Privacy Policy

It is Open Rivers Programme’s policy to respect your privacy and comply with any applicable law and regulation regarding any personal information we may collect about you, including across our website, https://www.openrivers.eu, and other sites we own and operate.

This policy is effective as of 20 September 2021 and was last updated on 20 September 2021.

Information We Collect

Information we collect includes both information you knowingly and actively provide us when using or participating in any of our services and promotions, and any information automatically sent by your devices in the course of accessing our products and services.

Log Data

When you visit our website, our servers may automatically log the standard data provided by your web browser. It may include your device’s Internet Protocol (IP) address, your browser type and version, the pages you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on each page, other details about your visit, and technical details that occur in conjunction with any errors you may encounter.

Please be aware that while this information may not be personally identifying by itself, it may be possible to combine it with other data to personally identify individual persons.

Collection and Use of Information

We may collect personal information from you when you do any of the following on our website:

  • Contact us via email, social media, or on any similar technologies
  • When you mention us on social media

We may collect, hold, use, and disclose information for the following purposes, and personal information will not be further processed in a manner that is incompatible with these purposes:

Please be aware that we may combine information we collect about you with general information or research data we receive from other trusted sources.

Security of Your Personal Information

When we collect and process personal information, and while we retain this information, we will protect it within commercially acceptable means to prevent loss and theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification.

Although we will do our best to protect the personal information you provide to us, we advise that no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure, and no one can guarantee absolute data security. We will comply with laws applicable to us in respect of any data breach.

You are responsible for selecting any password and its overall security strength, ensuring the security of your own information within the bounds of our services.

How Long We Keep Your Personal Information

We keep your personal information only for as long as we need to. This time period may depend on what we are using your information for, in accordance with this privacy policy. If your personal information is no longer required, we will delete it or make it anonymous by removing all details that identify you.

However, if necessary, we may retain your personal information for our compliance with a legal, accounting, or reporting obligation or for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific, or historical research purposes or statistical purposes.

Children’s Privacy

We do not aim any of our products or services directly at children under the age of 13, and we do not collect personal information about children under 13.

If we receive personal information about you from a third party, we will protect it as set out in this privacy policy. If you are a third party providing personal information about somebody else, you represent and warrant that you have such person’s consent to provide the personal information to us.

If you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for direct marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time. We will provide you with the ability to unsubscribe from our email-database or opt out of communications. Please be aware we may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity.

If you believe that any information we hold about you is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant, or misleading, please contact us using the details provided in this privacy policy. We will take reasonable steps to correct any information found to be inaccurate, incomplete, misleading, or out of date.

If you believe that we have breached a relevant data protection law and wish to make a complaint, please contact us using the details below and provide us with full details of the alleged breach. We will promptly investigate your complaint and respond to you, in writing, setting out the outcome of our investigation and the steps we will take to deal with your complaint. You also have the right to contact a regulatory body or data protection authority in relation to your complaint.

Use of Cookies

We use “cookies” to collect information about you and your activity across our site. A cookie is a small piece of data that our website stores on your computer, and accesses each time you visit, so we can understand how you use our site. This helps us serve you content based on preferences you have specified.

Limits of Our Policy

Our website may link to external sites that are not operated by us. Please be aware that we have no control over the content and policies of those sites, and cannot accept responsibility or liability for their respective privacy practices.

Changes to This Policy

At our discretion, we may change our privacy policy to reflect updates to our organisation processes, current acceptable practices, or legislative or regulatory changes. If we decide to change this privacy policy, we will post the changes here at the same link by which you are accessing this privacy policy.

If required by law, we will get your permission or give you the opportunity to opt in to or opt out of, as applicable, any new uses of your personal information.

Contact Us

For any questions or concerns regarding your privacy, you may contact us using the following details:

info@openrivers.eu

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Feasibility of barrier removal in Mýrar and surrounding areas, Iceland

Identifying barriers for removal and opportunities for habitat restoration on the water courses, lakes, and surrounding peatlands in the Mýrar area.

Introduction

Mýrar is a lowland coastal area in western Iceland consisting of multiple small water catchments. It is characterised by peatlands, multiple small shallow lakes, ponds and narrow streams. Limited knowledge exists on lowland lakes and small streams in Mýrar but they are most likely important for brown/sea trout and the endangered European eel.

Mýrar is an Important Bird Area (IBA) as the site has significance for the international conservation of breeding waders such as black-tailed godwit, common snipe, common redshank, dunlin and whimbrel.The Icelandic Institute of Natural History has suggested the area for Nature Conservation Register due to the area’s importance for birds, especially waders but also for waterbirds, such as red-throated diver, great northern diver and whooper swan.  The area is sparsely populated, with farms and summer homes scattered around.

Project context and opportunity

Mýrar has been affected by canalisation of streams which in some cases have created barriers limiting fish migration, in other cases formed erosion gullys resulting in degradation of the peatlands. Ditches draining the surrounding peatlands have in many cases changed flow and runoff properties of catchments and in some cases lakes have been partially or completely drained. In an earlier assessment covering just 3,000 ha of the site, the removal of three barriers would open up an estimated 4 km of streams and 180 ha of lake area with accompanying restoration of the wetlands. The current project will look at the 50,000 ha site with the expectation of a significant number of barriers being removed, reopening of streams and lakes and restoration of the wetlands.

At a glance

Country Iceland
Key habitats Small streams, shallow lowland lakes, and peatlands
Focal species Eel, brown/sea trout, waders and waterbirds
Project type Catchment development
Project status Live

Project aims

The goal of the project is to identify barriers for removal and opportunities for habitat restoration on the water courses, the lakes, and surrounding peatlands in the Mýrar area. Mapped barriers will be prioritised, and a plan laid out for barrier removal in streams and ecological restoration of habitats. The goal is not only to reopen migration between marine and freshwater habitats, but to reopen and restore spawning and nursing habitats for salmonids in the streams. Likewise, the breeding wader populations are expected to have an increase in densities and populations. Most of the area is privately owned and communication with and cooperation of the landowners is key to the fulfillment of the project.

Project partners

Birdlife Iceland

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Agricultural University of Iceland

Icelandic Institute of Natural History

Marine & Freshwater Research Institute

RSPB

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