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Master's lecture in Environment and Natural Resources - Haukur Logi Jóhannsson  

When 
Tue, 02/06/2020 - 13:00 to 13:45
Where 
Further information 
Free admission

The lecture will be streamed: https://eu01web.zoom.us/j/3545254286

Master's student: Haukur Logi Jóhannsson

Title: A framework for well-informed decisions? The origins and development of the Icelandic Master Plan for Nature Protection and Energy Utilisation

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Faculty:  Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences

Advisor:  Karl Benediktsson, Professor at the Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences

Other member of the masters committee: Skúli Skúlason, Professor at Holar University College

Examiner: Einar Jónsson, Urban planner at Verkís

Abstract

Over the past few decades, one of the more controversial topics in public debate in Iceland is the construction of power plants. Conflicting viewpoints of nature conservation and energy utilization have precluded consensus. The Master Plan for Nature Protection and Energy Utilization (hereafter MP) is an attempt to reconcile these opposing views and interests. The objective of the MP is to evaluate and rank various potential areas and assess the impact an energy project would have on nature, environment and society. Although the MP is now in its fourth phase, its objectives have not been fully achieved. The main objective of this thesis is to analyze the MP and its methods and examine the views of those who have been directly involved in the planning process. Interviews and other materials are analyzed. The main conclusions are that the MP has in many ways changed the planning and development of energy projects in Iceland and brought a new perspective to the electricity market and the planning of land use. Even so, the planning process is not without faults. The relevant law needs to be revised in order to clarify how much data must be available before potential power plant projects are taken into consideration. It is also important that Iceland formulates an energy policy; more social and economic research is carried out; and the submission procedure for possible energy projects is changed.