The Park Rangers Society of Iceland has called upon the government to ensure land management personnel at Iceland’s sites of natural wonder all year round, to protect these sites from the impact of tourism.
In a statement they posted to their website, the group points out that many of Iceland’s natural pearls have sustained a great deal of damage due to both high tourist traffic and poor management. Reykjadalur, for example, had to be closed due to extensive damage caused by too many visitors, and the Environmental Agency has closed an additional two locations for the same reasons.
“The stream of tourists has increased many times over in just a few years, and is now considerable all year round, but land management has unfortunately not been able to keep up,” the statement reads in part. “The need for land management services throughout the year has never been greater.”
They point out that their workload is considerable, and they have a shortage of rangers. This has led to temporary hires, which in turn decreases the professional knowledge of Iceland’s sites of natural wonder.
“It is obvious that if their had been a faster response, the situation would not be as bad, which again underlines the importance of better land management and more personnel of our delicate nature,” the statement concludes, calling upon the government to provide more resources to be able to better protect Iceland’s natural sites, regardless of the season.
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