Status and Trends of Biodiversity
Overview
Iceland is situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, isolated from landmasses, making it difficult for plants and animals to disperse to the island. Biological diversity is thus not very high, and there are few endemic species of fauna and flora. Besides commensal rodents, the terrestrial mammalian fauna of Iceland is composed of just four species, only one of which, the arctic fox (Alopex lagopus), is indigenous to the country...
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Number and Extent of Protected Areas
In 2000, the 85 national parks and reserves and other protected areas amounted to roughly 11,900 km2, or approximately 12% of the total land area in Iceland. It is estimated that 6% of protected areas classify as wetlands, and that approximately 4.5% of the wetlands in Iceland have been protected.
