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1.2 Landscape Or Landslag? The Concept of Landslag: Meanings and Value for Nature Conservation Edda Ruth Hlín Waage Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Iceland 2013 The Concept of Landslag: Meanings and Value for Nature Conservation Edda Ruth Hlín Waage Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of a Philosophiae Doctor degree in Geography Supervisor Professor Karl Benediktsson University of Iceland PhD Committee Professor Karl Benediktsson University of Iceland Professor Gunhild Setten Norwegian University of Science and Technology Dr. Þorvarður Árnason Director, University of Iceland's Research Centre in Hornafjörður Opponents Professor Emily Brady University of Edinburgh Professor Mats Olof Widgren Stockholm University Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences School of Engineering and Natural Sciences University of Iceland Reykjavík, December 2013 The Concept of Landslag: Meanings and Value for Nature Conservation Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of a Philosophiae Doctor degree in Geography Copyright © 2013 Edda Ruth Hlín Waage All rights reserved Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences School of Engineering and Natural Sciences University of Iceland Askja, Sturlugata 7 101, Reykjavík Iceland Telephone: 525 4000 Bibliographic information: Edda Ruth Hlín Waage, 2013, The Concept of Landslag: Meanings and Value for Nature Conservation, PhD dissertation, Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, 187 pp. ISBN 978-9935-9164-3-3 Printing: Háskólaprent Reykjavík, Iceland, December 2013 Abstract This thesis explores the Icelandic landscape concept landslag, envisaged here as a verbal cultural expression of meaningful relations between humans and nature. The main aim is to investigate the meanings of the concept and the value it may hold for the conservation of nature. In recent years, landslag has become a prominent concept in the nature conservation discourse in Iceland. Conceptual confusion arose when the concept was first methodically applied to identify possible nature conservation areas. Experts in nature conservation consequently called for a legal definition, which has prompted two separate definitions. The thesis seeks to explain the conceptual confusion which has complicated the incorporation of the concept into the nature conservation discourse. Four empirical studies investigate the meaning of landslag in different contexts: in the sagas of Icelanders in the 14th century; among the general public in the present; among experts in nature conservation; and in the general legislation about nature conservation. Qualitative research methodologies were applied, such as grounded theory, phenomenology, discourse analysis, and textual analysis. The results show that the concept of landslag is deeply rooted in culture and history. Within the nature conservation discourse, the meaning of the concept gradually changed because of the great emphasis put on scientific reasoning and methodologies originating in the natural sciences. In the present, landslag carries two meanings that differ in some fundamental aspects: a ‘culturally embedded’ meaning and a ‘technical’ meaning. This has caused difficulties in its incorporation in nature conservation. The thesis concludes that the culturally embedded meaning can be of great value in the nature conservation discourse, as it captures an aesthetic dimension that undeniably is an important part of conservation. It also suggests that the legal definition of landslag in the Act on Nature Conservation be revisited. Keywords: Landslag, landscape concept, nature conservation, geography, phenomenology, conceptual analysis, Iceland. Útdráttur Hugtakið landslag: Merking og gildi fyrir náttúruvernd Þessi ritgerð fjallar um hugtakið landslag, sem hér útleggst sem menningarbundið orð er tjáir merkingarbær tengsl milli manns og náttúru. Meginmarkmið ritgerðarinnar er að rannsaka merkingu hugtaksins og það gildi sem það kann að hafa fyrir náttúruvernd. Hugtakið hefur verið áberandi í náttúruverndarumræðu á Íslandi á síðastliðnum árum. Frá því fyrst var farið að beita því með markvissum hætti við val á náttúruverndarsvæðum hefur merking þess verið túlkuð með mismunandi hætti. Sérfræðingar úr röðum náttúruverndar hafa því kallað eftir skilgreiningu hugtaksins í lögum. Þetta hefur leitt til tveggja lagaskilgreininga á landslagi. Í ritgerðinni er leitast við að skýra þann margræða skilning sem torveldað hefur innleiðslu hugtaksins í náttúruvernd. Ritgerðin byggir á fjórum empirískum rannsóknum sem hver um sig skoðar merkingu landslags eins og hún birtist í mismunandi samhengi: í Íslendingasögunum á 14. öld; á meðal almennings í samtímanum; á meðal sérfræðinga í náttúruvernd; og í Lögum um náttúruvernd. Beitt var eigindlegum rannsóknaraðferðum sem ýmist byggja á grundaðri kenningu, fyrirbærafræðilegri greiningu, orðræðugreiningu eða textagreiningu. Niðurstöður þessara rannsókna sýna að íslenska landslagshugtakið á sér djúpar rætur í sögu og menningu þjóðarinnar. Í kjölfar aukinna áherslna á vísindaleg vinnubrögð í náttúruvernd hefur merking hugtaksins smátt og smátt tekið breytingum innan orðræðu náttúruverndar. Í dag hefur landslag tvær um margt óskildar merkingar: annars vegar ‚menningarbundna‘ merkingu og hins vegar ‚tæknilega‘ merkingu. Þetta hefur torveldað meðferð hugtaksins í náttúruvernd. Í ritgerðinni eru færð rök fyrir því að hin menningarbundna merking landslags hafi ótvírætt gildi fyrir náttúruvernd, þar sem hún felur í sér og vísar til fagurfræðilegrar upplifunar af náttúrunni sem er óneitanlega mikilvægur þáttur í náttúruvernd. Í ritgerðinni er jafnframt lagt til að skilgreining landslags í Lögum um náttúruvernd verði endurskoðuð. Lykilorð: Landslag, náttúruvernd, landfræði, fyrirbærafræði, hugtakagreining, Ísland. To my mother Erla Waage Preface þannig varð það til thus it came into being landslagið the landscape sumum finnst það fallegt some find it beautiful landslag er aldrei landscape is never asnalegt corny (Birgisson, 2003, 169, my translation from Icelandic) Using landslag/landscape as a metaphor for the human mind, this quotation from a novel by Bergsveinn Birgisson invites us to accept our humanity with all its imperfections, as one of its characters elaborates: “Landscape is never corny. Landscape is just the way it is and in this way people should look inwards. People are discontent and feel that some peaks should not exist within them, that some hills should be bigger”1 (Birgisson, 2003, 188, my translation). ‘Corny landscape’ is an odd articulation of words and indeed landscape never is corny, if the quotation is to be taken literally. There is another articulation of words, though, in relation to landscape, that has become ‘corny’ in certain circles: The mention of beauty has become almost an embarrassment in the context of nature conservation in Iceland. The notion of beautiful landscape, and the idea that beauty plays an important part in nature conservation, has apparently for many become ‘a peak that should not exist’. Why is that? Is landscape no longer considered beautiful? Or is it simply no longer appropriate to talk about its beauty? Is it possible to protect the beauty of landscape if we do not dare to talk about it? Would we want our landscapes to be divested of beauty? What kind of nature conservation is possible if our emotional experiences as human beings are not accepted in the conservation discourse? Personal thoughts and questions such as these are at the back of this PhD project. Of course they are not actual research questions to which clear-cut answers will be given on the following pages, but they have nevertheless given rise to other sets of questions this thesis addresses. 1 ‘Landslag er aldrei asnalegt. Landslag er bara eins og það er og þannig ættu mennirnir að horfa inn á við. Menn eru ósáttir og finnst að sumar gnípur eigi ekki að vera til inni í þeim, að sumir hólar eigi að vera stærri.’ Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................... xiv List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... xv List of Papers .................................................................................................................... xvi Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... xvii PART ONE: OVERVIEW – CONTEXT – DISCUSSION 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Scope and aims of the thesis .................................................................................... 3 1.2 Landscape or landslag? ........................................................................................... 4 1.3 In retrospect ............................................................................................................. 5 1.4 Outline of the thesis ................................................................................................. 6 2 The landscape concept in cultural geography and Icelandic landscape studies ....... 9 2.1 Landschaft, landscape, and cultural geography ....................................................... 9 2.2 New perspectives in cultural landscape geography ............................................... 11 2.3 Placing the thesis in landscape geography............................................................. 13 2.4 Landscape studies
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