Forests and bushes now cover over 2% of Iceland, Vísir reports. That number may not seem like much, but since 1990, the surface area covered by forest or shrubs in Iceland has increased more than six times over – from 7,000 hectares to 45,000. In 20 years, the number is expected to be 2.6%.
The Icelandic Forestry Association (IFA) held a conference last week where the milestone was celebrated. “This is big news,” stated Arnór Snorrason, a forester at the IFA research station at Mógilsá. It’s not only forestry efforts that have increased these numbers, but also Iceland’s remaining natural birch forests, which Arnór says have finally begun expanding for the first time since Iceland was settled.
Read More: One Man Reforestation Project
As much as 40% of Iceland’s surface area was covered by forest before permanent settlers arrived in the ninth century. They chopped down wood for kindling and cleared land for grazing, and their livestock later prevented trees from growing back.
Read more about the history of reforestation in Iceland here.
