The conservation value of the area is exceptionally high on both a national and international scale and lies primarily in its vast wilderness, dramatic landscape, and outstanding opportunities for experiencing nature.
The protected area covers 105 km², of which 9 km² are marine areas.
Protection Status
On 26 November 2021, the Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources, Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson, signed the regulation designating Drangar on Strandir as a protected area. The estate of Drangar thereby became the first area in Iceland to receive protection status as a wilderness area, pursuant to Article 46 of Act No. 60/2013 on Nature Conservation.
The protection of Drangar on Strandir was initiated at the request of the landowner and established in memory of Anna Jakobína Guðjónsdóttir and Kristinn Hall Jónsson, the last farming couple at Drangar.
The purpose of the protection designation is to safeguard an extensive wilderness area where nature is allowed to evolve on its own terms, while preserving the area’s exceptional, dramatic, and diverse landscapes, as well as its broad, uninterrupted views. The protection also aims to ensure the protection of geological features, ecosystems, and associated biodiversity within the area. Furthermore, it seeks to ensure that present and future generations may continue to experience, in peace and tranquillity, an extraordinary natural environment where natural processes prevail and signs of human activity remain minimal or absent.