Monday 6 September 2010

Monday Ice: The power of the people!

Environmental issues today world wide should be core policy with all governments guided by a set of standards that promote nature conservation according to principles of sustainable development, these core policies need to protect the ecological limits of any region before any development is approved.

Iceland has some of the few remaining large wilderness areas in Europe and there are many concerned that some of these areas are being sold off to large foreign corporations for future development.


 Dreamland is a feature length documentary about the exploitation of Icelandic nature.

I have also just been reading a little story about Lake Mývatn and the River Laxá in Iceland, a heartwarming story where a small community just over 40 years ago took the law into their own hands to bring about environmental change and halt destruction to their land by the then government and developers. Through the actions of this small community Lake Mývatn and the River Laxá are now protected.

This trailer about The Laxá Farmers is a documentary about farmers who on August 7th 1970  blew up a dam to save their valley and river. They had protested the dam for years utilising all legal means available but were losing the battle and being chased off their land, as a last resort they went in the middle of the night with dynamite. Today Laxá River and Lake Mývatn are one of Iceland's most precious areas.

4 comments:

  1. Thank you Vicky for all those post about my country - they are a wake-up call.... We are so quick to forget.... and it takes a lady from the other side of the planet, to make us remember and apprreciate what a beuatyful country we live in - and we should take good care of it for our children...
    I still remember though, when they blew up the dam - that was huge - and I think that the majority off the people living in the countryside, understood and were proud of those farmers... I remember that I was ;°)....

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  2. My meeting in Reykjavik yesterday was about the enlargement of one of our national parks alled Þjórsáver in the south of Iceland. I was there as the park is being enlarged to include the whole of Hofsjökull of which a part sits in Skagafjordur and hence our council has a representative - it was a very interesting meeting.....

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  3. Thanks Johanna, I think I would indeed be proud of those farmers as well, it must have been a hard decision for them as generally most people do not choose to take the law in their own hands unless pushed to the limit. Hopefully I will be able to catch up with you soon and get to see more of your beautiful country.

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  4. Sigga, the ..... in your comment allude to more, would love to hear about it all one day soon!

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