Eight candidates apply for director position at newly established Nature Conservation Agency in Iceland

Eight candidates have applied for the position of director of the newly established Nature Conservation Agency in Iceland. This agency is one of three new organizations created following the dissolution of the Environmental Agency, with operations set to commence at the beginning of next year when the relevant laws come into effect.

The candidates are:

– Álfheiður Eymarsdóttir, political scientist
– Hallur Helgason, project manager
– Hildur Guðbjörg Kristjánsdóttir, office and HR manager
– Ingibjörg Halldórsdóttir, director of Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður (Vatnajökull National Park)
– Kristófer S. Arnar P. Júlíusson, biotechnologist
– María Ester Guðjónsdóttir, tourism and business expert
– Olumide Temitope Araoyinbo, supervisor
– Sigrún Ágústsdóttir, director of the Environmental Agency

A qualification committee appointed by the Minister of Environment, Energy, and Climate will assess the candidates’ qualifications and provide a report to the minister. The committee includes Kristín Þórðardóttir, the regional commissioner of Suðurland, as the chair; Kristján Skarphéðinsson, a former agency director; and Finnur Árnason, chair of the board of the New National Hospital.

All new agencies will be based outside the capital region, with the Nature Conservation Agency headquartered in Hvolsvöllur. It has been indicated that staff will not be required to relocate, even though agency managers will operate in rural areas. The Nature Conservation Agency will assume responsibilities related to nature conservation and management of hunting and fishing from the former Environmental Agency. It will also inherit responsibilities and assets from Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður, which will cease to be an independent state agency upon the law’s enactment.