Act on the Conservation of Lake Thingvallavatn and its Catchment Area (No. 85 of 2005).

The purpose of this Act is to promote the conservation of the biosphere of Lake Thingvallavatn and the Lake’s catchment area for various purposes including protection of the different habitats and spawning grounds of the variants of char and brown trout stocks living in the lake. The protection of water within the Thingvellir National Park inside the boundaries as determined by law is subject to the provisions of the National Parks Act. The protection of water in Iceland shall not prevent landowners, leaseholders and others who hold utilization rights from maintaining traditional grazing and husbandry rights to their usable land unless the Minister for the Environment is of the opinion that such use may lead to the water in the area becoming polluted. The Minister may decide to impose restrictions on utilization rights inside the protection area. Such decisions shall be published in the Government Gazette.