Assessment of the Drangajökull Wilderness Area, Iceland

The wider area of Drangajökull (Ófeigsfjörður Fjord, Strandir region of the Western Fjords, Iceland) includes the glacier of the same name and Hornstrandir Nature reserve. The area of wilderness, proposed for protection by the Icelandic Institute of Natural History (IINH), covers 1.435 km2. The area is characterised by several glacial and freshwater rivers, a plethora of lakes and ponds and comprises one of Iceland’s highest and very picturesque waterfall Drynjandi in the Hvalá river. Drangajökull wilderness area is a part of the wider intact area of Westfjords. 

The Drangajökull Wilderness area was assessed for its international, European and national importance and IUCN protected area standards. The area is one of the few remaining undisturbed and un-fragmented wilderness areas, not only in Iceland, but at the wider European scale and meets all the criteria for recognition of global significance of wilderness. The area contains exceptional natural features and phenomena, including the extensive area of ice-smoothed topography of upstanding rocks and depressions filled with lakes and waterfalls. The Miocene bedrock of the Drangajökull area is the place where the highest density of tree moulds, fossil remnants, has been found in Iceland.   Around the glacier Drangajökull, are diverse geomorphological and geological formations representing Late Glacial – Holocene history.

Any developments in the area, including the planned hydro power system, which would dramatically change the hydrological regime, affect landscape features, biodiversity and natural processes and introduce extensive new infrastructure would be in strong opposition with the IUCN and national standards for assignment of the protected area category Ib (wilderness) or II (national park).