The Ministry for the Environment and Natural Resources ( is, Umhverfis- og auðlindaráðuneytið) is an
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
ic
cabinet-level
A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countries ...
ministry founded 23 February 1990. It was originally called the Ministry for the Environment but was renamed to its current name on 1 September 2012. The Ministry oversees a wide range of matters as they relate to the environment, including
nature conservation
Nature conservation is the moral philosophy and conservation movement focused on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protecting biological diversity. A range of values unde ...
,
wildlife protection
Wildlife conservation refers to the practice of protecting wild species and their habitats in order to maintain healthy wildlife species or populations and to restore, protect or enhance natural ecosystems. Major threats to wildlife include habita ...
,
forest protection
Forest protection is a branch of forestry which is concerned with the preservation or improvement of a forest and prevention and control of damage to forest by natural or man made causes like forest fires, plant pests, and adverse climatic condi ...
and
revegitation efforts,
environmental impact assessment
Environmental Impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the term "environmental imp ...
and
land use planning
Land use planning is the process of regulating the use of land by a central authority. Usually, this is done to promote more desirable social and environmental outcomes as well as a more efficient use of resources. More specifically, the goals ...
,
pollution control
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...
and
environmental health
Environmental health is the branch of public health concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment affecting human health. In order to effectively control factors that may affect health, the requirements that must be met in ...
,
fire prevention
Fire prevention is a function of many fire departments. The goal of fire prevention is to educate the public on the precautions which should be taken to prevent potentially harmful fires and how to survive these fires in the event that they do o ...
,
meteorology
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...
, and mapping, including
surveying
Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
and
remote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Earth ...
. The current
Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources is
Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson
Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson (born 28 March 1977) is a member of parliament Alþingi in Iceland and the Minister of Social Affairs and the Labour Market since November 28, 2021. He represents the Left-Green Party. He was Minister for the Enviro ...
.
Departments
The Ministry for the Environment and Natural Resources of Iceland comprises six departments:
* Department of Climate Action ()
* Department of Environment and Spatial Planning ()
* Department of Finance and Administration ()
* Department of Land and Natural Heritage ()
* Department of the Permanent Secretary ()
* Department of Policy Coordination and International Affairs ()
Agencies
*
Icelandic Meteorological Office
Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO; is, Veðurstofa Íslands) is Iceland's national weather service and as such a government agency under the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. It is also active in volcano monitoring, esp. volc ...
(''Veðurstofa Íslands'')
* Environment Agency of Iceland (''Umhverfisstofnun'')
* Iceland Construction Authority (''Mannvirkjastofnun'')
*
Icelandic Forest Service
The Icelandic Forest Service ( is, Skógræktin ) (IFS) is a subordinate agency
Agency may refer to:
Organizations
* Institution, governmental or others
** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, plan ...
(''Skógrækt ríkisins'')
*
Iceland GeoSurvey
Iceland GeoSurvey (ÍSOR) is a consulting and research institute providing specialist services to the Icelandic power industry, the Icelandic government and foreign companies, in particular in the field of geothermal sciences and utilisation. It a ...
(''Íslenskar orkurannsóknir'')
* Icelandic Institute of Natural History (''Náttúrufræðistofnun Íslands'')
* Icelandic National Planning Agency (''Skipulagsstofnun'')
* Icelandic Recycling Fund (''Úrvinnslusjóður'')
* Institute of Freshwater Fisheries (''Veiðimálastofnun'')
* Myvatn Research Station (''Náttúrurannsóknastöðin við Mývatn'')
* National Land Survey of Iceland (''Landmælingar Íslands'')
* State Soil Conservation Service (''Landgræðsla ríkisins'')
* Stefansson Arctic Institute (''Stofnun Vilhjálms Stefánssonar'')
*
Vatnajökull National Park
Vatnajökull National Park ( is, Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður ) is one of three national parks in Iceland. It encompasses all of Vatnajökull glacier and extensive surrounding areas. These include the national parks previously existing at Skaftafell ...
(''Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður'')
See also
*
Environment and Transport Committee
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry for the Environment and Natural Resources
1990 establishments in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
Environment of Iceland
Environment
Environment most often refers to:
__NOTOC__
* Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally
* Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...
Iceland, Environment and Natural Resources
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...