The Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources proposed a bill to the Icelandic parliament, Althingi, on 9 May. Whether you look at other European countries, the west coast, or other parts of the world, many countries are implementing formal planning in the oceans this season, similar to what has been the case for many decades in land-based planning. These examples can be seen in the European Union’s Marine Planning Directive of 2014 and the work in the individual member states in recent years to implement formal planning in marine and coastal areas. The law states that a general policy on the planning of marine and coastal areas should be established and that specific areas along the coast of Iceland should be further developed.
