the IUCN evaluation, the management plan dating from 2013 was being revised, also to integrate some areas that were added to VNP after 2013 (IUCN, 2019). As required by the VNP Act, the management plan includes the management objectives, means to implement management and protection, also for individual areas within the park, including individual safeguards, land use, construction work, transport and other infrastructure in the area. The plan also covers the public right of travel, access to the park and its use (State Party of Iceland, 2018).

The overall management and governance arrangements are effective and highly participatory. Through the VNP Board and the four regional advisory committees there is a high degree of stakeholder involvement, including from local authorities and various stakeholder groups such as environmental conservation associations, and outdoor and travel associations. However, communication between the central park management and the four regions, eight municipalities and various stakeholder groups could be strengthened and the transparency of decision-making improved. (IUCN, 2019)

The management system is adequate to maintain the site's values. There is a comprehensive management strategy and action plan in place, that have achieved a notably high level of local input to decision making, and which are subject to regular review and updating. The government agency Vatnajökull National Park (Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður) is the primary state agency responsible for implementing the park legislation, and is an effective organization, supported at all levels by the Icelandic government, local municipalities and businesses. There is mature governance in place together with experienced staff responsible for management employed on a long-term basis. (World Heritage Committee, 2019)

At the time of the IUCN evaluation, the management plan dating from 2013 was being revised, also to integrate some areas that were subsequently added to VNP (IUCN, 2019). The maximum validity of the management plan without review is 10 years, but changes may be made within that time, if warranted. Section 5 of the plan lists the objectives and means to achieve them. A short-term action plan and a number of specific work and action plans, taking into account available budget, are elaborated as necessary and appropriate during the lifetime of the management plan (State Party of Iceland, 2018). Specific management effectiveness evaluations have not yet been implemented in VNP, but this should be considered in the future (IUCN, 2019), to confirm the effectiveness of the management systems and/or identify improvements.

The property covers over 25% of the central highlands of Iceland and extends onto lowland areas to the south to cover a total of approximately 12% of the country. Its integrity is reflected in the inclusion of entire and intact landscape and geophysical units, minimal human use and intervention, and scientific interest in the property (World Heritage Committee, 2019).

The northernmost parts of the originally nominated property - i.e. the areas north of the Herðubreiðarlindir Nature Reserve - were referred by the World Heritage Committee to allow the State Party to complete consultations with landowners in these areas, and ensure appropriate protection measures are put in place (World Heritage Committee, 2019). There are also some other areas that could eventually be added to the national park and World Heritage site, including the large Skeiðarársandur sand plain to the south (IUCN, 2019).

The property does not have a designated buffer zone. This was not deemed essential given the vast size of the property, the particular resilient nature of the OUV, and the existing protection in the property’s surroundings (IUCN, 2019).

The property is well integrated into Iceland's national planning systems and forms the backbone of the country's current protected area system. The establishment of Vatnajökull National Park in 2007 from a series of unconnected protected areas and unprotected land has been called the "biggest protected area development in Iceland" (Petursson et al., 2016). Moreover, the Government of Iceland has already launched a process to consider the establishment of a much larger “Central Highlands National Park”, which would probably include the existing Vatnajökull National Park as a core area (IUCN, 2019; Iceland Magazine, 2018).

The overall management and governance arrangements are highly participatory (Petursson et al., 2016). Through the VNP Board and the four regional advisory committees there is a high degree of stakeholder involvement, including from local authorities and various stakeholder groups such as environmental conservation associations, and outdoor and travel associations. Traditional use such as sheep grazing, hunting, fishing, egg collecting, mushroom and berry picking is allowed in some areas, and is being addressed in the management plan and regulated by VNP in consultation with stakeholders, rights holders and property owners in the area (IUCN, 2019).

The park also benefits the local communities through direct employment and tourism-related jobs and incomes (see also Benefits section). However, there is still a need to continue to work with local communities, organizations and businesses around the park to maintain their involvement and help them benefit from the park (World Heritage Committee, 2019). The property conducts a wide range of education and outreach activities including through its visitor centres, school visits, public lectures, and summer activities. In late 2017, an Education and Outreach Plan was approved for the park and the protected areas overseen by it (State Party of Iceland, 2018).

The impacts of site management on the community are overall positive. Nonetheless, conflicts and disputes over certain management decisions occasionally arise. Most of these concern the use and area restrictions that affect some of the traditional user groups (hunting, four-wheel drive clubs). However, communication between the central park management and the four regions, eight municipalities and various stakeholder groups could be strengthened and the transparency of decision-making improved. (IUCN, 2019)

The property’s legal framework is adequate to protect its values (IUCN, 2019). The large majority of the property is protected by the Act on Vatnajökull National Park No. 60/2007 and Regulation No. 608/2008 (with subsequent amendments), whilst Herðubreiðarlindir and Lónsöræfi Nature Reserves are protected according to the Nature Conservation Act No. 47/1971. A range of other important national legislation is in place to ensure protection. Most of the land adjacent to the property is subject to the law on public land, where any invasive use requires approval by the Prime Minister’s Office. The 2019 WH Committee has recommended the State Party to complete the integration of the Herðubreiðarlindir and Lónsöræfi Nature Reserves into Vatnajökull National Park in order to facilitate cohesive management of the whole property (World Heritage Committee, 2019). This process is ongoing and Herðubreiðarlindir Nature Reserve has already been incorporated (Iceland Review, 2019).

There are no unresolved land tenure issues within the property. The large majority of the property is public land, but there are also some state-owned lands and private lands in the south (State Party of Iceland, 2018). The 2019 WH Committee referred back to the State Party the nominated areas situated to the north of the Herðubreiðarlindir Nature Reserve, in the Jökulsá á Fjöllum River corridor and the northern Dettifoss - Ásbyrgi part of Vatnajökull National Park, in order to allow the State Party to complete consultations with landowners in these areas, and ensure appropriate protection measures are put in place (World Heritage Committee, 2019).

The enforcement of the legal framework is mostly effective. Infringements are relatively rare, and park management typically cites illegal off-road driving as the most persistent threat to the property (IUCN, 2019). The park has several active management means to address this; however, some additional measures (e.g. clearer road/track demarcation, additional signage, information materials and campaigns) could be taken to discourage off-road driving (IUCN, 2019). The 2019 WH Committee has recommended the State Party to take additional measures to discourage illegal off-road driving by visitors, and to rehabilitate any areas affected adversely by these and other visitor uses (World Heritage Committee, 2019). The Committee also recommended the adoption and implementation of an effective certification schemes for commercial operators and guides operating in the property, and to make available additional staff resources, including field staff, to ensure the effective protection and management of the property (World Heritage Committee, 2019).

So far, the only WH Committee decision was the one in 2019 inscribing the property on the WH List. The decision included a number of recommendations, the implementation of which still needs to be monitored and reported on. As requested by the Committee, the State Party already submitted to the World Heritage Centre a map of the inscribed property, reflecting the referral of the nominated areas situated to the north of the Herðubreiðarlindir Nature Reserve.

As noted in other parts of this assessment (see Threats and Benefits sections), ongoing traditional use (such as sheep grazing, hunting, fishing, egg collecting, mushroom and berry picking) within the property is well regulated and does not pose any significant threat to the World Heritage values of the property (IUCN, 2019). Areas where traditional land use is permitted are specified in the management plan in accordance with the park's regulations (State Party of Iceland, 2018).

The property has an adequate and secure budget to cover essential staff and operations, with the principal financial support from the central government and up to 30% which is generated from its own income. Significant other support has also come from the government controlled Tourist Site Protection Fund and the non-profit organisation Friends of Vatnajökull. There is a need to sustain and further increase resourcing to ensure the management needs of the property are fully met (World Heritage Committee, 2019). The total budget of VNP has almost tripled since its establishment in 2008; however, since 2014, investments into infrastructure developments have stagnated while salaries continue to increase. In 2016, the total budget amounted to 559 million ISK, including 313 million ISK for salaries (IUCN, 2019). Still, the financing is deemed sufficient for conserving the Outstanding Universal Value of the property (State Party of Iceland, 2018).

The overall management capacity of the VNP agency is adequate and effective. At the time of the IUCN evaluation, VNP had 16 permanent staff, including one overall park manager based in Reykjavik, five regional managers (two in the north and one each in the west, south and east), assistant regional managers, and some permanent rangers. Each year, the park also hires 60-70 temporary staff to work as rangers, service staff at visitor centres, or as general workers. The property depends upon this additional staffing to operate in an optimal way. During the IUCN field mission in 2018, all regional park managers reported a need for some additional staff resources, including field staff for certain areas and times of the year, and especially some centralised administrative support to help with tasks such as human resources, accounting, outreach and education. There was also a general expectation that the proposed Nature Conservation Agency could potentially provide centralised administrative support to VNP. (IUCN, 2019)

Overall, the property has an adequate and secure budget to cover essential staff and operations, and there is experienced staff responsible for management employed on a long-term basis. However, based on IUCN’s findings, the 2019 WH Committee recommended the State Party to make available additional staff resources, including both field staff and administrative support, to ensure the effective protection and management of the property. (World Heritage Committee, 2019)

The property conducts a wide range of education and outreach activities including through its visitor centres, school visits, public lectures, and summer activities. In late 2017, an Education and Outreach Plan was approved for the park and the protected areas overseen by it. This plan defines the status of activities related to education and dissemination of information and provides a vision and objectives for future programmes and activities, as well as defining desired visitor experience. The property continues to develop and improve its facilities for visitor access, education and recreation. One particularly noteworthy approach is the so-called roadside discourse: Rangers deployed at strategic access roads to the more remote highland areas stop all vehicles passing, bid the visitors welcome, give out maps and information material, and invite questions. (State Party of Iceland, 2018; see details in Section 5.i of the nomination dossier)

Hence, the existing education, interpretation and awareness programmes are considered to significantly enhance the understanding among stakeholders of both the values of the site and the adequate use of the site’s natural resources. Overall, illegal activities are rare, and usually not due to a lack of awareness.

The property is an important place for outdoor recreation and tourism in the country, and has seen a relatively rapid increase in visitor numbers in the recent past (exceeding one million in 2018), in line with the rest of Iceland. Although visitors can be encountered in all parts of the park, tourism is concentrated in a few popular destinations. By far the most visitors are encountered at Skaftafell and Jökulsárlón south of the Vatnajökull ice cap, 620,000 and 640,000 respectively in 2016. In fact, over 70% of visitors only stop at one of these locations, or both. Within the property itself, visitor facilities are limited, mostly taking the form of discreet overnight huts, campsites and ranger stations operated by regional touring associations or the park itself. (State Party of Iceland, 2018)

Localised disturbances (e.g. trampling, littering, crowding) around tourism hotspots such as Jökulsárlón or Skaftafell require adequate visitor facilities and visitor management. In the backcountry, illegal off-road driving can also pose a problem in some locations. There is continuous monitoring of visitor numbers and distribution, trail erosion, ‘wear and tear’ on visitor facilities and the presence of waste. (IUCN, 2019)

The 2019 WH Committee has recommended the State Party to 1) put in place adequate visitor facilities around the Jökulsárlón Lagoon in the south of the property, and at the Dettifoss Waterfall to the north of the property; 2) adopt and implement an effective certification scheme for commercial operators and guides operating in the property; and 3) take additional measures to discourage illegal off-road driving by visitors (World Heritage Committee, 2019).

A new policy for park operations, approved on 24 June 2019 (following broad consultations) and to be enacted from 1 January 2020, will allow VNP to limit the number of visitors in certain areas and will require companies in the tourism industry to obtain a permit to operate within the park boundaries. The companies will have to follow rules regarding worker and tourist safety, as well as regarding conduct in the area. Service companies may have to bid for permits, should the number of interested companies exceed that of available permits. (Iceland Monitor, 2019)

An effective long-term monitoring system is in place, using space- and ground-based observations, for improved evaluation of seismo-tectonic movements and volcanic hazards as well as for glacial flow and fluctuations and key aspects of the property’s biota (World Heritage Committee, 2019). There is a clear and adequate framework for monitoring the state of conservation of the property, including a set of useful indicators covering the fields of geology, geological hazards, biota and tourism. This includes continuous monitoring of visitor numbers and distribution, trail erosion, ‘wear and tear’ on visitor facilities and the presence of waste (IUCN, 2019).

General requirements for monitoring and research of the property are established in the VNP management plan. The VNP agency is primarily responsible for implementing the management plan and for defining indicators on the state of conservation and sustainable use of the park. VNP cooperates with a number of partners to monitor these indicators, including the University of Iceland, Icelandic Meteorological Office, Icelandic Institute of Natural History, Iceland Glaciological Society, Soil Conservation Service of Iceland and three regional Nature Research Centres. The management plan includes a list of monitoring priorities (Section 7.17) and also notes that VNP seeks to apply research findings and monitoring results to the management of the park. (State Party of Iceland, 2018)

One of the main objectives of VNP is to promote research in the area. The property’s management plan summarizes various research opportunities (Section 3.1.1) and notes that VNP seeks to apply research findings and monitoring results to the management of the park. It recognizes that connections with the scientific community, scholars and organisations working in these fields are an important basis for robust research and easy access to and dissemination of knowledge. The management plan includes a list of research priorities (Section 7.17) and also notes that “it is important that the park authorities have oversight over all research in the national park, at any given time. This will make it easier to assist scientists and scholars, and it is also important that conclusions from research can be used to the benefit of the national park, as far as possible and where needed” (Section 5.3.5). (State Party of Iceland, 2018)

The property is an outstanding natural laboratory for Earth sciences and has long attracted scientists from around the world. The intense, international scientific interest in the property is evidenced by some 775 scientific peer reviewed papers published over the last 50 years, 281 over the last ten years (many referenced in the nomination). Vatnajökull is among the best monitored and researched ice caps worldwide, and the property is also a prime location for climate change research. VNP has also been collaborating with the University of Iceland to measure and monitor visitor numbers and trends, visitor satisfaction and visitor impact within the property. (State Party of Iceland, 2018)

Overall, there appears to be adequate knowledge about the site to support planning, management and decision-making.