As sea levels and temperatures rise, tourism follows; Icelanders remain steadfast in their fearless efforts to adapt
The landscapes of Iceland stretch for miles over its southerly coast. Intermittent with glaciers, waterfalls and volcanic rock, the island stands resolute in the face of extreme weather and the natural evolution of land. Its people are no different. They don’t aim to tame nature, but rather coexist. From around 800 A.D. when Vikings settled, the natives endured change.
Fast forward to 2017 and Iceland is once again adapting to changes. The 2008 economic crisis hit hard and much like the international atmosphere in the wake of bankruptcy, Icelanders felt the weight of financial disparity; that’s about the time tourism began to grow. As a leading country in geothermal energy and a nation that embraces climate change, Iceland is an example of adaptation in the midst of warming temperatures and people are taking notice.
As tourists flood the country with piqued interest in Iceland’s natural wonders, locals are coping with these changes while accommodating tourists’ needs and stabilizing their economy.
Easily Accessible
In 2009, only a handful of airlines flew into Keflavik International Airport, near the capital Reykjavík on Iceland’s southwest coast. In under eight years, more than 20 airlines picked up routes to Keflavik and the few smaller surrounding airports at inexpensive fares. This doesn’t include tourists arriving by ferry or cruise lines, altogether bringing in about 2 million tourists annually to Iceland’s population of about 332,000.
Additionally, businesses involved in tourism-related employment grew about 37% from 2009 to 2016.
Tourism and Climate
In her office overlooking the North Atlantic Ocean and parts of downtown Reykjavík, Björt Ólafsdóttir, Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources, explains the country’s plan to utilize its landscape up north. A part of the country often overlooked by tourists, this expansive area will be used to relieve the influx of tourism in Reykjavík and the surrounding areas, the Minister explained.
And as summer approaches Iceland in late May, tourists arrive in droves, seeking adventure in winding country drives, horseback rides and glacial tours.
The hike to Sólheimajökull, a popular glacier about two hours away from Reykjavík, takes tourists through tight ice caves, steep hills of soft snow and clear water rushing down its sides. The breathtaking views are reminders of nature’s power.
But just as quickly as visitors embrace the peaceful experience, tour guides issue warnings of receding glaciers due to rising temperatures and the burning of fossil fuels.
Glacial Recession
Martin Hess, a glacier guide for Icelandic Mountain Guides explains that bringing people to the receding spots is the best way to help tourists understand the changing environment.
“When people say, ‘Do you impact by walking on the glacier?’ We can argue and say, ‘Oh yes, I’m melting the glacier by doing this or exposing it to a faster melt rate.’ But that’s minimal. You’re doing more damage by getting in the car and driving back to Reykjavík…”
Lakes are currently forming in front of a number of glaciers, “a sign of death,” and an ending of growth and lifespan for a glacier. With rising ocean temperatures, Hess explains, in the next five years glaciers will be completely inaccessible by land.
A project implemented by geology students at the University of Iceland measures the recession of Sólheimajökull glacier each season. Their studies have found a steady increase in glacial recession, but the appearance of glaciers today are a direct result of the climate effects from 10 years ago, according to geologist and founder of Extreme Iceland Tours, Bjorn Hroarsson. If this trend continues in the coming years, glaciers will recede even further and accessing them will be nearly impossible. In 150 years, these glaciers will be gone completely.
Hroarsson explains that the earth has seen a cyclic temperature increase-decrease for millions of years. This climate rise and fall are universally natural. Iceland’s environment once mirrored that of Cuba, with fertile land and a tepid climate. The island was inversely covered in ice for hundreds of years following a warm period. But as this cycle continues, the temperature in both the northern and southern hemispheres of the globe are increasing at the same time; a phenomenon not seen before the 1970s.
“I’ve been a glacier guide for two years. The glaciers are always melting from the front, so we’re always managing and changing the routes. It’s in no way similar to how it was two years ago. The routes that I took [then] are completely gone,” explained Armann Aegiss, a glacier guide on Sólheimajökull.
With rising sea-levels in places like Alaska, Greenland and Iceland the world is feeling immediate effects of a changing climate. However, the attitude in Iceland is one of endurance and fearlessness. If history is acting as a guide, then adaptation is an answer.
The Future of Iceland and its Tourists
Now more than ever, Icelanders are striving to accommodate tourists’ needs. Facebook and Instagram have created a trend of immediacy. People want to capture the stunning sights of Iceland, like the mysterious Northern Lights to the illustrious waterfalls - like Öxarárfoss — and be able to post to social media right away.
Cell phone towers have even been placed at the base of the glacier Sólheimajökull to allow better wireless service to meet tourists’ social media interests.
On Iceland’s south coast the icebergs, sometimes the size of city blocks, are breaking off and falling in lakes created by melting glaciers. These are more signs of a warming climate. The huge chunks of ice travel along Glacier Lagoon down to the black sand beaches where they are washed up on the shore.
A dam is being constructed in the lagoon allowing larger icebergs to melt before destroying the infrastructure of the Jokulsarlon bridge. With the natural process slowed, tourists will be free to cross the bridge with little caution. These are only a couple of the ways Iceland’s tourism industry is adapting to the environment’s road blocks.
But while climate change remains a critical conversation in the United States, Iceland prefers to leave politics out of it. “This is about geology, this has nothing to do with popularity or politics,” Hroarsson says.
With President Trump recently pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord, the impact of this decision is still harmful, Hroarsson explains.
“Of course humans should do their part and leave as little footprint as possible,” Hroarsson said.
He believes humans should carefully navigate the decisions being made today that may impact the future.
As for tourists in Iceland in the coming years, locals believe the popular spot will always be a sight worth seeing despite the rapid recession of its glaciers. It will just take other alternatives like boating, kayaking and flying to see these melting areas. But the attitude is optimistic despite all the unknowns.
”Maybe it’s just a matter of setting the price higher because you can’t walk onto the glaciers anymore and it’s now involving [a] boat, which needs to be maintained and [is] being reflected in the product price,” Hess says.
Special Thanks to:
Bjorn Hroasson, Extreme Iceland Tours
Martin Hess, Icelandic Mountain Guides
Sveinn Hólmar Guðmundsson, Elding Whale Watching Tours
Written by: Courtney Blackann, Courtnee Davis
With the help of Farideh Goldin, Jenny Vasquez and Deema Zein
