Landvernd, the Icelandic Environment Association, has harshly criticized Canadian pop star Justin Bieber’s latest video, filmed in Iceland, Vísir reports. The video was shot last week, during Bieber’s visit, which included two concerts in Kópavogur. It is made to the song ‘Cold Water,’ which is a collaboration between Bieber, American electronic band Major Lazer, and Danish musician MØ.
The video shows four bare-legged women dancing, jumping and tramping in the moss in the Eldhraun lava field, which already has been badly damaged from tourist traffic.
Snorri Baldursson, head of the Icelandic Environment Association, told Vísir, “This is probably the worst treatment you can imagine for the moss, to jump on it. This type of moss that we have in the Eldhraun lava field is probably one of the country’s most sensitive ecosystems. It hardly tolerates any trampling. The footstep of one person remains in it for a whole summer. Once the moss has been jumped on, the top layer is ruined, and then it’s very difficult for it to be renewed.”
Snorri states that the condition of the moss has suffered a great deal due to tourist traffic. “Foreigners find the moss formations amazing, because they don’t see them anywhere else in the world. That’s why they stop in the middle of the road that lies through the lava, walk out into the moss and lie down in it.” Snorri believes the Skaftárhreppur district must launch some plan to protect the moss in the Eldhraun lava field to prevent trampling, “because this is a treasure which attracts tourists, and which is wonderful to possess.”
UPDATE: Reykjavík Rocks, which provided the production service for the video, posted this message on its Facebook page: “Actually we have really good location managers who know the drill and make sure the moss and nature is never left in bad condition.”
