It is planned for work on the project to conclude in December 2011. The active participation of stakeholder representatives is expected during the period October 2010 to October 2011. It is difficult to predict the number of meetings the planning group will hold, as it will be influenced by the composition, interest and strength of opinions among the representatives. It is expected there will be between five and 10 meetings. They will be arranged as the project goes along.

Work schedule: Utilisation plan for coastal areas of Arnarfjörður

The overall project can be split into three parts:

Preparatory work

Preparatory work finished in December 2009. This section was financed by VaxVest (The Westfjords Growth Agreement) and contributions from project partners. Preparation from land use planning projects for the Westfjords was also used in this section. The preparatory work was especially concerned with present day utilisation of the Westfjords? coast and the presentation of the project to national authorities, the public and other interested parties. The results of this first section are, and will continue to be, used in the preparation and execution of the second and third phases: the main project work and the post-project work.

Main project work

The second section of the plan aims at setting the core goals of the utilisation plan. Firstly a utilisation plan for Arnarfjörður and in the future, a similar plan for the whole Westfjords region, in the same manner and in line with the outcomes gained from the utilisation planning of Arnarfjörður. Special emphasis will be put on achieving the participation of project stakeholders and co-operation with governmental bodies. It is planned that the utilisation plan for Arnarfjörður will take 16 months to prepare and that a similar plan for the whole Westfjords region will be prepared afterwards, taking two years from commencement to finish.

Post-project work

The third section of the project will be to analyse how the utilisation plan affects current governance and how best to integrate the plan into policy and governance, so that local authorities can get involved in coastal planning. The options for integrating coastal planning into law will be investigated and guidelines made for third parties, planning authorities and users of the area. The post-project work is expected to take one-and-a-half to two years.

Finance

The preparatory work was largely financed by VaxVest. The preparatory work and preparation for the main project work were also financed partly by the participants: the Association of Municipalities of the Westfjords, Teiknistofan Eik and the University Centre of the Westfjords. The main project work is financed with grants from VaxVest and the Pálmi Jónsson Nature Protection Fund. Contributions are also made by the Ministry for the Environment, the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture, the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism and the Ministry of Local Governments (now part of the new Ministry of Internal Affairs). These ministries also provide access to, and use of, appropriate data from their agencies and the dedicated time of their specialists. Individual municipalities and the Association of Municipalities of the Westfjords will pay costs which may be incurred through their staff and elected representatives.