Biodiversity

Policy

Reykjavík City's Biodiversity Policy was approved in January 2016. It defines objectives and key projects aimed at nurturing biodiversity - both within and outside city limits. The Nature City brochure was published on September 16, 2019.

Myndir

Biodiversity refers to the variety of life in people's environment. It covers everything from individuals and populations of specific species to communities and ecosystems. Biodiversity forms the foundation of natural resources. These resources are vital for human survival. They also shape quality of life and happiness, especially in cities where nature can be scarce.

Reykjavík residents share their city with countless living beings. These range from whooper swans to bumblebees and birch trees to hermit crabs. The city limits contain many unique, valuable, and sensitive ecosystems. These include mudflats and seaweed shores, important habitats for waders and marine invertebrates. There are also streams housing salmon and trout populations, moss-covered lava fields, heathlands, and puffin colonies on islands. The built environment is also rich with life. City dwellers interact daily with creatures such as singing garden birds. Access to lush and sheltering vegetation is also crucial for urban residents.

Protecting living beings

Biodiversity is under threat globally, largely due to human activities. These have directly or indirectly caused habitat destruction, ecosystem degradation, and species extinction. There's growing public and government will to nurture and protect living beings and their environments. Cities worldwide are at the forefront of this journey, as land use and natural resource decisions are significant at their level. With this new policy, Reykjavík will actively participate in this work. This also supports Iceland's participation in international cooperation under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.

Forsíðumynd af teiknaðri önd

Aðgerðaáætlun

Aðgerðaáætlun Reykjavíkur um líffræðilega fjölbreytni til ársins 2030 ber heitið Náttúrulega Reykjavík! Í henni eru 80 fjölbreyttar aðgerðir sem styrkja lífríki borgarinnar, græn svæði, lífsgæði íbúa og auka áfallaþol með breyttu loftslagi.

Í áætluninni kennir ýmissa grasa, til dæmis er stefnt að því að klára friðlýsingarferli í Skerjafirði, fjölga hólmum á Tjörninni til þess að styrkja fuglalíf, fjölga trjám í borgarlandinu, börnum í grunnskólum verði tryggð kennsla úti í náttúrunni, lífríki borgarinnar verði áfram vaktað og unnið verði gegn ágengum tegundum svo fátt eitt sé nefnt.

The Policy is based on six main objectives

  • Record and analyze information about Reykjavík's biodiversity.
  • Strengthen biodiversity on city land.
  • Work against the main threats to biodiversity.
  • Provide widespread education about biodiversity.
  • Ensure biodiversity's place in Reykjavík's operations.
  • Make Reykjavík a leader in biodiversity policy and action planning.
  • View the full biodiversity policy

The Nature City

The Nature City brochure was published on Icelandic Language Day, September 16, 2019.

View the Nature City brochure
Illustration of a house shaped like a flowerpot with a woman watering plants on the roof