The Agricultural University of Iceland (AUI), coordinator of Peatland LIFEline, and the NABU Climate Fund have signed a partnership agreement to support the restoration of drained wetlands at Hvanneyri and in its vicinity. The agreement was signed at the beginning of September by Ingo Ammermann, Managing Director of the NABU Climate Fund, and Ragnheiður Þórarinsdóttir, Rector of the Agricultural University of Iceland.

NABU (Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union) is the largest environmental NGO in Germany, counting a million registered members. It was founded in 1899 to act on the preservation of ecosystems, sustainable agriculture, as well as to promote the importance of nature conservation and biodiversity in society. They are also the BirdLife organization of Germany, as part of the BirdLife International network.

Supporting Research and Measurements within Peatland LIFEline

Under the agreement, the NABU Climate Fund commits to providing funding for the restoration of several drained wetland areas in the lowlands near Hvanneyri. In addition, NABU's wetland specialists, who are among Europe's leading experts in this field, will support research and measurements within the Peatland LIFEline project in Iceland.

Such a support will ensure the proper implementation of a high-quality restoration work and sets the basis for developing a model of excellence in wetland restoration in Iceland for the future. NABU’s historical expertise in peatland restoration, monitoring, as well as LIFE projects across Europe is a perfect addition to our pool of experts.

NABU has however already contributed to the work of Peatland LIFEline by providing valuable insights and recommendations for our monitoring work, in addition to having participated in the university summer school in Landscape Architecture “Design with water” by teaching students about peatland restoration in Europe.

We warmly thank NABU Climate Fund and Tilmann Disselhoff for their trust and support, and look forward to the collaboration!