Minister of the Environment Jónína Bjarmarz established a task force yesterday to explore the possibility of enlarging the Thjórsárver wetland reserve in central Iceland.
Bjartmarz announced that not only did she want to enlarge Thjórsárver wetland reserve, but also discontinue all plans of energy exploitation in the area, as Morgunbladid reports.
A part of Thjórsárver has been preserved since 1981 and has been a registered reserve at the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands since 1990.
The Ramsar Convention’s mission is to protect wetlands around the world, especially wetland bird territories, and a reasonable exploitation of natural resources.
In a statement released yesterday, the Ministry of the Environment described Thjórsárver as one of Iceland’s most valuable national treasures as it is the largest oasis in the Icelandic mid-highlands and the largest egg laying territory of heath geese in the world.
The workgroup that was constituted by Bjartmarz to explore the possibility of enlarging Thjórsárver reserve is to hand in a report by 1 February 2007.
