“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.” – Elie Wiesel
Landvernd is an Icelandic environmental activist group that acts as a visionary force to advocate for environmentally sound and sustainable policies at the local, municipal, and federal level. Based in Rekyjavik, they are involved in a variety of projects throughout the country of Iceland (and beyond in the global community), including the Central Highlands project and the Blue Flag program. Comprised of forty four member socieites totaling to approximately 1,200 individual members, Landvernd is a growing community of scientists, activists, and concerned citizens seeking to further goals of sustainable development, resource conservation, and fostering a more healthy relationship between humankind and nature.
For me, meeting with two members of Landvernd (one whose main focus is on schools and the other who primarily deals with the Highlands) was tremendously impactful. In the context of a progressive nation, Iceland is moving forward on environmental issues in a way that many Western nations are not — yet, at the same time, Icelandic environmental policy is still somewhat detrimental in terms of contributing to climate change and resource depletion. To help deal with the issues surrounding sustainability that Iceland is facing and to assist in creating public support for these initiatives, Landvernd is working locally and nationally (in addition to internationally) to help make sustainable existence of humanity into a reality.
Seeing the drive and passion that the employees of this nonprofit have for improving nature and preserving the land for future generations was awe-inspiring to me. What was especially fascinating was to visit with the Ministry for the Environment and Natural Resources right after speaking to members of Landvernd. Though the messages of the two organizations in their overall missions is somewhat similar, the successes they have seen and the struggles that they have each faced were varying — which makes sense, structurally, as one is an NGO and the other is a branch of the Icelandic government.
Organizations such as Landvernd are necessary to build the green economy, inspire values of eco-feminism, implement policies that look beyond capitalism, and change the hearts and minds of environmentalists and consumerists alike. Empowerment is a result of many of the programs and projects that NGOs and governmental groups engage in… and it is through this sense of realizing the power that we all have as citizens of whatever socially constructed nation and borders we belong to, that we will fully be able to radically challenge our previously held biases and norms to revolutionize post-modern ideas of sustainability, community organizing, and political action in the most productive and eco-conscious ways.
http://eng.umhverfisraduneyti.is/
http://landvernd.is/en
Friður og ást (Peace and love),
Andrew