International cooperation
The Icelandic Institute of Natural History is partially or fully responsible for the implementation of a number of international conventions and resolutions on behalf of the Ministry for the Environment and participates in a number of projects for international organisations operating in the region. Individual employees at the institute take active part in a wide range of cooperative projects and international collaborations in the field of science. International cooperation and communication are extremely important for the IINH: they provide a means by which to stay on top of trends and developments and network with scientists and administrators who work on analogous projects abroad.
Some IINH research projects are directly or indirectly connected to Iceland's international environmental commitments, including:
- The Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats
- IINH Contact: Jón Gunnar Ottósson
- The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
- IINH Contact: Trausti Baldursson
Website: http://www.biodiv.org/
- The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
- IINH Contact: Trausti Baldursson
Website: http://www.cites.org/ - The Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) Program.
- IINH Contact: Trausti Baldursson
Website: http://www.caff.is/ - The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
- IINH Contact: Starri Heiðmarsson
Website: http://www.gbif.org/ - The European Environment Agency (EEA)
Other cooperative projects include the preparation and publication of titles such as Flora Nordica, Nordic Lichen Flora, Flora Europaea, the European Council for the Conservation of Fungi, which Eyþór Einarsson, Hörður Kristinsson and Guðríður Gyða Eyjólfsdóttir have seen to on behalf of the IINH.
Guðmundur A. Guðmundsson joined Lund University's polar expedition to the Bering Sea in the summer of 2005 (Beringia 2005), the fifth such expedition organised by Lund University that he has taken part in.
The information booklet For a Richer Future contains details on 13 international conventions on the natural and cultural environment (also available in Icelandic).