The Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute of Foreign Languages in Iceland will from now on be a part of UNESCO and will be called the United Nations Cultural Institute. Read the full story

Last week, the City of Reykjavik was introduced as UNESCO City of Literature at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2011 where Iceland was the Guest of Honour. Read the full story

Reykjavik UNESCO City of Literature will be taking an active part in the 2011 Frankfurt Book Fair, which takes place between 12-16 October, as Iceland is this year’s Guest of Honour.  Read the full story

Iceland’s capital, the City of Reykjavik, has been declared a City of Literature by the United Nations’ culture and heritage agency, UNESCO. Read the full story

Icelandic Minister of Finance, Steingrimur J. Sigfusson and the famous Kenyan runner Tegla Loroupe will lead the last leg of the World Harmony Run in Iceland today. Read the full story

The United Nations culture agency has declared that two variations of the Greenlandic language are facing potential extinction. Read the full story

There are three national parks in Iceland – each is totally unique and each holds a special place in people’s hearts. The national parks are far apart, in the west, the southwest and the southeast of the country. Read the full story

The Jelling Stones, ancient monuments that declare the birth of the Danish nation, have been ordered by UNESCO to remain outdoors in their natural location despite calls from Denmark’s National Museum that they are steadily eroding. The stones’ outdoor location at Jelling Church in Jutland places them at the mercy of a cold and wet climate. Read the full story

According to local environmentalists, the largest lake in Iceland is under threat. Reports by IPS indicate that the construction of a new road in the area will adversely affect the ecology of Lake Thingvallavatn.

The lake is located in Thingvellir National Park, a park recognized by UNESCO for its cultural significance. The park includes the site of what is considered the first parliament in the world, which was founded in the year 930 AD.

The lake and the surrounding area are geologically important because it is one of the rare places in the world where people can see tectonic plates. The Great Rift Valley in East Africa is the only other place where such an occurrence is so easily observable.

In the summer, Thingvellir is a popular place for locals and it is located just an hour from the capital by car. In the winter, the roads can become impassable but nevertheless, the number of private summerhouses in the area is growing.

An all-weather road was proposed in 2001 for the benefit of school children rather than for tourists. The road would cut the journey that children make from Blaskogabyggd to Laugarvatn by 45 to 80 kilometres and allow vehicles to travel 20 km/h hour faster.

“The first road we proposed went through the park itself but was abandoned when the environmental impact assessment was thrown out after an appeal. So we came up with a number of other proposals,” says Erna Hreinsdottir from the Icelandic Road Administration.

“The new road, which we are calling Lyngdalsheidarvegur, avoids the national park and is also better from our point of view as it is straighter and has less steep hills. The current road has slopes of up to 20 percent while we prefer roads to have slopes no more than 6 percent for safety reasons. There are four times more accidents on the existing road than on other comparable roads, while the new road lies 100 metres lower than the old one, leading to better road conditions in mid-winter.”

According to local biologists, however, the increased traffic will lead to higher levels of nitrogen pollution going into the lake which is likely to turn its crystal clear waters a foggy green colour.

Gisli Mar Gislason is one of 27 freshwater biologists from the Nordic countries who expressed their concerns recently to UNESCO. “The new road will lie by the spawning area of Arctic charr,” Gislason told IPS. “The road could lead to increased pollution, in the form of nitrogen dioxide and nitrates, which would end up in the lake. Because of this, the main road should lie outside of the catchment area.”