MOF, Alm.del - 2017-18 - Endeligt svar på spørgsmål 324: Spm. om kommentar til henvendelse af 8/1-18 fra Danmarks Naturfredningsforening om status på FN's biodiversitetsmål, jf. MOF alm. del - bilag 184, til miljø- og fødevareministeren

Miljø- og Fødevareudvalget 2017-18
MOF Alm.del
Offentligt

Danish Country Report

To the Convention on

Biological Diversity

March 2014

MOF, Alm.del - 2017-18 - Endeligt svar på spørgsmål 324: Spm. om kommentar til henvendelse af 8/1-18 fra Danmarks Naturfredningsforening om status på FN's biodiversitetsmål, jf. MOF alm. del - bilag 184, til miljø- og fødevareministeren

Danish Country Report

Contents

Preamble ................................................................................................................... 4

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................ 5

Chapter Current Status of National Biodiversity Management, Policies,

Strategies, Actions and Financing ....................................................................... 7

1.1 General land use .................................................................................................................... 8

1.2 Arable land ............................................................................................................................. 9

1.2.1

Agriculture and the environment ........................................................................... 9

1.2.2

Atmospheric deposition of nitrogen ...................................................................... 13

1.2.3

Organic farming ..................................................................................................... 16

1.3 The open natural habitats.....................................................................................................18

1.3.1

Grasslands, heaths, bogs, meadows and saltmarches ..........................................18

1.3.2

Small biotopes ....................................................................................................... 22

1.4 Forest .................................................................................................................................... 24

1.4.1

Forest are growing and serving multiple purposes ............................................. 24

1.4.2

Biodiversity in the forest ....................................................................................... 27

1.5 Watercourses and lakes ....................................................................................................... 30

1.5.1

Lakes ...................................................................................................................... 30

1.5.2

Watercourses ......................................................................................................... 32

1.5.3

Biodiversity in lakes and water courses ............................................................... 35

1.6 The Sea ..................................................................................................................................37

1.6.1

Conservation status of the sea ...............................................................................37

1.6.2

Important fish stocks ............................................................................................ 44

1.6.3

Marine habitats ..................................................................................................... 48

1.6.4

Marine mammals .................................................................................................. 52

1.7 Endangered species ..............................................................................................................55

1.7.1

Species in decline ...................................................................................................55

1.8 Ecosystem services and the recreational use of the natural environment ........................ 58

1.8.1

Ecosystem services ................................................................................................ 58

1.8.1

Outdoor pursuits, recreational activities and health ........................................... 60

Chapter National Biodiversity Policies, Legislation, Strategies, Actions

and Financing .................................................................................................. 63

2.1 International, EU and national policy framework ............................................................. 64

2.2 New and emerging nature protection strategies ................................................................ 67

2.3 Protected nature areas ......................................................................................................... 69

2.3.1

Nature areas protected by paragraph 3 of the National Nature

Conservation Act ................................................................................................... 69

2.3.2

Forests ................................................................................................................... 70

2.3.3

Areas conserved by preservation orders .............................................................. 71

2.3.4

Natura 2000 areas and plans ................................................................................73

2.3.5

Aquatic environment plans....................................................................................75

2.3.6

Wildlife reserves .................................................................................................... 76

2.3.7

Ramsar Sites .......................................................................................................... 76

2.3.8

National parks ........................................................................................................ 77

2.3.9

The sea ................................................................................................................... 78

2.4 Species management and protection .................................................................................. 79

March 2014

2.5

2.6

2.7

2.8

Conservation of genetic resources....................................................................................... 82

The national monitoring programmes for environment and nature ................................. 84

Integration of nature considerations into spatial planning ............................................... 86

Financing biodiversity conservation ................................................................................... 89

Chapter Achieving the Millennium Development and the Aichi Targets ........... 93

March 2014

Preamble

This Danish country report is intended to provide an overview of the current status of biodiversity

in Denmark and to present how nature initiatives are managed and prioritised at political and

practical levels.

The report is structured in line with the UN Convention on Biological Diversity guidelines, which

determine that the report must include a status report on:

biodiversity conditions (Chapter 1)

political strategies and priorities, practical initiatives and funding (Chapter 2)

progress made towards meeting United Nations biodiversity targets by 2020 (Chapter 3).

The report has been prepared by The Danish Nature Agency with input from The Danish

Environmental Protection Agency, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries in Denmark, and

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.

Chapter 1 is based on ongoing work conducted by COWI A/S in preparation for the next Danish

State of the Environment Report.

A draft of the report was subject to a publich consultation (hearing) in the spring of 2014 and the

draft was revised based on comments and suggestions from a wide range of stakeholders.

Project manager in charge of preparing the report:

Søren Mark Jensen ([email protected])

Section for Biodiversity and Species

The Danish Nature Agency

Danish Ministry of Environment

March 2014

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Denmark's nature and biodiversity are the result of landscape development since the Ice Age as well

as of centuries of human impact from agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and urban and infrastructural

development.

Two-thirds of the land area is now agricultural land and the landscape has only a few large nature

areas with long-term continuity and favourable conditions for ecological dispersal.

From an European perspective Denmark's coastline is of unique natural value and to a certain

extent, there is still space here for natural dynamism.

About one quarter of the Danish flora and fauna which have been subject to studies and assesments

are listed on the national Red List of endangered species as threatened, nearly threatened or

extinct. There is, however, also constant migration of new species from neighbouring countries.

The forest is the natural habitat which is home to most of this country's endangered species. Many

of the forests are cultivated intensively and their conservation status is unfavourable bad. However,

there are some signs of positive development in the shape of new forests with less intensive forestry

and there is a transition to more natural stewardship, e.g. an increase in areas of untouched forest.

Open natural habitats, including meadows, heaths and commons, are threatened by the impacts

from nutrients which lead to overgrowth and few dominant nutrient-requiring species of vegetation.

Other threats are insufficient ruminant grazing, drainage and fragmentation. These impacts cause

the demise of species which historically have adapted to live in a rural landscape with open habitats.

For instance are many Danish birds species declining - although fortunately not as fast as they did

in the past.

Nutrient discharge into watercourses, lakes and seas has been significantly reduced since 1990, and

there are signs of positive development in the biodiversity of aquatic environments. Oxygen

depletion, however, continues to dog many fjords, which fail to meet goals for better biological

conditions.

In the main, fish stocks are exploited sustainably, with the exception of a small number of stocks,

e.g. of herring and cod in certain locations. Many marine habitats are negatively impacted by

nutrient substances and, in some cases, by bottom trawling and rock fishing. A project to restore

rocky reefs off the island of Læsø and the construction of offshore wind farms have locally created

suitable habitats for many marine species.

Current and future climate changes are expected to bring more pressure to bear on biodiversity and

it is also expected that many species will migrate, e.g. if coastal land areas and habitats disappear

due to rising sea levels. Other climate-related issues are increased rainfall and therefore more

intensive outflow of nutrient substances from fields into watercourses, lakes and coastal waters. In

addition coastal protection measures may eliminate some of the dynamism of coastal nature and

issues related to invasive alien species may also be exacerbated by climate change.

To sum up biodiversity in Denmark continues to decline in many spheres but there are also some

areas in which the speed of decline has slowed and, for some natural habitats and species, there are

improvements on the horizon. Compared with the previous Danish national report to the

March 2014

Biodiversity Convention four years ago, there are improvements but there are also many challenges

yet to be resolved.

A large number of international, European and national policies, strategies and legislative measures

are important for and underpin nature conservation in Denmark. In recent years, the provisions of

the EU Habitats and Birds Directives have played a significant role in nature conservation

initiatives in Denmark. The Water Framework and Marine Strategy Directives also helps frame

Danish nature conservation efforts. In the future, new EU directives concerning profit-sharing in

connection with the exploitation of genetic resources and concerning invasive alien species will also

be important not only for Denmark's biodiversity but also for biodiversity in other parts of the

world.

The lions' share of nature initiatives in Denmark until 2015 has been financed through a Green

Growth agreement (2009/2010). This agreement was complemented in 2013 by the present

Government in the shape of the Green Transition agreement.

The goals set include amongst others the following: Further reduction in nitrogen and phosphorus

discharges from agriculture, a reduction in the use of pesticides and the establishment of 50.000

hectares of new nature areas in the shape of buffer zones along watercourses and lakes as well as

establishment of more forests and restoration af wetlands.

Several initiatives have also been designed to encourage more organic farming and to actively

manage vulnerable natural habitats, such as meadows, heaths and bogs.

Presently, a first generation of Nature Plans for Nature 2000 areas is being implemented and

supports the achievements of several of the nature-related goals anda first generation of Aquatic

Plans is on way and will further contribute to the achievement of these.

In 2013, a National Commission for Nature and Agriculture presented recommendations to secure

both more sustainable and profitable agricultural production and the creation of more robust,

richer and less fragmented nature in Denmark. The government is currently considering how best

to realise these.

Recently, the government set up an independent nature foundation, thus realising one of the

commission's key recommendations. The nature foundation will be funded by state grants and

donations from two private benevolent funds. The main purpose of the foundation will be to protect

and create areas of natural value and to ensure that nature is more cohesive.

In 2014, the Danish government has also planned to launch a new National Forestry Programme

which will guide the future management of forests and address the challenges of ensuring better

conditions for the forest biodiversity.

The majority of the EU’s and UN’s targets for biodiversity are to be obtained by 2020. As

documented in this report a wide range of activities have been launched to achieve the overall goal

of halting the decline in biodiversity, and more particularly to achieve the biodiversity related

Millennium Development and the Aichi targets.

In order to further strengthen these efforts the government will launch an overarching Nature Plan

for Denmark in 2014 which will determine and focus the direction of Denmark's future nature

initiatives, including the preparation of a new national biodiversity strategy.

March 2014

1. Chapter

Current Status of National

Biodiversity Management,

Policies, Strategies, Actions

and Financing

March 2014

1.1

General land use

Denmark is an agricultural country. In 2013, 66% of the land area

was cultivated.

The area of open natural habitat has declined over the last fifty years

and continues to decline.

The forest area is growing and has done so since a first forest census

in 1881.

A small country with many stakeholder groups

The landscape of Denmark is primarily cultural, in the sense that most of the open landscape is

cultivated. More than half (66%) of the total land area of Denmark is used for agricultural purposes.

The remainder is covered by urban areas, roads and infrastructure (10%), forests (14%), heaths

(2%) and meadows, lakes and bogs (7%) [1].

The relatively small area of Denmark has to accommodate many different needs. Space must be

allowed for farming, urban and business development, energy production, defences against

flooding, conservation of cultural environments, larger areas of forest, more preserved nature areas

etc. Many factors have to be considered but in some cases it is possible to accommodate several

different needs on the same area of land. For example, establishing wetlands can help to remove

nitrogen while providing habitat for plant and animal life. The many issues require an holistic

approach to land administration and planning.

Forests, nature areas in the form of wetlands, towns, roads and other infrastructural areas are

growing gradually, primarily at the expense of agricultural land area while the area of open natural

habitets such as grasslands, heaths and bogs have been rather stable during the last decade.

Notwithstanding this development, Figure

1-1

indicates that the share of cultivated agricultural

land in Denmark remains one of the highest and the share of forest among the lowest, compared to

other European Member States.

General land use in 2009

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

Wetlands

Vådområder

Finland

Sweden

Slovenia

Estonia

Latvia

Austria

Slovakia

Portugal

Czech Republic

Green fields

Barmark

Water

Vand

Developed area

Bebygget areal

Thicket

Krat

Grassland

Græsarealer

Agriculture

Landbrug

Luxembourg

Skov

Forest

Poland

Germany

Greece

Italy

Figure 1-1

Land cover, land use and landscape in 2009 in the European Union and its member

Spain

states (except Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta and Romania). source: Eurostat (online data code: lan_lcv)

France

Belgium

Hungary

References

Denmark

[1] Denmark in figures, 2013

[2] List of initiatives Climate initiatives

Netherlands

–

potential and cost estimates. Danish Ministry of Climate,

The

Energy and Building, 2013

March 2014

Ireland

Finland

Sverige

Slovenien

Estland

Letland

Østrig

Slovakiet

Portugal

Tjekkiet

Lithuaen

Luxemburg

Polen

Tyskland

Grækenland

Italien

Spanien

Frankrig

Belgien

Ungarn

Danmark

Holland

Irland

Lithuania

1.2

1.2.1

Arable land

Agriculture and the environment

Nutrient discharge into the surroundings has been reduced

during the last 20 years whereas the frequency of pesticide

treatment has increased since 2009.

The atmospheric nitrogen load and the uneven distribution

of grazing cattle lead to a loss of biodiversity due to

overgrowth in open natural habitats.

Climate change may bring about more nutrient discharge

and increased pesticide use.

Although a number of initiatives have been introduced in order to reduce agriculture's impact on

the environment, intensive agriculture, including the use of pesticides and nutrients, continues to

impact Danish biodiversity, the aquatic environment and drinking water.

There is strong focus on achieving a better balance between maintaining profitable agriculture in

Denmark and better biodiversity protection, pure drinking water and favourable ecological

conditions in watercourses, lakes and coastal waters.

Inevitably, vast agricultural areas dedicated to farming make a strong impact on nearby natural and

marine environments. The use of pesticides reduces biological diversity in and around agricultural

land, and nutrient discharges (nitrogen and phosphorus) affect natural habitats and the aquatic

environment due to nitrogen leaching position and discharge via drainage and surface water, which

may ultimately lead to bloom of algeas and oxygen depletion in lakes, fjords and seas.

In Denmark, many of the most endangered and valuable habitats, such as commons, salt marshes

and freshwater meadows, depend on extensive agricultural activities such as grazing and cutting.

Without these activities, natural areas becomedominated by nutrient-requiring plant species and

biodiversity diminishes. The challenge is to ensure that there is sufficient grazing livestock to graze

on open habitats and that grazing is profitable. Cattle farming is most common in western Denmark

whereas there are less animals grazing the habitatsin other parts of the country.

Habitats are isolated and adversely affected by nutrient substances

For several centuries, agriculture has dominated Danish nature with its annual crop rotation and

areas grazed by cattle. The list of species which depend on extensive grass and areas planted with

arable crops is long and included the hare, partridge, lark, stork, wild bee and many plants.

Following the industrialisation of agriculture, many of these species have dramatically declined due

to the eradication of small uncultivated areas and the increased use of pesticides and fertilizers.

Parallel developments in the form of urbanisation and extension of the infrastructure (i.e. road and

railway systems) have created barriers in the landscape which prevent the free movement of wild

animals and plants.

The numbers of species of birds which like to inhabit arable land, such aspartridge, skylark, corn

bunting and northern lapwing, continue to decline. Also a rare breeding bird, the little owl,

continues to decline rapidly and it is believed that there remains a breeding population of only 40

pairs. Recent research indicates that the decline is due to a lack of food in the breeding season

because there are fewer healthy meadows, commons and permanent pastures [1].

In the mid-1990s, many hectares of cultivated fields were laid fallow in connection with EU

agricultural policy. Some of these fallow fields quickly became suitable habitats for farmland

animals and plants. When agricultural policy was changed in 2007/2008, about 80% of the fallow

March 2014

fields (approx 115.000 hectars) were returned to ordinary farming and the re-established natural

habitats disappeared [8].

Climate changes are expected to produce increased crop yields due to increased CO

in the air,

higher temperatures and a longer growing season. These changes will presumably require more

fertilizers and heavier and possibly more frequent rainfall can cause more nutrient substances to

dissipate into the aquatic environment. A warmer, more humid climate can also be expected to

change plant protection needs, and resulting in more pesticide consumption due to the occurrence

of different plant diseases and other pests [2].

Table 1-1

Pesticide Load Indicator (Load units per ha), based on the total sales of pesticides in Denmark

for

application on the “conventionally” grown area [3).

2007

Pesticide Load Indicator (PLI) [Load

units per ha]

Human health

Environmental fate

Environmental toxicity

Total

0,89

0,86

0,67

2,41

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

1,08

1,03

1,44

3,55

0,74

0,64

1,46

2,85

0,94

0,88

1,57

3,39

1,06

0,96

1,00

3,02

1,29

1,39

2,32

5,00

Nitrogen load is falling, but use of pesticides is increasing

The quantity of surplus nutrient substances in agriculture is falling year on year. This applies to

both nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). The N-field surplus has been reduced by about 25% since

2002, from 101 kgN/ha to 75 kgN/ha, and by about 46% since 1990, where the surplus was 138

kgN/ha. The P balance has also fallen since 1992 [5]. Research has shown that there is a clear

connection between the field balance for nitrogen and the land-based deposition of nitrogen into

the seas around Denmark [6]. We must conclude therefore that there has been a significant fall in

the input of nitrogen into our coastal waters.

As shown in,

Figure 1-2

the goal to reduce the Treatment Frequency Index (TFI) to 1.70 by 2009

was not achieved. From 2000 to 2012, the TFI is seen to have increased from about 2.58 to 3.96 [7].

The increase in sale in 2012 is due to the increased tax introduced from 1. July 2013. The load based

on the first year with pesticides data from the farmers statistic is 2,2 (2011/12). One of the methods

used to reduce the pesticide load is to convert to organic farming, in which only certain pesticides

with negligible or no environmental load may be used and then only to a very limited extent. The

area farmed organically is increasing but continues to account for only a small share of the total

agricultural area.

Atmospheric nitrogen deposition, of which 58% originates from farming, has fallen generally in

recent decades. For a large number of areas which have low-nutrient habitats, the critical load is

still exceeded.

March 2014

Insecticides

Fungicides

Growth regulators

Herbicides

Figure 1-2

Treatment frequency from 2000 to 2012, calculated on the basis of sales figures.

[4]

Pesticide statistics in Denmark has been based on reported sales for decades. The resulting

statistics is presented as the Treatment Frequency Index (TFI), and

–

since 2007 - the Pesticide

Load Indicator (PLI), expressing the load on human health and the environment [2 ]. Both

indicators show an overall increasing trend during the period 2007-2012 (Figure 1-25). Some of

the pesticides used may end up in our watercourses and may have adverse effects on the

organisms in them. Possible consequences for the water course ecoloy include deterioration of

biodiversity and reduced capacity to metabolise organic material.

Figure 1-3

Relative development of Treatment Frequency Index /TFI) and Pesticide Load

Indicator (PLI) 2007-2012 (2011 = index 100). modified from [7].

References

[1] Thorup, K., L. B. Jacobsen, P. Sunde & C. Rahbek. 2007 The Danish Little Owl population

2007. Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, University of Copenhagen.

[2] Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries in Denmark,

http://fvm.dk/landbrug/indsatsomraader/klima/landbruget-og-fremtidens-klima

[3] Danish EPA, 2012. The Agricultural Pesticid Load in Denmark 2007-2010. Enironmental review

No. 2, 2012.

http://www.mst.dk/Publikationer/Publications/2012/march/978-87-92779-96-0.htm

[4] MST, 2013. Pesticide statistics 2012. The Danish Environmental Protection Agency

[5] Agricultural catchment monitoring 2011, Novana, Scientific report from DCE, 2012

http://www2.dmu.dk/pub/sr31.pdf

March 2014

[6] Windolf, J. et. al. 2012, Field balances and diffuse nitrogen drainage. Note from DCE, January

2012.

[7] Danish Environmental Protection Agency 2013, Pesticide statistics 2012, Treatment Frequency

Index and pesticide load based on sales statistics and spraying reports

[8]

http://www2.mst.dk/Udgiv/publikationer/2013/10/978-87-93026-49-0.pdf

March 2014

1.2.2

Atmospheric deposition of nitrogen

The atmospheric deposition of nitrogen poses a threat to open natural

habitats, such as heaths, commons, bogs and dunes, as well as to the

perimeters of woods and forests.

Nitrogen is deposited in the atmosphere from agriculture, traffic and

industrial combustion.

Increased levels of nitrogen in low-nutrient habitats impede ecological

conditions for life and lead to suppression of dwarf species of plants,

typically vascular plants (tracheophytes), lavers and mosses.

Critical thresholds for low-nutrient nature are exceeded

Atmospheric deposition, in particular of nitrogen (N), is a threat to vulnerable, low-nutrient

habitats, such as woods, heaths, fens and commons. When nitrogen in the air comes into contact

with water, it can be absorbed via plant roots.

The airborne nutrients come in particular from agriculture but also from industrial and traffic

sources. They spread by the wind but are most often deposited close to the source, e.g a cowshed or

pigsty, chimney or road.

The critical load of N for a habitat is a measure of its sensitivity, expressed as the maximum level of

nitrogen deposition the ecosystem assimilate without significant damage or harm. If the maximum

critical load is permanently exceeded, endangered hardy species disappear and are replaced by

more common nutrient-requiring species, such as tall grasses, nettles, creeping thistle, cow parsley

and birch. Maximum critical load levels have been set for atmospheric deposition in different

habitats (see below).

To a certain extent, the negative changes in vegetation can be counteracted by means of nature

management or extensive cultivation but in the long run biodiversity is compromised if the quantity

of nitrogen is not simultaneously reduced.

As 35% of the total nitrogen deposition in Denmark stems from Danish sources and the remaining

is the result of long distance transport from abroad, it is important that EU Member States make a

concerted effort to reduce nitrogen deposition so that European low-nutrient habitats can be

preserved.

Changes in nitrogen deposition

Nitrogen deposition has generally fallen in recent decades but the critical limit in many areas with

low-nutrient habitats is still exceeded. In 2011 the average atmospheric background load was

14kgN/ha, and total deposition was 60,098 tons of N in land zones. In 2011, the sources of

deposition in land zones were distributed as 58% from farming and 42% from combustion

processes [1].

Recent research indicates that more than 10% of Danish plant species have declined solely due to

atmospheric nitrogen deposition and more than half of these species are the endangered, Red-

Listed or characteristic species for their habitats [2].

March 2014

Table 1-2

Empirical critical loads for habitats and forests. For a number of habitats, the critical

load should be reduced in line with new recommendations [2].

Habitat

Critical

load

Deviations

Common

Heath

Freshwater

meadow

Bog and fen

10-25 kg

15-25 kg

acidic common 10-20, chalky common 15-25

dry heath 10-20, humid heath 15-25

5-25 kg

raised bogs 5-10, sphagnum basins, peat valleys 10-15, low-nutrient fens

and heath bogs 10-20, chalky bogs and springs, high-nutrient fens 15-25

Deciduous

forest

Coniferous

forest

10-20 kg

Figure 1-4

Calculated exceedance of critical load in 2010 based on a criteria stipulating no decline in

biodiversity compared to the reference year 1992. The dots symbolise the intensive novana stations

within the natura 2000 areas [2]

REFERENCES

[1] Ellermann, T., Andersen, H.V., Bossi, R., Christensen, J., Løfstrøm, P., Monies, C., Grundahl,

L. & Geels, C. 2012: Atmospheric deposition 2011 NOVANA. Aarhus University, DCE

–

National

Centre for Environment and Energy 82 pages.

–Scientific

report no. 30 by DCE

–

National Centre

for Environment and Energy.

http://www2.dmu.dk/pub/sr30.pdf

[2]. Bak, J.L. 2013. Critical loads for Danish nature. Revised national mapping of the critical loads

for Danish nature and exceedance Aarhus University, DCE

–National

Centre for Environment and

March 2014

Energy, 94 pages - Scientific report no. 69 by DCE - National Centre for Environment and Energy

http://dce2.au.dk/pub/SR69.pdf

[3]. NOVANA report:

http://www2.dmu.dk/Pub/FR708.pdf

March 2014

1.2.3

Organic farming

The area farmed organically has increased about 4.5 times in the last 18

years.

Organic farming benefits biodiversity.

Organic farming reduces the nutrient load.

Transformation is progressing slowly

Organic farming is required to desist from using artificial fertilizers, pesticides and genetically

modified organisms (GMOs). Organic farmers fight weeds by crop rotation planning, mechanical

means and use natural fertilizers. The transformation from conventional to organic farming is

shown to have several positive effects on the environment and on species of flora and fauna in and

around the agricultural areas. Among other factors, this is due to a lower pesticide load on nearby

small biotopes [1,4].

Nutrient discharge from organic fields is most often less than from conventional fields. In the

period 2008-2011, Aarhus University calculated that there is 17kgN/ha less leached from organic

fields [2,3,5].

Steps in the right direction

Organic farming in Denmark accounted for 6.9% of the agricultural land in 2012 [6]. However, the

share of organic farming is growing. Following strong growth in organic farming in the 1990s and a

minor decline in the period 2002-2006, in 2012 the area dedicated to organic farming exceeded the

previous record level (which was achieved in 2002). The area dedicated to organic farming has

increased from 150,207 hectares in 2007 to 182,930 hectares in 2012.

Despite financial crisis in recent years, turnover of organic food products remains relatively high. In

2012, 7.5% of total food sales in Denmark was organic. The figures are unchanged relative to 2011

[7]. The figures cover home-grown and imported food but not farm-gate sales, sales via subscription

and specialist stores. In 2007, the share of organic foods was just over 5%.

Organic farming

200000

150000

100000

50000

1994199619982000200220042006200820102012

Figure 1-5

Development in total organic production area 1995-

2012. Source: statbank denmark search for "oeko1".

Figure 1-6

Organic rapeseed field. Organic

fields provide suitable habitats for a wider

variety of species in and around them, due to a

circumspect use of pesticides. On the other

hand, yields are lower than from a

conventionally farmed field. Image: Aske Thorn

References

[1] Aarhus University, Faculty of Agricultural Science, Department of Agroecology: How organic

farming helps protect nature, the climate and the environment. Note, 23 October 2008.

[2] Assessment of Green Growth methods applied and status calculations pertaining to

implementation of the Nitrates Directive. DCA and DCE, Aarhus University 2013.

March 2014

[3] Waagepetersen, J. (2009) Reduced N-leaching in the transformation from conventional to

organic farming. In: Børgesen et al. (2009), s. 176-179.

[4] Moreby, S.J., Aebischer, N.J., Southway, S.E. & Sotherton, N.W (1994). A comparison of the

flora and arthropod fauna of organically grown winter wheat in southern England.

Annals of

Applied Biology.

No. 125 pp. 13-27.

[5] Esbjerg, P. & Petersen, B.S. 2002.

Effects of reduced pesticide use on flora and fauna in the

agricultural fields.

Research into pesticides by Environmental Protection Agency No. 58, 2002

Available on the internet: URL <http://www2.mst.dk/udgiv/publications/2002/87-7972-111-

7/pdf/87-7972-112-5.pdf>

[6] Organic Farms statistics (2013). Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries in Denmark. The

Danish AgriFish Agency. Available on the internet: URL

<http://1.naturerhverv.fvm.dk/oekologi_i_tal.aspx?ID=14646>

[7] Statistics Denmark, Nyt (newsletter) no. 204 22 April 2013: Retail turnover of organic food in

2012.

March 2014

1.3

1.3.1

The open natural habitats

Grasslands, heaths, bogs, meadows and saltmarches

The area covered by open natural habitats has declined considerably

since the 19th century but is now stable and covers approx 10% of

Denmark's total area.

Many species associated with open natural habitats continue to decline in

number.

The open natural habitat types

–

grasslands, heaths, bogs, freshwater meadows, sand dunes and

salt marshes

–

are natural habitats of types, whose biodiversity, to a great extent, depends on

grazing, clearing or cutting. There are certain species, including orchids, butterflies and ground-

nesting birds, which are specially adapted to the ecosystems of open natural habitats.

During the past decade, the area covered by open natural habitats has remained stable but their

quality and biodiversity are declining [4].

The quality of the open types of natural habitats is under pressure from a combination of factors,

including lack of grazing animals/cutting, unnatural hydrology and airborne nitrogen pollutants,

the effects of which are to reduce biodiversity and exacerbate overgrowth. Overgrowth of tall,

nutrient-requiring species of plants in open natural habitats reduces biodiversity, not only among

plants with low nutrient reguierments plants (often low-growing plants), such as shrubs, orchids

and broad-leafed herbs, but also among the insects associated with dwarf flora.

Fragmentation of natural landscape areas and invasive species also represent a threat to the

biodiversity of the open natural habitats.

Based on what we currently know about climate change and its potential effects, open natural

habitats are expected to face specific challenges if they are located in the coastal zone or are

dependent on a flow of water containing little nutrient pollution.

In the case of salt marshes, which lie between the sea and inland areas, experts are talkingabout

“coastal

squeeze". Coastal squeeze is understood as a situation in which the salt marshes are

expected to become permanently flooded or increasingly eroded due to rising sea level but are

unable to shift further inland due to dykes and other fixed landward boundaries built to protect

agricultural land, towns and roads against the rising sea level.

In the case of meadows and moors, increased rainwater drainage as a result of more and more

torrential rains is expected to result in more nutrient discharges from adjacent agricultural land.

This would lead to less biodiversity in the open natural landscape and to increased risk of

overgrowth.

Open natural habitats in Denmark, which cover just under 10% of the total land area, are protected

under the auspices of the Nature Conservation Act (Paragraph 3) . They are protected regardless of

whether they are registered as protected or have been inadvertently omitted from the register.

Article 3 of the act protects habitats from most changes in their condition, e.g. ploughing, drainage,

more fertilizers and spraying, etc.

In the case of freshwater meadows protected by paragraph 3 which have been subject to

conversion, e.g. every 7-10 years, this practise should preferably continue.

It seems that the total area of land protected by Article 3 is not shrinking. Yet the quality of the

Article 3 areas continues to deteriorate due to the effects described above.

March 2014

There are significantly more Article 3-protected natural habitats in municipalities in Central and

Northern Jutland than in the rest of the country. The largest areas of protected natural habitat are

found in a few municipalities, including Thisted, Ringkøbing-Skjern and Varde. This fact is

explained by their agricultural structure and geological conditions, i.e. extensive areas with sand

dunes and salt marshes.

In addition to natural habitats protected under Article 3, there are other types of open natural

habitats and other natural environments, such as permanent pasture. Despite relatively intensive

farming, these pastures often encompass small, more natural spots which become the habitats of

birds, mammals and insects. This means that, in combination with agricultural land, permanent

pastures often make a positive contribution to the landscape's ecology. An area corresponding to 4%

of Denmark's land area is permanent pasture. These pastures are partly financed by EU agricultural

grant schemes, which include care requirements.

Less than 2% of the land area is dunes, cared for by the Danish Nature Agency's administration

(particularly clearing and burning). From the European perspective, the dune areas of Denmark are

unique. There are extensive, unbroken chains of dunes, with successive stretches of white, grey and

green dunes, dune heaths, scrub and dune slacks. Almost 80% of the total EU area of dunes heaths

of the type registered as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) is found in Denmark[5].

In the wake of decades of serious demise, there are currently no significant changes in permanent

pastures and dunes. As for the natural quality of the dunes, there are signs of modest progress in

dune heaths, while the natural quality of low-nutrient dune slacks is deteriorating. Progress for

dune heaths is probably due to more focused and efficient care including comprehensive tree

clearing in the period 2004-2009[2].

In the latest report to the EU on the conservation status of Denmark's natural environment, only

three out of 34 terrestrial open natural habitats are assessed to have favourable conservation status.

These four are habitats, of whose total area Denmark has only a very modest share [5, 6].

More open natural habitats were created by new legislation in 2012, the Buffer Zones Act which

determines that a 10-metre buffer zone must be established around every watercourse and lake

(area > 100 m

) located in land zone. The Act ensures that an area of 50,000 hectares becomes

buffer zone, in which it is not permitted to grow crops, spray pesticides or fertilize the soil. The Act

permits public access to the buffer zones in accordance with the Nature Conservation Act

regulations.

March 2014

Figure 1-7 Conservation status of 34 open types of natural habitat (occurring in Annex 1 of the EU Habitats

Directive) assessed in the period 2007-2013. Denmark is divided into an atlantic and a continental zone.

Conservation status for the habitat type is assessed for each of these biogeographical zones. A habitat type

counts for two observations if it is found in both zones. The sum of the figures of the four diagrams is therefore

greater than 34 [6].

Figure 1-8

Distribution of total area of open natural habitats in Denmark 1996, 2006

and 2013. [3]

March 2014

Figure 1-9

A century's development in Danish open natural habitats 1910-2010 [4].

References

[1] Ejrnæs, R. & R. M. Buttenschøn, 2012. Hvordan sikrer vi græslandets og hedens biodiversitet

I (How do we conserve the biodiversity of grasslands and heaths? I): Det Grønne Kontaktudvalg

(a forum for green, voluntary organisations): Nature in Denmark towards 2020. Stemming the

loss of biological diversity.

[2]Ejrnæs, R. & B. Nygaard. Forests 2011 In Ejrnæs, R., Wiberg-Larsen, P., Holm., T.E.,

Josefson, A., Strandberg, B., Nygaard, B., Andersen, L.W., Winding, A., Termansen, M., Hansen,

M.D.D., Søndergaard, M., Hansen, A. S., Lundsteen, S. , Baatrup-Pedersen, A., Kristensen, E.,

Krogh, P.H., Simonsen, V., Hasler, B. & Levin, G. Danmarks biodiversitet

–

status, udvikling og

trusler (Denmark's biodiversity

–

status, development and threats). Danmarks Miljøundersøgelser

(a former Danish research institute), Aarhus University. 152 pages

–

DMU Scientific Report no.

815.

[3]

HTTP://WWW.NATURSTYRELSEN.DK/NATURBESKYTTELSE/NATIONAL_NATURBESKYTTELSE/PARA

GRAF3/AREALOPGOERELSE/

[4]

http://naturogmiljoe.dmu.dk/naturbiodiversitet/62/

[5]

http://bd.eionet.europa.eu/article17/habitatsreport/

[6] Extract from national Article 17-reporting.

March 2014

1.3.2

Small biotopes

Small biotopes are importasnt habitats for many species

Althoug the number of small biotopes occur to be stable e.g. hare and

partridge populations remain small s

Small biotopes are important habitats

In botanical terms, small biotopes rarely constitute anything more than nutrient-requiring plants,

such as grasses, nettles and creeping thistles. However, small biotopes are excellent habitats and

hiding places for the animals that live on arable land, e.g. bees, hares, amphibians, reptiles and

mammals. Small biotopes are also stepping stones which help species to spread from one natural

habitat to the next.

Box: What is a small biotope?

A small area within an agricultural area, which is neither part of crop rotation nor fallow, is

called a small biotope. Some of them are linear (e.g. stone walls, soil dykes, natural hedges,

green hedgerows, ditches, small streams, field boundaries, cart tracks and verges) while others

are surfaces, (e.g. natural or artificial ponds, marl pits, barrows and small cops and thickets,

including deer retreats covering less than 2 hectares). The Nature Conservation Act and the

Museums Act protect only stonewalls, dykes and ponds measuring more than 100 m2, and even

then only to a limited extent.

Decline is halted but key species on arable land are still not thriving

There is very little available data regarding the biodiversity of the small biotopes, although there are

some signs that the decline in the total area of small biotopes is halted. The total area fell right up

until the end of the 1980s. Some types of small biotopes are now advancing due to the planting of

green hedges and a growing interest in hunting, which may help to preserve and establish small

biotopes. When establishing new green hedges and deer retreats, the authorities recommend the

use of indigenous species of plant, which are known to attract multiple species of insects.

These initiatives have, however, not proven effective in reversing the decline in populations of e.g.

hare and partridge, which are specifically associated with open habitat and which need extensive

cultivated areas in which to live and forage (See Fig 1-10).

Populations of common farmland birds have also experienced a fall during the last decades (Fig 1-

11).

March 2014

Figure 1-10

Hunting quarry of hare and partridge in the period 1941-2012. The total number

of days in the hunting season has been reduced in the period. The figures for 1941-2001 are

based on a five-year average, whereas those for the hunting season 2002/2003 are annual

figures. [1]

Figure 1-11

Calculated index for the population of Danish birds on farmland, in forests and for

all common species for the past ten years (2002-2011). The figures are based on bird counts

conducted since 1975 by a number of voluntary observers reporting to the Danish Ornithological

Society [2].

References

[1] DCE, Natural resources/7.6 Hunting quarry and quarry statistics 2011/2012.

[2] Heldbjerg, H, Lerche-Jørgensen, M. & Jørgensen, m.f. (2013): Monitoring common species of

birds in Denmark 1975-2012. Annual report of the bird count project, Danish Ornithological

Society.

March 2014

1.4

1.4.1

Forest

Forest are growing and serving multiple purposes

About 14.1% of Denmark's total area is forested. About three-quarters of

forests are privately-owned.

The area of protected forest has increased but the conservation status is

unfavourable bad.

The proportion of deciduous forest is greatest on clay soils to the east of

the country, while conifers are dominant on sandy soils.

If it was not for human activity Denmark would be covered by forests. The demand for timber and

for cultivating the soil has over time resulted in the felling of much of our forests. About the year

1800, the Danish forests covered 2-3% of the total land area. They have since grown, which became

apparent when the first forestry statistics were published in 1881.

Forests have many particularly positive characteristics which means that there is often widespread

public support for afforestation projects. The forest helps provide timber, protects ground water,

supports cultural, scenic and cultural historical values, provides habitats for many species of plants

and animals, offers venues for recreational activities (e.g. exercise and nature experiences) and

stores CO

While there is a national desire to expand the forested area by means of afforestation, it is a

challenge to find space for new forests and woods in an intensively cultivated agricultural

landscape.

Areas in which new forests are desired or not desired are designated by the municipal authorities,

whose decisions are based on an overall assessment of societal factors.

Many endangered species live in woods and forests. Many of the Red-Listed Danish species of flora

and fauna are associated with dead wood. Intensive forestry presents a threat to the conservation

status of our forests and their biodiversity while extensive forestry and of course forest with non

intervention management often have multiple positive effects on biodiversity.

Status of forested areas

The total forested area in Denmark covers about 608,078 hectares (2012), corresponding to about

14.1% of the total area. The forested areas have increased from 493,000 hectares since 1990. New

forests cover 67,000 hectares. However, part of this discrepancy is explained by changes in the

method used to calculate forest area [1].

About 75% of the Danish forests has trees of the same age which are planted or has been established

by natural regeneration. When private forests are planted with state subsidies, the owners are

obliged to comply with forest reserve regulations. All public forests are under such regulations

which implies that the areas must remain forest areas [2]. Owners may fell trees if they

subsequently plant new trees and open natural habitats must bepreserved.

About three-quarters of Danish forests are privately-run or owned by individuals or foundations. In

recent years the local authorities have become involved in projects, in which the state, municipality

and e.g. waterworks join forces to establish forests close to urban areas or to protect groundwater.

Such forests also fall under the forest reserves regulations.

March 2014

OWNERSHIP OF DANISH FOREST AREAS IS ILLUSTRATED IN

Figure 1-12

Danish forested areas

–

a survey based on satellite image mapping 2011 [2].

Most Danish forests grow in sandy soils where site quality is poor. In those areas of the country

where there is most sandy soil, there is a predominance of coniferous trees. The distribution of

forest areas per region and type of tree is illustrated in Fig 1-15.

Ownership of Danish forests

Private

Foundation or

institution

Fond eller stiftelse

Statsskov

forest

State-owned

Other

statslig

Anden

State

Other

offentlig

Anden

public

Unknown

Ukendt

Figure 1-13

Ownership Of Danish Forests [3]

March 2014

Distribution of total forest area

90,0%

80,0%

70,0%

60,0%

50,0%

40,0%

30,0%

20,0%

10,0%

0,0%

North

Jutland

Central

Jutland

Capital

Region

Løvskov

forest

Deciduous

Nåleskov

forest

Coniferous

Blandet

Mixed

Christmas

Juletræer

trees

Forest on sandy soil

Skov på sandjorde

Zealand

Figure 1-14

Distribution Of Forest Areas Per Region And Type Of Tree [3]

References

South

Denmark

[1] STATISTICS DENMARK (SKOV11)

[2]

Denmark

Http://Sl.Life.Ku.Dk/Erhverv_Og_Myndigheder/Myndighedsbetjening/~/Media/Sl/Erhverv_Myndig

heder_Collaboration/Myndighedsbetjening/Evaluering%20biodiv1992%202012net.Ashx

[3]

http://ign.ku.dk/nyheder/skove-plantager-2012/sp-2012.pdf/

March 2014

1.4.2

Biodiversity in the forest

Forests hold the largest number of Danish species and also the largest number of

endangered species.

Biodiversity, particularly in old-growth deciduous forests with no or extensive

commercial activities, is good for biodiversity due to occurrence of many tree

species, natural hydrology, old trees and deadwood which is beneficial especially

for insects and fungi.

The most serious threat to the biodiversity of the forests is the loss of habitats due

to drainage, planting and felling, lack of dead wood and the lack of variation in

habitats within the forests, such as forest meadows, forest bogs, etc.

Forests are habitat for most Red-Listed species

Compared to our neighbours, a relatively small share of Denmark's total land area is forested. The

EU average is 3-4 times more forest area per capita than in Denmark.

The size of forests and the extent to which they are commercially exploited is significant for

biodiversity. Some of the Danish forests are rich in biodiversity while many forest are intensively

managed and hold much less biodiversity. In general does large continuations of forested land with

extensive and varied exploitation offer a far greater number of different habitats than intensive

forestry.

In particular old-growth deciduous forest with undulating terrain, varied hydrology and high

volumes of deadwood have higher biodiversity than coniferous forests and intensively managed

deciduous forests. This is due to several factors, including that coniferous forests consist of tree

species introduced from abroad which do not have the same natural biodiversity associated as

Danish deciduous forests.

The forests in Denmark provide many different habitats that are beneficial to specialised species of

plants and animals and they are home to a greater proportion of Red-Listed species than any other

type of natural habitat (54.1%).

More than 100 species on the Danish Red List are associated directly with deadwood in the forests,

especially insects and fungi.

The forest is also the ecosystem that contains most species, in particular a wide diversity of

invertebrate animals and fungi that is much greater than in other Danish ecosystems [1].

According to the Habitats Directive, Denmark has ten forest habitats, for which Special Areas of

Conservation (SACs) must be designated.

Still low biodiversity in Danish forests but increasing volumes of deadwood in some

forests

Two hundred years ago the Danish forest area had shrunk to its smallest and covered less than 3%

of the country's total area. The 1805 a Forest Reserve Scheme

( “Fredskovsforordningen”)

set off

an increase in forest area. Much of the forests are, however, relatively homogeneous in terms of the

trees, herbs, fungi, mosses and birds they support because they are exploited intensively, i.e. the

undergrowth is cleared, untouched areas with fallen logs, deadwood and high groundwater level are

not prioritised, and the trees grown are mostly conifers.

However, the proportion of deciduous forest is increasing. Deciduous forests account for about 25%

of today's total forest area, while coniferous and mixed forests each account for about 36%.

Species of trees that are not indigenous to Denmark are predominant in coniferous forests, e.g. in

state-owned cornifer plantations in Jutland, while deciduous forest areas contain indigenous tree

March 2014

species , such as beech, oak and ash. The increase in the area of deciduous forests has been

achieved thanks to targeted afforestation initiatives. In the long term, these are expected to have

positive outcomes for Red-Listed species.

Figure 1-15

The total area of forest has increased during the last 40 years, mainly due to a

growth in the area with deciduous forest [3] and [4].

Figure 1-16

Species of trees in natural forests in Denmark [4].

Populations of butterflies associated with woody glades, coppices, peripheries and woody meadows

continue to decline. Species such as clouded apollo, duke of Burgundy, large tortoiseshell, black

hairstreak and ilex hairstreak are extinct and seven of the remaining endangered species of forest

butterflies continue to decline. There is a similar decline in populations of other forest insects [1].

Populations of forest birds are generally stable or with slight positive developments (see Fig 1-11,

Chapter 1.3). The populations of the common golden eye and the sea eagle are growing and benefit

from targeted management, whereas other species, such as the golden oriole and the Eurasian

wryneck are in decline, a European trend which cannot definitively be attributed to human impact

[5].

March 2014

The most recent report on Danish nature to the European Union concluded that the conservation

status of all of Denmark's ten internationally protected forest habitats is unfavourable bad. These

ten forest habitats, which are mainly deciduous forest types and includes managed forest, cover

about 15% the of total forest area. 21 % of the total area of the Habitat Directive forest types in

Denmark are designated as Natura 2000 sites. The reason for the unfavourable bad conservation

status is primarily a lack of large, old trees and deadwood on the forest floor.

Figure 1-17

Conservation status of 10 types of forest habitats (occurring in Annex 1 of the EU

Habitats Directive) assessed in the period 2007-2013. All forest habitats are assessed to have

unfavourable bad conservation status. Data from national Article 17 reporting. Denmark is divided

into an atlantic and a continental zone. Conservation status for the habitat type is assessed for

each of these biogeographical zones. A habitat type counts for two observations if it is found in

both zones. The sum of the figures of the diagram is therefore greater than 10.

All state forests are FSC or PEFC-certified and about 15% of the private forest areas are PEFC-

certified and much less are FSC-certified. These certificates mean that the timber produced comes

from sustainably managed forests. Forest management requirements include encouraging natural

forest management, protecting areas of particular natural value, preserving old trees and deadwood

in the forest, protecting historical artefacts and reducing environmental impacts, e.g. caused by

using fertilizers and pesticides.

References

[1] Ejrnæs, R. & B. Nygaard. Forests. In Ejrnæs, R., Wiberg-Larsen, P., Holm., T.E., Josefson, A.,

Strandberg, B., Nygaard, B., Andersen, L.W., Winding, A., Termansen, M., Hansen, M.D.D.,

Søndergaard, M., Hansen, A. S., Lundsteen, S. , Baatrup-Pedersen, A., Kristensen, E., Krogh,

P.H., Simonsen, V., Hasler, B. & Levin, G. 2011 Danmarks biodiversitet

–

status, udvikling og

trusler (Denmark's biodiversity

–

status, development and threats). Danmarks Miljøundersøgelser

(a former Danish research institute), Aarhus University. 152 pages

–

DMU Scientific Report no.

815.

[2] HTTP://IGN.KU.DK/NYHEDER/SKOVE-PLANTAGER-2012/SP-2012.PDF/ SIDE 93

[3] Statistics Denmark (SKOV11)

[4]

HTTP://WWW2.SNS.DK/UDGIVELSER/2003/SKOVOGNATURITAL/SKOVOGNATURITAL2003.PDF

[5] Buchwald, E., 2013. Klar fremgang for de rødlistede skovfugle (Increase in the populations of

Redlisted forest birds)

–

Skoven 11: 498-503.

March 2014

1.5

1.5.1

Watercourses and lakes

Lakes

Many Danish lakes are affected by the deposition of nutrient

substances.

The Conservation status is unfavourable for five of the Habitats

Directives' lake habitats and for 13 of the 17 natural habitats associated

with Danish lakes.

National surveillance in 2011 indicated that there was a general

improvement in our lakes in the shape of a 50% reduction in

phytoplankton, 9% better water clarity and 17% more aquatic plants

compared to the period 1980-1995, when the same parameters were last

measured.

One of Denmark's national goals is to have pure, clear lakes. However, most Danish lakes remain

polluted, due, among other things, to deposition of nutrient substances. Surplus nutrients cause

cloudy water and algae growth, which prevents underwater vegetation and causes low oxygen

content on the lake bed.

There is special focus on phosphorus as a limittrd quantity of phosphorus generally reduces algae

growth in the lakes, i.e. algae growth is determined by the available quantity of phosphorus while

there is an excess of nitrogen. Thus, when large quantities of phosphor are deposited,

phytoplankton growth is increased, thus shifting the environmental condition of the lake in an

unfavourable direction.

Phosphorus in the aquatic environment comes primarily from agricultural and natural areas, from

waste water (in urban and rural settlements alike) and, to a lesser extent, from industry and fish

farms [1].

Algae, water clarity and aquatic plants

The condition of Danish lakes has improved during the last 20 years. Developments in 15 lakes

across the country were monitored intensively from 1989-2011. The volume of algae (measured as

chlorophyll concentration) had fallen by 50% from 59.4 microgrammes/litre in the period 1989-

1995 to 29.9 microgrammes/litre in 2011. Among other reasons, the fall is due to successful

reduction in nutrient deposition in the most nutrient-rich of these lakes.

Figure 1-18

Chlorophyll concentration in lakes in the period 1989-2011. The figures are

expressed in microgrammes/litre and based on the average of 15 lakes monitored intensively. [1]

March 2014

As the chlorophyll concentration fell, the water in the lakes became clearer and water clarity

increased from 1.95 metres on average in the period 1989-1995 to 2.15 metres in 2011. Water clarity

in Danish lakes varies generally from 10-15 cm in polluted lakes to more than 8 m in pure, clean

lakes.

Improved water clarity means that sunlight can penetrate further into the water, creating better

growing conditions for the aquatic plants on the lake bed. Biodiversity, measured as the number of

species of aquatic plants in 13 tested lakes, has increased in the period 2004-2011 from 9.7 species

to 11.4. Aquatic plants also cover a greater area of the water surface and fill more of the lakes' total

volume. The average maximum depth at which aquatic plants grow increased from 3.3 m to 3.7 m.

Figure 1-19

Underwater vegetation in plant-covered area and volume based on tests in 13 lakes

monitored in the periods 2004-2006 and 2007-2011. Source: DCE.

According to the most recent report to the EU, despite improvements, all five internationally

protected types of lake are categorised as having unfavourable conservation status.

Figure 1-20

Conservation status of 8 protected types of lake and watercourse habitats(occurring

in Annex 1 of the EU Habitats Directive) assessed in the period 2007-2013. All of these

freshwater habitats are found in both the atlantic and continental biogeographical zones. A

habitat type counts for two observations if it is found in both zones. The sum of the figures of the

four diagrams is therefore greater than 8. With the exception of the rare mud banks along rivers

and streams, the conservation status of which is unknown, all the prevalent lake and watercourse

habitats have unfavourable conservation status. Source: data from article 17 reporting.

References

[1] DCE, 2012. Lakes 2011. NOVANA. Aarhus University, DCE

–National

Centre for Environment

and Energy, 100 pages. - Scientific report no. 33 by DCE - National Centre for Environment and

Energy

http://www.dmu.dk/Pub/SR33.pdf

March 2014

1.5.2

Watercourses

Concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen in watercourses

fell 50-60% in the period 1989-2011

Species of pondweed, some freshwater insects and some

species of fish are endangered or extinct.

Some species of invertebrate animals, birds, trout and otter are

thriving.

The share of watercourses with a good to excellent animal

conservation status has increased by 37% in the period 1994-

2011.

Denmark's many watercourses are affected by straightening and, in many cases, also by heavy-

handed maintenance and deposition of nutrients and sediment. Many stretches of the watercourses

have an unnatural, unvaried course. In other watercourses, fish migration is prevented by

obstructions. A few watercourses run in pipes for parts of their course.

Nitrogen and phosphorous in watercourses

The conservation status of the watercourses indicates that positive progress was made in the period

1989-2012 as concentrations of nutrient substances (nitrogen and phosphorus) have fallen.

Nitrogen concentration has fallen generally in the watercourses most affected by nitrogen from

arable land or from specific sources, such as purified waste water from towns and industry [1],

whereas the volume of nitrogen in natural watercourses is more or less unchanged in the period

1989-2003 (data available only until 2003). There was generally only a minor reduction in the

nitrogen content in watercourses affected by fish farming.

Fish farming

Dambrug

Total nitrogen (mg/l)

Nature

Cultivation

Dyrket

Natur

Diagramtitel

areas

Specific sources

Punktkilder

Figure 1-21

Development in

nitrogen

concentrations in

watercourses since

1989. The figure

shows the average of

water flow-weighted

annual mean values

for watercourses with

different impacts

classified in

accordance with

conditions prevailing

in 1991. Source:

DCE.

89 91 93 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 11

Year

Phosphorus makes very little difference to the environmental quality of watercourses. However,

watercourses transport phosphorus to lakes and fjords. Measuring phosphorus concentrations in

watercourses is therefore important in assessing the quantity and character of such depositions.

Since 1989 phosphorus depositions from isolated sources have fallen significantly due to improved

waste water purification. Emissions from fish farms are lower

–

primarily due to the closure of

many fish farms, but also due to more stringent fish feed requirements. There is no significant

change registered for natural watercourses.

There has been a modest fall in phosphorus concentrations in watercourses that run through

cultivated areas.

March 2014

Fish farming

Dambrug

Cultivation

Dyrket

Nature

Natur

Specific sources

Punktkilder

0,7

0,6

Total phosphorus (mg/l)

0,5

0,4

0,3

0,2

0,1

99 01

Year

Figure 1-22

Development in

phosphorus

concentrations in

watercourses since

1989. The figure

shows the average

of water flow-

weighted annual

mean values for

watercourses with

different impacts

classified in

accordance with

conditions in 1991.

Source: DCE.

Pesticides and pollutants in water courses

Pesticides used in agricultural production represent 90% of Denmark's total consumption of

pesticides [2]. Consumption of herbicides in particular is increasing. In 2011, herbicides

represented 83% of total pesticide consumption in agriculture. Some of the pesticides used end up

in our watercourses and may have adverse effects on the organisms in them. Possible consequences

for the watercourse ecologies include deterioration of biodiversity and reduced capacity to

metabolise organic material.

A number of pesticides and pollutants are included in watercourse monitoring, although not in the

period 2007-2009. Pollutants were screened in a large number of watercourses in 2008-2009 [2].

Screening research conducted in 2008 investigated the presence of a number of pesticides, two of

which, Chloropyrifos and Chlorfenvinphos, are on the Water Framework Directive's list of priority

hazardous substances. The use of these substances is, however, no longer permitted in Denmark

and none of these two pesticides exceeded the water quality requirements. (There are no quality

requirements for the remaining substances.) In general, little is known about pesticide levels in

Danish watercourses.

Fauna classes - water courses

The biological status of a watercourse is described in terms of the small animals living in it. The

DSFI (Danish Stream Fauna Index) measurements show that conditions in about 250 streams have

improved significantly since 1994. The table (below) shows that the share of watercourses in poor or

very poor condition (fauna classes 1-3) is reduced from 22-26% in the period 1994-1998 to 7-11% in

the period 2008-2011. Similarly, the share of watercourses in a moderate condition (fauna class 4)

has fallen from 45-58% to 33-38%. The percentage of watercourses in good to excellent condition

(fauna class 5-7) has also increased in the period from 19% in 1994 to 56% in 2011.

March 2014

Figure 1-23

Development in fauna class (Danish stream fauna index) at 91-247 stations

examined using a standardised method in the period 1994-2011. Source: DCE

Small watercourses are under-represented among the approximately 250 stations, which means

that the current shares of the different fauna classes cannot directly be ascertained for Danish

watercourses overall. However, positive development leading to better ecological conditions in

Danish watercourses is a clear trend. To a great extent, improvements are the result of optimised

waste water purification, which has led to observed, decreasing concentrations of nutrient salts.

However, physical conditions in the watercourses are also hugely important. The fact that many

watercourses still fail to achieve good ecological status can be attributed to poor physical conditions.

References

[1] DCE, 2012. Watercourses 2011. NOVANA. Aarhus University, DCE

–National

Centre for

Environment and Energy, 70 pages. - Scientific report no. 32 by DCE - National Centre for

Environment and Energy

http://www.dmu.dk/Pub/SR32.pdf

March 2014

1.5.3

Biodiversity in lakes and water courses

Natural watercourses and lakes sustain rich and varied plant and animal life. In the 19th century,

new drainage techniques, damming to create more land area and watercourse straightening meant

that Danish water and wetlands were drained at a great rate. Urban development brought about

decades of increased water consumption, which, for example on Zealand, entailed significant

changes to watercourse systems, and water and wetlands. Since then, large lakes with a rich variety

of species and watercourse systems have generally declined and the aquatic environment has

deteriorated.

Intensive farming and waste water emissions from urban areas have also led to an increase in

nutrient deposition into lakes and watercourses.

To rehabilitate lakes and watercourses, attempts are made to recreate the natural, dynamic

ecosystems which provide good living conditions for species of plants and animals, and thus to

reinstate biodiversity. Along the banks of lakes and watercourses, new wetlands (meadows, bogs

and reed beds) are created.

Rehabilitation also improves the landscape and recreational values of the area. However, the lakes

and wetlands continue to be impacted by nutrient substances from agricultural land and, to a lesser

extent, by purified waste water emitted from urban areas and industry. Nutrient substances

continue to impair conditions in the lakes and, ultimately, also coastal waters and the open sea.

Consistent watercourse maintenance in accordance with the current watercourse regulations means

that vegetation is cleared from many watercourses to prevent flooding of adjacent cultivated

farmland. Vegetation cutting does, however, produce a lower biodiversity of aquatic plants.

Certain species of fish which are covered by the requirements of the Habitats Directive, such as the

houting and the eel, and other species, such as the thick shelled river mussel, continue to decline.

Barriers in watercourses, the isolation of populations, overfishing and a lack of breeding

opportunities still constitute serious threats to these species. In efforts to save the houting from

extinction, barriers have been removed and physical conditions improved in a number of South

West Jutland's watercourses, including Varde Å.

Furthermore, significant attempts have been made to reduce deposition of nutrients, heavy metals,

etc. into watercourses and lakes, thus pushing the natural content of these habitats in a favourable

direction. Also, changes in watercourse maintenance and amendments to regulations are decisive

for the quality of nature in the watercourses.

The number of self-reproductive populations of trout is increasing. Several species of stoneflies,

caddisflies and mayflies have been observed, for example, in watercourses on Funen, where water

quality has improved significantly [1].

Distribution of otters, whose habitat is closely associated with watercourses and lakes, has

increased (1990-2010), especially due to the establishment of passages under roads, a ban on trap

fishing, the introduction of trap flaps, and improved habitats [1]. In addition to otters, provision of

passages for watercourses and streams under new road systems is beneficial to all the plant life in

and along the watercourses.

It is believed that current and future climate changes may lead to increased rainwater drainage,

possibly further deposition of nutrient substances from the surrounding area and also more

hydrologic dynamism. Climate change could have a negative impact on plant and animal life in

watercourses and lakes. Furthermore, species whose southernmost distribution is Denmark may

March 2014

disappear. This would apply, for example, to a number of specialised watercourse insects and

species of fish, adapted to life in low-temperature waters.

References

[1] Wiberg-Larsen, P., Baatrup-Pedersen, A. & E. A. Kristensen, 2011. Watercourses. I Ejrnæs,

R., Wiberg-Larsen, P., Holm., T.E., Josefson, A., Strandberg, B., Nygaard, B., Andersen, L.W.,

Winding, A., Termansen, M., Hansen, M.D.D., Søndergaard, M., Hansen, A. S., Lundsteen, S. ,

Baatrup-Pedersen, A., Kristensen, E., Krogh, P.H., Simonsen, V., Hasler, B. & Levin, G. 2011.

Danmarks biodiversitet

–

status, udvikling og trusler (Denmark's biodiversity

–

status,

development and threats). Danmarks Miljøundersøgelser (a former Danish research institute),

Aarhus University. 152 pages

–

DMU Scientific Report no. 815.

[2] MST, 2012. Pesticide statistics 2011. The Danish Environmental Protection Agency

[3] DMU, 2009. Screening for selected pesticides in watercourses and groundwater. NOVANA

screening. Danmarks Miljøundersøgelser (a former Danish research institute), Aarhus University.

22 pages

–

DMU Work Report No. 252. http://www.dmu.dk/AR252.pdf.

March 2014

1.6

1.6.1

The Sea

Conservation status of the sea

Nutrient deposition from Denmark has halved since 1990.

Nitrogen concentrations have fallen by 45% in fjords and coastal waters

and by 25% in inner, open bodies of water in the period 1990-2011.

Chlorophyll is the benchmark measurement for the impact of nutrients

and fell slightly until 2011 in fjords and coastal waters. In open bodies of

water, chlorophyll concentrations have not changed since 1990.

The sea is an important resource for Denmark and a critical part of the country's environment and

nature. Many socially important activities impact the marine environment. Nutrient substances

from intensive food production and waste water from households and industry end up in the sea

together with atmospheric emissions from neighbouring countries. Fisheries, transport, energy and

raw materials are important industries and each impacts different parts of the marine ecosystem.

Nutrients and chlorophyll

Denmark's discharge of nutrients into the sea has fallen significantly since 1990 because waste

water purification has improved (since 1988) and deposition of nitrogen from cultivated fields is

lower. Discharge of nitrogen and phosphorus into the inner marine waters (i.e. the sea areas south

and east of Skagen which are most exposed to eutrophication) have fallen from about 80,000 to

40,000 tons of nitrogen and from 5,000 to 2,000 tons of phosphorus (

FIGURE 1-24

). Annual

fluctuations are great due to variable rainfall and outflow from land.

FIGURE 1-24

Discharge of nitrogen and phosphorus from Denmark to the inner marine waters.

Source: DCE [2].

Concentrations of nitrogen in fjords/coastal waters and open, inner marine waters have fallen in the

period 1990-2011, most distinctly in fjords and coastal waters (

Figure 1-25

). This is explained by a

combination of falling depositions originating in Denmark in falling atmospheric depositions (has

fallen by about 30% since 1989) and discharges from the Baltic Sea. The fall in Danish depositions

is most strongly apparent in the fjords and coastal waters, while the reduction in atmospheric

deposition and falling nitrogen concentrations in the Baltic Sea are presumably the main reasons

for the reduction observed in the open waters.

Phosphorus concentrations have fallen in fjords/coastal waters, although the level has stagnated

since 1998 (

Figure 1-26

). The fall in concentrations in fjords and coastal waters from 1988-1998 is

March 2014

the result of Danish efforts, especially improved waste water purification. In open bodies of water

there is a trend towards increasing concentrations, which are due to increasing phosphorus

concentrations in the Baltic Sea. Concentrations are increasing here due to long-term oxygen

depletion and release of phosphorus from constantly increasing areas of the seabed which have de-

oxygenated sediment.

Phytoplankton concentrations (measured as chlorophyll) show a slight fall in fjords and coastal

waters, while concentrations remain unchanged in open water bodies during the period 1989-2011

(

Figure 1-27

). A weak connection between phytoplankton and nutrients in open waters indicates

that other conditions, particularly grazing animal plankton, are increasingly important for the

quantity of algae, when nutrient density is falling [1].

Nitrogen in the sea

Figure 1-25

Concentration of nitrogen in Danish seas (annual average in surface layer) source:

DCE [2]

Phosphorus In The Sea

Figure 1-26

Concentration of phosphorus in Danish seas (annual average in surface layer) source:

DCE [2]

March 2014

Chlorophyll in Danish seas

Figure 1-27

Concentration of chlorophyll in Danish seas (annual average in surface layer). Source: DCE [2]

References

[1] Duarte et al (2000) Effect of nutrient supply on the biomass structure of planktonic communities: an experimental

test on a Mediterranean coastal community. MEPS 206: 87–95,

[2] Hansen, jJ.W. (red.) 2012: Marine areas 2011. Novana. Aarhus University, DCE

–

National Centre for Environment

and Energy, 154 pages. - Scientific report no. 34, DCE

–

National Centre for Environment and Energy

http://www.dmu.dk/pub/sr34.pdf

Contaminants

Keeping ahead of emerging contaminants

While more conventional contaminants are subject to regulation and as the concentrations are reduced to more or less

"safe" levels, new substances with increasingly complex effects are being invented, e.g. endocrine disruptors. Today

contaminants are assessed individually, i.e. the hazards and risks are assessed for each substance individually and

environmental quality standards are set for each individual high-priority substance. Meanwhile, the environment is

impacted simultaneously by more and different substances from a multitude of sources. There is no consensus as to

whether the effects of such combinations, the so-called "cocktail effects", should be assessed or regulated.

Concentrations in animals are falling but standards are not met for all contaminants

Concentrations of mercury in fish have been falling in Øresund, where discharges from Copenhagen in the past were high

due to inadequately purified waste water (

Figure 1-28

). Concentrations of mercury have fallen only slightly because high

concentrations remain in sediment, which are only gradually released into the water and absorbed by fish. By

comparison, concentrations of mercury in fish in the Great Belt have remained stable since 1980. In Øresund and in the

Great Belt, concentrations of mercury are significantly in excess of the environmental quality standard 20 µg Hg/kg of

fish meat. However, neither here nor in other Danish waters is the threshold limit for human consumption (500 µg

Hg/kg) exceeded.

March 2014

Figure 1-28

Temporal variation in mercury found in European flounder caught in the Great Belt

(Storebælt) and Øresund. The fall in values in Øresund is expressed as an exponential function.

The horizontal lines show the environmental quality standard level (20 µg hg/kg of fish meat).

Concentrations of TST (a biocide) in mussels have fallen dramatically since 2000 as a result of a ban on its use in small

boats and commercial fishing vessels. The average value for Danish coastal waters and open sea areas is approaching the

recommended threshold value of 12 µg/kg (

Figure 1-29

). Concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in

the Blue Mussel have fallen to about one third since 2000. Based on a tendency line, the reduction seems to be

continuing. Concentrations of methyl napthalenes (sub-group of aromatic hydrocarbons, PAH) are far below the

environmental quality standard, which is 2,400 µg/kg.

March 2014

Figure 1-29

Temporal variation in organic contaminants in the blue mussel (blåmusling) in

Danish waters. The values are an average of the data from 7-16 stations distributed in inner

Danish waters and 2 stations in the Wadden Sea. Only stations with more than seven annual

values in the period 1999-2012 are included in the average. Tbt and methyl napthalenes are

shown as concentrations, whereas total pah is shown as relative values (1996 = 1).

With regard to the combined effects of chemical substances, Denmark is working hard in favour of building a databank in

this field and that combined effects are, where possible, taken into account when individually assessing the risk of

chemical substances.

Oxygen depletion

Good oxygen conditions are decisive for varied life at the bottom

Denmark has made great efforts to reduce the input of organic material, chemical and nutrient

substances into the sea. While improvements have clearly been made in some respects, certain sea

areas and fjords remain dogged by oxygen depletion. Some oxygen depletion is caused by emissions

from neighbouring countries.

More than 1000 km

of water flows from the brackish Baltic Sea (surface currents to the North) and

salty Skagerrak (bottom currents to the South) into the inner marine waters, Kattegat and the Belt

March 2014

Sea. This forms separate strata of heavy, salty water at the bottom and lighter, brackish water

above. Where the inner waters are deepest, the strata are almost permanent in the period from early

spring until late autumn, although storms do mix the water column. Stable stratification prevents

atmospheric oxygen from reaching the bottom, which means that the inner marine waters are

especially vulnerable to oxygen depletion.

Natural oxygen depletion

Stratification also occurs in fjords, especially in hot summers with little wind. In addition to

stratification, high oxygen consumption in sediment due to the high temperature of the bottom

water and large quantities of organic material in the sediment increases the risk of oxygen

depletion. In certain sea areas (southern Little Belt) and fjords (Flensburg Fjord and Mariager

Fjord), oxygen depletion will more or less always be present due to natural conditions, e.g. great

depth with stagnating bottom water.

Failed to meet goals for good oxygen conditions

In the period 2004-2012, about 70% of the inner waters were affected by oxygen depletion (< 4 mg

O2/l) and about 10% by severe oxygen depletion (< 2 mg O2/l) on at least one occasion (

Figure

1-30

). Severe oxygen depletion is particularly prevalent in deep waters and fjords sheltered from

the wind which also have a strong inflow of freshwater and nutrients (e.g. Skive Fjord).

The scope and severity of oxygen depletion varies from year to year, depending primarily on

climatic conditions. The long-term trend indicates that oxygen conditions in the open marine

waters fluctuate in a 13-14-year cycle. In some years the oxygen concentration falls in the salty

bottom water as it flows through Kattegat to the Belt Sea because the oxygen is consumed by the

sediment. The oxygen concentration is therefore lower in the Great Belt than in Kattegat. Since

1989 the concentration of oxygen has fallen to less than 2 mg/l in three out of 21 years in Kattegat

and seven times in the Great Belt. This means that goals stipulating that concentrations of less than

2 mg O2/l must never occur, are far from being achieved.

Figure 1-30

Overview of the

extent of oxygen

depletion (< 4mg

o2/l, blue areas)

and severe oxygen

depletion (< 2 mg

o2/l, red areas) in

inner marine waters

in the period 2004-

2012. [2]

References

[1] Danish Ministry of the Environment, 2012. Denmark's Marine Strategy. Environmental Goals

Report.

March 2014

[2] DCE (National Centre for Environment and Energy)

[3] IMO - International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems on Ships

(enforced October 2001, ban effective from September 2008)

March 2014

1.6.2

Important fish stocks

Most of the commercially important fish stocks in Danish

waters are exploited sustainably.

Stocks of cod in the North Sea and Skagerrak have not yet

reached a safe, sustainable level but have increased since

2006.

Cod stocks are critically low in Kattegat.

Stocks of herring are exploited sustainably in the North

Sea. Stocks have been falling in the western part of the

Baltic Sea for some years but continue to be exploited at

levels close to the sustainable level.

Plaice stocks are exploited sustainably in the North Sea

and have progressed in Kattegat since 2009.

Sustainable fishery

Across the globe overfishing threatens to wipe out fish stocks. In Denmark many species are fished

at a sustainable level. However, there are still some species which are not within safe recruitment

margins. The challenge facing us in the future is to ensure that fishery remains a profitable

business in the long term and, at the same time, that sustainable fish stocks are enlarged and

maintained.

Some stocks are not fished sustainably

There are almost 200 species of marine fish in Denmark. As yet we have insufficient data to

establish scientifically founded quotas for all the species that are commercially exploited. The

scientific basis is is, however, growing and it will gradually become possible to set quotas for more

and more species. Fish mortalityof several species in the North Sea has been reduced. For seven out

of a total of nine species for which we have sufficient data, it is assessed that stocks are exploited

sustainably in the North Sea and Skagerrak. Three out of six species are exploited sustainably in

Kattegat and two out of three species in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Table 1-1

Conservation status of important species of fish in Danish waters. Assessments are

based on the volume of spawning biomass. (√) indicates that the spawning biomass exceeds the

threshold required for good conservation status and (÷) indicates that biomass is under the

required threshold. Grey indicates that we have insufficient data to assess conservation status or

that there are no stock present in the waters. [1].

Norway Pout

Common Sole

√

Mackerel

√

Haddock

Herring

Sandeel

Saithe

North Sea and

Skagerrak

Kattegat

Western part of the

Baltic

√

Cod

Historically speaking, cod, herring and plaice have been some of the commercially most important

species for Danish fisheries. Despite growing stocks of cod in the North Sea and Skagerrak, they

have yet to reach a safe sustainable level. Spawning stock biomass has been at a historically lowest

level since 2000 in the Kattegat. In the North Sea cod stocks have improved gradually. Spawning

biomass was at an all-time low in 2006 but has increased in recent years to around the minimum

March 2014

Plaice

Sprat

Cod

threshold. In the west part of the Baltic Sea, stocks have exceeded the sustainability threshold but

fish mortality is still too high to be described as sustainable exploitation.

Herring

Herring stocks in the North Sea have favourable conservation status. Stocks of spring-spawning

herring, which, with cod and sprat, are the most widespread species of fish in the western part of

the Baltic Sea, have shrunk in recent years. In 2012 they were just at the threshold required for

sustainable exploitation. Herring has been subjected to intensive commercial fisheries. Herring is a

very valuable source of food for other commercially important fish stocks, sea birds and marine

mammals.

Plaice

Plaice fishing in Kattegat, the Sound and the Belts has fallen to a low level and the spawning

biomass has been increasing since 2009. Current fishing intensity is probably at a level which

ensures sustainable exploitation. In the North Sea, fish mortality due to fishing has fallen to a

sustainable level and the spawning biomass is far above the critical thresholds and continues to rise.

March 2014

Plaice in the North Sea

Figure 1-31

Catch development for cod in Kattegat (top), herring in the western part of the Baltic Sea (middle)

and plaice in the North Sea (bottom). --- = threshold value for sustainable exploitation of stocks [1].

March 2014

Figure 1-32

Spawning biomass for cod in Kattegat (top), herring in the western part of the Baltic Sea

(middle) and plaice in the North Sea (bottom). --- = threshold value for sustainable exploitation of stocks [1].

References

[2] ICES Advice 2013 and 2014 (www.ices.dk/advice/icesadvice.asp)

March 2014

1.6.3

Marine habitats

Marine habitats are threatened by nutrient discharge, bottom

trawling and acidification

Offshore wind farms have increased the diversity of habitats.

The restoration of rocky reefs off the island of Læsø have

increased the biodiversity of species, including fish and species

of large algae (seaweed).

The inner marine waters have been mapped to ascertain the locations of specific marine habitats.

The mapping includes sandbanks which are permanently flooded with sea water at low tide, reef

formations and bubbling reefs [1].

Marine habitats can be protected, for example, as designated Natura 2000 protection areas which

cover 17,7% of total Danish waters (9,573 km²). The sandbanks may be barrier reefs or shallow

areas with eelgrass beds or seaweed forests. Reef formations primarily include rocky reefs or

bubbling reefs, which are limestone formations created in microbiological processes in areas where

gas seeps from the seabed.

Impoverished marine oases

Marine habitats are threatened by the discharge of nutrient substances from land to sea because the

presence of nutrients increases plankton production and leads to poor water clarity. Fishery using

bottom trawlers is also a threat. Reefs were threatened by rock fishing in the past, which is now

forbidden.

Reefs are very valuable marine oases, which are home to a diversity of species. Such reefs are local

areas made up of different sized rocks. They were created as the ice withdrew at the end of the last

Ice Age. Reefs are attractive locations for fishing as there are often large shoals of different species

of fish on and around rocky reefs. Unfortunately, fishing tackle often has a destructive effect on the

reefs.

Reefs are protected in accordance with the Habitats Directive and are also listed as sites in the

Natura 2000 designation platform. The goal for all reefs and their immediate surroundings in

Natura 2000 designated areas is to issue a ban on fishing with fishing gear which scrapes the reef

bed. The first prohibition orders came into force in 2013.

Status

In the most recent report to the EU, the conservation status of six of the country's seven marine

habitats is described as unfavourable bad.

March 2014

Figure 1-33

Conservation status for eight protected marine habitats (occurring in the Annex 1 of

the EU Habitets Directive) assessed in the period 2007-2013. Six of these habitats are found in

both biogeographical zones in Denmark. Conservation status for the habitat type is assessed for

each of the biogeographical zones. A habitat type counts for two observations if it is found in both

zones. The sum of the figure of the diagram is therefore greater than 8. Only the rare estuaries

habitats are assessed to have favourable conservation status. Source: data from national article

17 reporting.

Reef restoration

The Blue Reef Habitat Restoration Project has restored and protected a large reef (covering almost

7 hectares) at Læsø Trindel in a Natura 2000-designated area 11 kilometres north-east of the island

of Læsø in northern Kattegat. An area of about 6 hectares of the pre-existing reef is now stabilised.

86,000 tons of rock were deposited on the reef during the project, which was completed in April

2013. The aim was to rehabilitate the reef and provide good living conditions for creatures living on

the benthic (seabed-dwelling) algae and fish.

The effects of the project are monitored, and conditions before and after restoration have been

assessed. It is clear that restoration has generally increased biodiversity on the reef and the number

of characteristic species has increased. Total biomass on the reef has increased by about 3 tons of

animals and 6 tons of algae. Estimates are based on measurements in 2007 and 2012.

Figure1-34

Total numbers of seaweeds

and fish as well as sessile and motile

animals at three depth intervals and at

all three depths totally were

investigated at Læsø Trindel in 2007

and 2012. Animal species were divided

into four sub-groups: sessile, motile,

infauna and epifauna. Source: [2]

Reinstatement of the reef means that there are now more species of perennial seaweeds in the algae

communities than there were before restoration and there are signs of greater stability in the

March 2014

habitat. New species have migrated to the reef. For example, there are now large occurrences of the

Plumose Anemone

Metridium senile),

a soft coral which was not previously extant on the reef.

Figure 1-35

Typical seaweed

forest on Læsø Trindel at a

depth of 9.5 metres. Image:

Karsten Dahl, DCE.

Shoals of cod near the reef have increased since its restoration. The number of fish more closely

associated with reefs, primarily wrasses (Labridae), has also increased while numbers of flatfish

have fallen in the shallow parts of the reef. No new species of fish have migrated to the reef but the

constellation of species has changed.

The results of fish investigations show that Læsø Trindel is increasingly becoming a growth area for

several species of fish, such as Cod and Atlantic Pollock, and these tend to attract more fish from

local areas which find food on the reef. Reefs are also a favourite habitat for lobster. However, as

lobsters grow slowly, it is too early to determine if restoration has been beneficial for this species.

Porpoise have been observed more frequently and for longer periods since than before restoration.

This is interpreted as an improvement of the reef's ecological standard.

Offshore wind turbines as a habitat

In the past 22 years, 14 offshore wind farms have been built in Danish waters. There are more in the

pipeline. The wind farms' effect on the surrounding marine habitat is being monitored.

Figure

1-36

Existing

offshore wind farms in

Danish waters. Source:

ENS.

Wind farms have generally increased the diversity of habitats in the marine areas in which they are

built. The number of animals and biomass have increased in these areas. The offshore wind farms

are established primarily in sea areas with a sandy bed. The wind turbine foundations act as spots of

hard seabed, which change conditions on the seabed from a predominance of animals accustomed

to living in the sand, to create environments similar to reef communities.

March 2014

Offshore wind farms do not generally increase the number of fish in the area nor do they cause a

change in the species which live there. The construction of the Horns Rev wind farm led only to

minor changes in the constellation of different species of fish in the area. Close to each wind turbine

foundation more species of the types that normally inhabit reefs, including Goldsinny Wrass

(Ctenolabrus rupestris), Viviparous Blenny (Zoarces viviparous) and Lumpfish (Cyclopterus

lumpus), were observed.

Offshore wind farms can affect the behaviour of sea birds as they cease to frequent the local areas

after the installation of wind turbines. Effectively, the sea birds lose a habitat. Offshore wind farms

may also act as a barrier to migratory birds and constitute a collision risk. Birds tend generally to

avoid wind turbines, which means that, even after the installation phase, collisions rarely occur.

The behaviour of seals and porpoise has been monitored intensively in connection with the

installation of offshore wind farms and their subsequent operation. It transpires that seals do not

change behaviour as a result of an offshore wind farm. Porpoise at the Horns Rev offshore wind

farm were not observed to have changed behaviour. At Nysted offshore wind farm porpoise activity

was reduced not only during installation but also for a period of two years following commissioning.

After the first two years, there were no further significant changes in porpoise behaviour [3].

References

[1] NST, 2012. Marine raw materials and habitat mapping in Kattegat and the western part of the

Baltic Sea 2011. The Danish Nature Agency.

[2] Dahl, K. 2013. Blue Reef - Status for biological immigration on the new Læsø Trindel reef in

2011. Aarhus University, DCE

–

National Centre for Environment and Energy Date: 20 June 2013

[3] Danish Energy Agency, 2007. Location of future offshore wind turbines

–

2025. Committee for

future offshore wind turbine location April 2007

March 2014

1.6.4

Marine mammals

The population of Harbour Seal has been growing since 1980.

Estimates of the porpoise population in the North Sea vary from 41,000 to

57,000 and in inner Danish waters from 13,500 to 22,000. As porpoise have

only been counted for a few years, it is not possible to assess their

development.

The porpoise population in the Baltic Sea is thought to be small and

vulnerable.

Marine mammals as indicators of conservation status

Large animals, including marine mammals such as seals and whales, are an important part of the

ecosystem in both coastal and open waters. They are the highest level in the food chain and are thus

indicators of the structure and function of and degree of malfunction in the food chain. These

animals are therefore chosen as key indicators of conservation status in proposals for Denmark's

Marine Strategy.

Two species of seal are common to Danish waters: the Harbour Seal and the Grey Seal, as are three

species of whale: porpoise, the White-Beaked Dolphin and the Minke Whale. The Harbour Seal is

Denmark's commonest seal and porpoise the most common species of whale.

Threats facing seals include epidemic outbreaks which have caused a severe decline in the Harbour

Seal population in the past. One of the threats facing porpoise is bycatching. Porpoise live in

productive areas of the sea, often in conjunction with good fishing areas. Fisherman often risk

finding porpoise in their nets as bycatches.

There is also an accumulation of contaminants in the food chain, which means that concentrations

in whales and seals at the top of the food chain is much larger than in their prey. The porpoise is

also particularly sensitive to noise and the disruptions caused when building bridges or wind farms

and by shipping.

Seal populations are growing

The total population of the Harbour Seal in Denmark has advanced during the last 30 years. Even

though, on occasions during this period (1988 and 2002), there were epidemics which killed large

numbers of seals, the long-term trend is a rapidly growing population, developing from about 2,000

individuals in the mid-1970s to more than 16,000 individuals in 2012 [1].

The four most important populations are found in the Baltic Sea, Kattegat, Limfjord and Wadden

Sea. The number of seals in Limfjord varies widely from year to year, presumably in line with

variable access to food. Seal numbers are increasing in the remaining areas.

Grey Seals are uncommon in Denmark but there are groups at Rødsand (Læsø), on two islands

(Anholt and Christiansø) and in the Wadden Sea. The total Danish Grey Seal population is

estimated at 240-430 individuals [1]. The Grey Seal has bred in Denmark since 2003.

Seals are sensitive to disturbances in their resting places on beaches, sandbanks and reefs,

especially during breeding and moulting periods. Seal pups are prone to entanglement in fishing

nets and traps.

March 2014

Figure 1-37

The total number of harbour seals in Danish waters based on aerial counts made

in August. The figures for 1976-1978 are estimates (due to non-standard methods of

counting). The figures stated for 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1999 are the result of interpolation.

Red arrows indicate epidemic years. Source: Henriksen et al. 2011 [2]

Danish whales

The porpoise is the only type of whale to breed in Denmark. It is presumed that there are three

populations in Danish waters; one in the North Sea, one in the inner Danish waters and one in the

Baltic Sea. Whales are generally difficult to count and whale counts for the North Sea and inner

Danish waters are unreliable.

In 1994 the population in the Danish sector of the North Sea was estimated at about 57,000

porpoise. In 2005, the estimate was about 41,000 [2] [3]. In 1994, the population in Kattegat,

Øresund, the Belt Sea and the western part of the Baltic Sea was estimated at about 22,100

porpoise. In 2005, the estimate was about 13,600 [2] [3]. A new investigation from 2012 estimates

that this population is a little over 18,000 porpoise [4]. The fact that there are relatively few,

unreliable counts means that it is impossible to assess development in the porpoise population.

The population of porpoise in the Baltic Sea is very small, just a few thousand individuals. The

population is thought to be vulnerable.

The White-Beaked Dolphin and the Minke Whale live in open seas in the North Sea and Skagerrak.

There is a total population of about 10,000 whales. The Danish share is unknown, although the

population is thought to have favourable conservation status (DCE, 2013).

March 2014

Figure 1-38

Distribution of porpoise in the period 1997-2007. The figure shows density of satellite-tracked

porpoise. Green colour denotes porpoise from the population in inner Danish waters. Blue colour denotes

porpoise from the North Sea population. There are black lines around high-density areas [5].

References

[1] Hansen, J.W. (red.), 2013: NOVANA

–

Marine områder 2012. DCE Videnskabelig Rapport nr. 77.

[2] Henriksen et al., 2011: "Characterising biological conditions in Danish waters". Aarhus University, DCE

–

National Centre for Environment and Energy DMU Scientific Report for The Danish Nature Agency..

[3] Hammond et al 2013. Cetacean abundance and distribution in European Atlantic shelf waters to inform

conservation and management. Biological Conservation 164: 107-122

[4] Sveegaard et al 2013. Abundance survey of harbour porpoises in Kattegat, Belt Seas and the Western

Baltic, July 2012

[5] Sveegaard et al 2011. High-density areas for harbor porpoises (Phocoena

phocoena)

identified by satellite

tracking. Marine mammal science 27: 230-246

March 2014

1.7

1.7.1

Endangered species

Species in decline

27% of Denmark's plant and animal species which have been studied or

assessed are Red-Listed..

54% of Red-Listed species are associated with forest habitats.

Threats facing these species include fragmentation of populations,

deteriorating habitats, disturbances and climate change.

The biodiversity on our planet has always fluctuatedaccording to changing living conditions.

Natural processes and events, such as climate change, fire, storms and plate tectonics have meant

that some species disappear, others evolve and others migrate to new locations. In recent millennia

humankind has brought about radical changes to plant and animal habitats. A dramatically

increasing human population and the need for more space, energy and raw materials are repressing

natural flora and fauna.

The best scientific estimates calculate that species are currently becoming extinct at 100 times the

rate at which they would have become extinct without humanity [1]. The primary cause of the

problems facing endangered species, globally and in Denmark, is that their habitats are

deteriorating due to overgrowth, nutrient loads, disruption, fragmentation and unnatural

hydrology.

Today 1.7 million different species of animals, plants, fungi and micro-organisms are identified

on our planet, although the true figures are believed to be much higher. Denmark is home to about

30,000 species of plants, animals and fungi [1].

It is assumed that current and future climate changes will exacerbate some of the issues caused by

human activity that constitute a threat to biodiversity. We may see changes in birds' migratory

patterns. We may also see species whose southernmost distribution is currently Denmark

emigrating northwards and other species, which were previously indigenous to southern and mid-

European countries, coming to Denmark.

Some immigrating species may be invasive, i.e. they could outperform local species of plants and

animals that are indigenous to Denmark. Similarly, pressure on existing populations may increase

as new diseases evolve in the shape of fungi, parasites and bacteria not previously occurring in

Denmark.

27% of Danish species assessed are Red-Listed

Status for endangered and rare species is given in accordance with IUCN (International Union for

Conservation of Nature) guidelines, which, by means of the Red List, assess the extent to which

individual species risk extinction. In Denmark the Red List is drawn up by DCE

–

National Centre

for Environment and Energy at Aarhus University. A total of 8,119 species have been assessed in

accordance with the international Red List criteria (bios.au.dk, 2013) compared to 5,656 species in

2009. Of these, 2,226 species (corresponding to 27%) are Red-Listed. Of the Red-Listed species,

303 are extinct, 366 are critically endangered, 493 moderately endangered, 640 vulnerable and 415

near threatened. More than half (54%) of the Red-Listed species belong to forest habitats.

March 2014

Figure 1-39

Percentage share of all red-listed species by habitat the total

sum is more than 100% as several species have more than one habitat[2].

Figure 1-40

List of 8119 species assessed in line with Red List principles [2].

An article entitled "Danmarks Biodiversitet" (Denmark's Biodiversity, 2010) estimated that 72 % of

a selection of Danish species were in decline. These in particular include species which require

open, low-nutrient habitats (commons, bogs, heath, sand dunes and meadows) with varied

vegetation. Other species associated with old-growth forests and large volumes of deadwood are

also in decline. Development was described as stable or positive for only 17% of plant and animal

groups.

Some species are now so rare at the European level that Denmark has an international co-

responsibility to protect and conserve them. These species are also managed by means of the Natura

2000 directives, popularly known as the Habitats and Birds Directives. For internationally

protected species which have dramatically declined in distribution or numbers and which were

assessed in the last report to the EU to remain in decline, the Natura 2000 plans stipulate that

specific steps must be taken by 2015. This applies, for example, to the following species: the hermit

March 2014

beetle, marsh fritillary, marsh Saxifrage, Buxbaumia Viridis and the thick shelled river mussel, and

birds, such as the common eider, dunlin, sandwich tern and tawny pipit.

In the latest report on protected species in the EU (Habitats Directive, Appendix II, IV and V

species), about one third of a total of 83 species (or group of species) is assessed to have favourable

conservation status. This applies notably to mammals (17 of the total 27 species). By contrast, the

vast majority of plants, fish and invertebrates have unfavourable conservation status, while the

conservation status of a further 25 species is unknown.

Figure 1-41 Conservation status of 83 different protected species in the EC, distributed as five

groups of species. Conservation status evaluated in the period 2007-2013. Most bats have

favourable conservation status, while species in other groups of species primarily have

unfavourable status. Denmark is divided into two biogeographical zones, an atlantic and a

continental zone. Species found in both zones are counted twice and the sum of the columns is

therefore more than 83. Source: data from article 17 reporting

References

[1] Ejrnæs, R., Wiberg-Larsen, P., Holm., T.E., Josefson, A., Strandberg, B., Nygaard, B.,

Andersen, L.W., Winding, A., Termansen, M., Hansen, M.D.D., Søndergaard, M., Hansen, A. S.,

Lundsteen, S. , Baatrup-Pedersen, A., Kristensen, E., Krogh, P.H., Simonsen, V., Hasler, B. &

Levin, G. 2011. Danmarks biodiversitet

–

status, udvikling og trusler (Denmark's biodiversity

–

status, development and threats). Danmarks Miljøundersøgelser (a former Danish research

institute), Aarhus University. 152 pages

–

DMU Scientific Report no. 815.

[2]

http://bios.au.dk/videnudveksling/til-myndigheder-og-saerligt-

interesserede/redlistframe/artsgrupper/

March 2014

1.8

Ecosystem services and the recreational use of the natural

environment

Ecosystem services

1.8.1

Many parts of Danish commerce and industry depend

on Danish nature

Key industries are dependent on ecosystem services.

Outdoor activities are good for the health of the human

population.

Outdoor activities are growing and have indeed done so since

1975.

Denmark's natural environment offers a large number of services, commonly known as"ecosystem

services". Ecosystem services are essential to individual human beings and our society. Ecosystem

services give us food, fresh air and clean water, fuel and building materials, as well as the pleasure

of engaging in recreational activities. Many parts of Danish commerce and industry depend on

Danish nature (agriculture, fisheries, forestry, etc.) and many Danes work with and in nature.

Ecosystem services are therefore essential for health, well-being, and the economy.

Ecosystem services are typically subdivided into four categories; provisioning, regulating,

supporting and cultural services.

The EU has a headline target of its own for biodiversity in 202o: "Halting the loss of biodiversity

and the degradation of ecosystem services in the EU by 2020, and restoring them in so far as

feasible, while stepping up the EU contribution to averting global biodiversity loss." The strategy

expresses a desire within the EC to encourage sustainable development and nature management in

the Member States.

The European Union's biodiversity strategy 2010 includes specific goals to ensure that ecosystem

services are maintained and enhanced by 2020. In 2014, the Danish Ministry of the Environment

will implement a project to map Danish ecosystems and ecosystem services. This exercise will be

based on an analytic framwework provided by the EU Commision in 2013.

The value of ecosystem services

While a more comprehensive mapping and analysis of ecosystems and ecosystem services have still

to be carried out several studies have already confirmed the value of specific ecosystem services in

forestry, agriculture and fisheries [1].

A recent Danish study sought to calculate the value of insect pollination of arable crops (

Figure

1-42

). This study shows that insect pollination is very valuable and can be calculated at DKK 421-

690 million a year [2]. Most of this value is accumulated in the spring, when fruit trees, oilseed rape

and berry bushes are pollinated.

March 2014

Figure 1-42

Development of bee population throughout the season compared to flowering plants

visited by bees (Axelsen et al. 2011).

In 1997, in connection with planting a total of 160 hectares of forest on agricultural land at Vollerup

Skov on West Zealand, the socio-economic and budgetary effects of afforestation were calculated.

Total socio-economic benefits were calculated at 1,085 DKK/ha/year, or DKK 173,500 a year for the

entire forest [8]. Environmental benefits include, in particular, a reduction in nutrient loads, a

reduction in pollutants, C02 binding, improved opportunities for outdoor pursuits and increased

biological diversity. The value of binding C02 alone accounted for DKK 117,800 a year.

If this had been at a location closer to a town where groundwater protection was more important,

the socio-economic benefits would have been significantly greater. C02 binding is an ecosystem

service, which in principle is of nationwide benefit, while the recreational value of the ecosystem

and its groundwater-protective functions are relatively narrowly associated with benefits for the

local population.

In a multifunctional experimental farm that operates as a net energy-producing agro-ecosystem

featuring broad belts of protective shelter belt with fast-growing deciduous trees, it is calculated

that the total value of ecosystem services may add up to DKK 5,000-8,000 per hectare [9]. The

largest contribution from the ecosystem comes from regulation of nitrogen turnover (N-fixation and

mineralisation) and production of animal feed and biomass (in shelter belts). Landscape aesthetics

is another value which can be attributed to belts of deciduous trees. Some ecosystem values can be

attributed to the presence of an insect population, which pollinates plants and combats insects

regarded as pests.

Nature protection and nature rehabilitation also provide socio-economic benefits, when they are

calculated based on ecosystem services. In 2003 it was assessed [10] that the current value of net

benefits, i.e. the socio-economic benefits of restoring Skjern River to its natural course would be as

much as DKK 200 million over an eternal time horizon, or DKK 30 million on a 20-year time

horizon. The value depends on the social discount rate.

March 2014

1.8.1

Outdoor pursuits, recreational activities and health

Outdoor pursuits in Denmark are many and various. The Danish Ministry of the Environment's

definition describes "outdoor pursuits" as "pleasurable human leisure activities, which take place

outside the home, workplace and sports stadium, and which are a matter of choice. People engage

in outdoor pursuits, for example, at sea, along the coast, in the forest and woods, in urban parks,

close to lakes and a number of other locations in the open countryside"

[

3]. People's motivations for

engaging in outdoor pursuits are manifold. In this section we will focus on the health-giving effects

of outdoor pursuits.

A lack of physical activity is one of the most important factors creating a higher risk of developing

lifestyle-related conditions, such as cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, stress, etc. Research

has shown that spending time in a green environment can have a prophylactic and curative effect

[4]. This means in effect that outdoor pursuits generally promote public health.

Research has shown that there is often a direct correlation between the distance from peoples

residence to the closest nature area including parks and how often they use the area for walkings

etc. as well as with their experiences with stress.. It is therefore important that there are nature

areas close to where people live.

Research also shows that even though many animals, plants and nature areas are negatively

impacted by outdoor activities the society generallyl benefits from increase in outdoor activities .

Only in cases with very sensible speciesor ecosystems the negative effects can be so severe that

access must be regulated or prohibited.

The range of outdoor pursuits activities is increasing

According to Danish laws access to nature is free and unhindered, but only for walks and cycling.

Further access depends largely on land owners acceptance.

The number of outdoor pursuits activities and facilities is growing. The total number of outdoor

pursuits facilities in the state owned nature areas managed by the Ministry of Environment has

increased from 2,045 to 2,706 in the period 2003-2009 [5]. Examples of outdoor pursuits facilities

include birdwatching towers, exercise routes with lighting and signs, mountain bike tracks, shelters

and camping sites. If facilities provided for outdoor pursuits, recreation, exercise, etc. are

improved, activity levels and frequency of visits can reasonably be expected to increase and impact

positively on health and life quality.

Nature is used more often for exercise purposes than fitness centres [6]. The forest is the preferred

natural habitat for outdoor pursuits, followed by beach and coast. The popularity of forests may

reflect that Danish forests are relatively widespread and easily accessible, and that there are many

potential experiences to be gained and activities to engage in forests and woods [7].

Outdoor pursuits organisations are not only working to improve the opportunities for using the

natural environment but can also help to protect the natural environment and understanding of

nature by providing more information about nature and by better controlling how people use

natural areas. For example, if a off-leash dog area is established in a forest the level of dog-walking

activities in other parts of the forest is reduced and the wild fauna becomes less disturbed by dogs

running loose.

March 2014

Figure 1-43

The Danish Nature Agency's outdoor pursuits facilities [5]

With the exception of nature schools, which fell by 2 in the period 2007-2009, all facilities

increased from 2003-2009 [3]. The most important reasons for using the natural environment are

to experience nature and the landscape and to exercise [11].

Figure 1-44

Most important reasons for using the natural environment.

References

[1] Ravensbeck, L., P. Andersen, B.J. Thorsen & N. Strange, 2013: Ecosystem services and their

value in association with a national network of green spaces in Denmark. IFRO - Department of

Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen, Report no. 218.

[2] Axelsen, J., A. Enkegaard, B. Strandberg, P. Kryger & P.B. Sørensen, 2011: Pollination

conditions and requirements in agricultural crops. Danmarks Miljøundersøgelser (a former Danish

research institute), Aarhus University. DMU Scientific Report no. 832.

[3] Danish Ministry of the Environment, 2012. Available on the internet: URL

<http://www.naturstyrelsen.dk/pv_obj_cache/pv_obj_id_ECD10249FA3BCD5BD9996D1D1A71CB

07619A1D00/filename/HftetFriluftsliv1.pdf>

[4] <http://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/20650663/de_groenne_omr.pdf>

[5] Skov og Natur i tal (Forests and Nature in figures) 2008. Available on the internet: URL

<http://www.naturstyrelsen.dk/pv_obj_cache/pv_obj_id_71635D06D4168D740C4EB322D47FECF

F78610400/filename/skov_og_natur_i_tal_2008.pdf > og Forests and Nature in figures. Available

on the internet: URL

<http://www.naturstyrelsen.dk/Om+os/Aarsrapporter/SkovOgNaturITal/Friluftsliv.htm>

March 2014

[6]

http://www.friluftsraadet.dk/media/519949/fakta_om_friluftslivet_endelig_version_1.0.pdf

45. Data from Laub, T.B. & M. Pilgaard. 2012. Where do the Danes play sport? Danish Institute

for Sports Studies, Copenhagen.

[7]

http://www.friluftsraadet.dk/media/519949/fakta_om_friluftslivet_endelig_version_1.0.pdf

page 31 Data from Projekt Friluftsliv 2009 (Project Outdoor Pursuits), The Department of

Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen

[8] Damgaard, C., E. Erichsen, & H. Huusom, 2001: Socio-economic assessment of the Vollerup

afforestation project The Wilhjelm Committee

[9] Porter, J.E., L. Sigsgaard, H.S. Sandhu, S.D. Wratten, R. Costanza & B. Dennis, 2010: Shelter

belts providing energy and fields for food production. Jord og Viden (journal) 5: 18-19.

[10] Dubgaard, A., M.F. Kallesøe, M.L. Petersen & J. Ladenburg, 2003: Cost-benefit analysis of

the Skjern River Project. Department of Economics and Natural Resources. Royal Veterinary and

Agricultural University

[11] http://www.friluftsraadet.dk/media/519949/fakta_om_friluftslivet_endelig_version_1.0.pdf

s. 44 Data from Projekt Friluftsliv (Project Outdoor Pursuits) 2009, The Department of

Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen.

March 2014

2. Chapter

National Biodiversity

Policies, Legislation,

Strategies, Actions and

Financing

March 2014

2.1

International, EU and national policy framework

The UN Biodiversity Convention from 1992 has exerted strong international influence, not least on

the development of European Union and national policies. In addition to the UN Convention, there

are many more international and regional agreements and conventions in the natural sphere, of

which the Bern, Bonn, Ramsar and Washington (Cites) conventions are some of the most

important.

In continuation of work with the UN Biodiversity Convention, as a Member State of the EU,

Denmark is politically committed to comply with EU policies and legislation in the natural sphere.

Some of the most important EU instruments are the 1979 Birds Directive and the 1992 Habitats

Directive. The Water Framework and Marine Strategy Directives are also important. New directives

concerning profit-sharing in connection with the exploitation of genetic resources and invasive

species will be important in the future.

In March 2010, in the build-up to global negotiations related to the Biodiversity Convention, EU

Environment Ministers adopted a long-term vision for 2050 and new goals for protecting

biodiversity until 2020. The EU 2020 goals for biodiversity include halting the loss of biodiversity

and erosion of ecosystem services in the European Union by the end of 2020.

Denmark is strongly engaged and works in multiple ways to halt the decline of biodiversity. Policies,

strategies and practical activities across sectors like planning, agriculture, forestry and marine

management contribute to achieve the target.

This chapter will introduce some of the most important current and emerging national and overall

nature strategies as well as provide information on how the major components of the national

biodiversity (protected areas, species and genetic resources) are managed through specific policies,

legislation and actions.

Currently, Denmark does not have one specific “National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan”.

The government platform (October 2011) drawn up by the present Danish government, however ,

clearly states that it will work to meet international and EU biodiversity goals to halt the loss of

biodiversity and ensure that nature becomes more cohesive and resistant to climate-related

impacts.

Nature policies and actions are also addressed in several other national policies, strategies and

financial schemes, some of the most important are:

Green Growth (2009/2010)

Green Transition (2013)

The Government’s Climate Strategy (2013)

Action Plan for Climate Proof Denmark (2012)

The National Rural Development Programme (2014-2020)

The National Forestry Programme (2002)

The Danish Climate Policy Plan

–

Towards aLlow Carbon Society (2013)

The Marine Strategy (2012)

The Pesticide Strategy (2013-2015)

National Planning Report (2013)

Den Danske Naturfond (national nature preservation foundation) (2013)

Important new nature policy initiatives are under way, most importantly:

A national sustainability strategy (2014)

A new National Forestry Programme (2014)

Nature Plan Denmark (2014)

March 2014

In 2009 the previous Danish government launched a "Green Growth" agreement. This agreement

grants a total budget spending of DKK 13.5 billion on nature and the environment towards 2015.

Green Growth has been realised as legislative amendments, adjustments to subsidy schemes and

through the Danish state's aquatic environment and Natura 2000 plans.

With respect to pesticides, the Green Growth agreement was replaced by the “Pesticide Strategy

2013-15”

in 2012, without major changes in the goals or tools

as lined out in Green Growth.

Some of the main biodiversity-related goals to be achieved by the nature and aquatic plans as well

as by other initiaitves are:

reducing total N discharge by 9,000 tons by 2015.

reducing discharge of phosphorus from agriculture into the environment by 210 tons by

2015.

reducing ammonia emissions from farm buildings, etc. by means of amendments to the

Livestock Act and investments in environmental technologies.

reducing utilization and load of pesticides, e.g. by introducing an increased tax on

pesticides, which is graduated based on the properties of the pesticides with respect to

human health and the environment

stimulating a doubling of the organic farming sector by 2020 by means of additional

subsidy schemes, etc.

Additionally, 50.000 hectares of new nature areas in the shape of buffer zones along watercourses

and lakes is being established and more forests are created and wetlands restored.

The buffer zones comprise 10 metre-wide areas along watercourses and large lakes, which is to be

neither cultivated, fertilized nor sprayed. The objective is to create more and cohesive nature and to

reduce discharges of nitrogen, phosphorus and pesticides into the aquatic environment.

The agreement also included measures to improve management and maintenance of nature areas

within and outside existing Natura 2000 areas.

Furthermore, in its 2012 Finance Act, the present government decided, via additional state-funding

for wetlands initiatives, to create a further 1,600 hectares of new nature areas in the period 2012-

2013 and ahead, and to make more funding available for state afforestation projects, which have

resulted in 700 hectares of new state-owned forests. A number of these initiatives are co-financed

by either the Danish Rural Development scheme or the EU Fisheries Development scheme. In

addition to the state initiatives, other players make an active contribution to the creation of new

natural habitats. These are primarily local authorities, private landowners, NGOs and private

foundations, etc.

The first generation of plans of

“Natura

2000 plans” (for the period 2009-2015) is currently under

implementation and preparations for the second generation of nature plans for the period 2016-

2020 are in progress. The” aquatic environment plans” are delayed. A hearing related to the first

generation of aquatic environment plans was concluded at the end of 2013.

In 2013, the present government adopteda "Green Transition agreement” as part of the 2014

Finance Act. This agreement provides funds of DKK 200 mill. annually in 2014-2017 for

development of environmentally friendly technologies, organic farming and other activites that can

contribute to the green transition.

For pesticides, the Pesticide Strategy 2013-15 has replaced Green Growth

March 2014

The possible impacts of climate change in Denmark have been evaluated, most recently in a 2012

report by a Task Force on Climate Change Adaptation:

“Mapping climate change –

barriers and

opportunities for action”, where also the most important impacts for Danish nature are described.

In December 2012 an “Action Plan for a Climate-proof Denmark” was launched, which contains

several initiatives related to the Danish nature. One of the main features evolving in this regard is to

create synergies between effective local rainwater management and the creation of recreational and

valuable natural areas.

In 2013 the current government launched “The Danish Climate Policy Plan”. The climate policy

plan states that Denmarkss greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced by 40% in 2020 compared

to the level in 1990. Furthermore,the plan emphasize that greenhouse gas mitigation policies should

be achieved as synergies to other policy areas, such as nature and forestry polivcies.

The municipalities took over the tasks of nature protection and planning from the former counties

in 2007 when the Danish governance system were reduced from three to two levels: state level and

local council level. As part of the planning and management of nature areas and the associated

wildlife the municipalities carry out specific projects to maintain or restore important nature sites

and ecological connectivity e.g. by restoring watercourses, reducing the impact of invasive species

or reintroducing cattle grazing or traditional hay cutting.

For around 25% of the generally protected nature areas the municipalities have made assessment

of the natural condition, the negative impact and the need for active management in order to target

their actions for improving nature and biodiversity.

March 2014

2.2

New and emerging nature protection strategies

In the current government platform (October 2011), the Danish government announced its

intention to set up an independent National Commission for Nature and Agriculture charged to

preparing recommendations for resolving the structural, financial and environmental challenges

facing agriculture, including recommendations as to how the agricultural sector can help to reduce

the carbon footprint and benefit nature and the environment.

The commission was set up in March 2012. In September 2012, it presented its vision for Danish

nature and agriculture, and seven indicators towards realising this vision. One of the indicators

tackles the space issue, including finding space for more and larger natural areas and more cohesive

nature.

In April 2013, the Commission presented its recommendations for comprehensive, interdisciplinary

methods and initiatives which can help to realised an holistic strategy for the green transition of

Danish agriculture and a strengthening of nature in Denmark. The recommendations propose

giving nature in Denmark a significant boost, e.g. by establishing an independent nature foundation

and a national nature network. The recommendations are founded on an assessment that there is a

need for more nature in Denmark and for more cohesive links between natural habitats so that

animals and plants can disperse more easily. There is also a need for better quality in nature and for

more, large natural areas with natural variation and dynamism, including more undisturbed forests.

The Commission also recommended the introduction of new measures to regulate the

environmental impact of agriculture to benefit the industry itself, as well as the aquatic

environment, nature and climate so that Denmark can set new standards in sustainable agricultural

production.

New National Forestry Programme

A new National Forestry Programme is to also to be launched in December 2014. The programme

shall help to balance and where possible to create synergy among the many interests in forestry

(timber and energy production, biodiversity, securing ground water, carbon sequestration,

recreational values etc). One of the major challenges will be to improve the biological status of the

forests.

Den Danske Naturfond (national nature preservation foundation)

As part of negotiations in connection with the 2014 Finance Act, the Danish government and two

opposition parties, Venstre (The Liberal Party of Denmark) and Det Konservative Folkeparti

(conservative people's party), agreed to set up Den Danske Naturfond (national nature preservation

foundation). The foundation will carry out nature and environment projects which will add to

natural biodiversity, protect endangered species, as well as produce a cleaner aquatic environment

and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The foundation will also encourage more public interest and

ensure that there is public backing for nature rehabilitation and protection measures.

Den Danske Naturfond will be set up as a partnership between the state and two private benevolent

funds: VILLUM FOUNDATION and Aage V. Jensen Naturfond. Den Danske Naturfond will have

total capital of DKK 875 million to spend on activities, of which sum the state is placing DKK 500

million at its disposal. The VILLUM FOUNDATION is donating DKK 250 million and the Aage V.

Jensen Naturfond is donating DKK 125 million.

Den Danske Naturfond will aim to raise more capital, at least DKK 125 million by 2016, from non-

profit-making foundations, and corporate and private donors.

March 2014

Nature Plan Denmark

In accordance with its government platform, the Danish government will present

a “Nature

Plan

Denmark”, which will include relevant recommendations from The National Commission for

Nature and Agriculture. The objectives of Nature Plan Denmark will be:

to ensure that natural diversity, variation and beauty are preserved and developed in ways

that are sustainable and beneficial to public welfare and human well-being in Denmark

to create more nature and more forests

–

including urban woodlands

to ensure that Denmark remains a varied, interesting and attractive country with rich

natural resources, cohesive natural habitats and a clean environment

–

including the

marine environment

to help fortify Danish nature and to make it less vulnerable to the effects of climate change

which would seem to be inevitable

to help reduce Denmark's carbon footprint and

to take as its point of departure EU and UN decisions and legislation regarding the marine

and aquatic environments, natural conservation and biodiversity.

The Danish government proposes that Denmark will follow up on and strengthen the

implementation of the national, the EU and the international biodiversity targets by means of

Nature Plan Denmark. Nature Plan Denmark will therefore become Denmark's official biodiversity

strategy and will determine how EU goals to halt the loss of biodiversity will be reached at the

national level.

Nature Plan Denmark is expected to be published in autumn 2014.

March 2014

2.3

Protected nature areas

This section will present current policies, legislation strategies and actions targeted at different

types of nature areas (which biological and ecological status were described in chapter 1)

2.3.1

Nature areas protected by paragraph 3 of the National Nature Conservation

Act

Policy and legislation

The regulations in paragraph 3 of the Nature Conservation Act concerning generally protected

natural habitats, which provide protection for natural habitats all over the country, are one of the

cornerstones of nature conservation in Denmark. Para 3 regulations protect lakes of more than 100

, designated watercourses, heaths, salt marshes, freshwater meadows and biological commons

when the individual habitat or group of habitats covers an area larger than 2,500 m

. Once an area

meets the Act's criteria for plant growth, soil, area, etc., it is automatically protected.

Protection measures have been extended successively since 1972 to include more natural habitats

and reduce minimum area requirements in response to shrinking numbers of natural habitats,

primarily resulting from more intense agriculture, urbanisation and infrastructural systems.

Strategy and actions

Following local government reorganisation in 2007, in which the Danish counties were abolished

and most of their nature-related tasks reassigned to the municipalities, and in the wake of

prolonged public debate about local councils' handling of para 3 protection issues, in February

2010, the Minister of the Environment announced that there was to be a thorough investigation of

the implementation of para 3 of the Nature Conservation Act.

The results of the investigation were published in autumn 2010. The investigation established

generally that practice with regard to dispensation has not changed and that most changes in status,

for which dispensation is given, are related to improving the natural environment.

Based on the results of the random sample investigation, the Ministry of the Environment and Local

Government Denmark agreed on 23 November 2010 to update the registry of para 3 natural

habitats in the period 2011-2013

–

at a total cost of DKK 36 million. The Danish Nature Agency is

now updating para 3 registration in each municipality using aerial photography supplemented by

field trips. A total of approximately 310,000 localities have been analysed using aerial photography

and about 39,500 field trips have been undertaken.

All para 3 protected natural habitats are registered in the Danish Environment web-portal. In places

where nature has potentially disappeared, the local authority is obliged to uncover whether this is in

line with para 3 protection and the authorities own administration. From autumn 2014, an updated

para 3 registry will form the foundation for local authorities' administration and planning of areas

of natural interest. The updated registry will also be highly beneficial for landowners and other

stakeholders.

In 2012 the Danish Government formed the Commission on Nature and Agriculture and asked for

their recommendations for a richer nature and new environmental regulations and growth

opportunities for the agricultural sector. Some of the recommendations from the Commission

focused on better protection of the para 3 protected nature areas with actions such as designation

of these areas, improved acces for the NGOs to file complaints on whether an area is registered as

protected or not, and to prohibit or reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides in the protected

meadows, saltmarshes and commons. An improved protection in urban areas and areas designated

for holiday homes are also recommended. Heavier penalties on violation of the nature protection is

March 2014

also a suggestion from the commission. The recommendations and actions are under further

investigation and consideration by the government.

2.3.2

Forests

Policy and legislation

Denmark was originally covered by forests and Danish forests are therefore important for

indigenous biological diversity. The National Forestry Programme (2002) outlines Denmark's

policy for the forestry sector. The programme has six overall objectives. The programme ,

including a strategy for natural forests, will be revised in 2014.

The programme's objectives with specific relation to nature and biodiversity are:

Promote efforts for the protection of biological diversity and secure the physical

environment and the basis for forest management

Develop and promote a conversion to near-to-nature forest management

Conserve natural forest and nature in the forest, including wetlands and key

biotopes

Before 2040, 10 % of the total forest area has biodiversity conversation as the

primary management objective

The objectives for afforestation area maintained and developed with a view towards

strengthening of the potential for natural habitats and processes in afforestation

Increase the forest area so forest landscapes cover 20-25 % of Denmark after one

tree-generation (80-100 years)

The concept of multiple forest management will be further integrated into the

afforestation with dur consideration to production, biodiversity, outdoor

recreation, cultural heritage, landscape and environmental protection.

Since 1989 approx. 42,000 hectares forest has been established of which 31,000 hectares are

established with public grants as private owned forests and about 11,000 hectares are established as

public owned (mostly state owned) forests. From satellite photos a larger area, (approx. 67-95.000

ha) is registered as new forest for the period 1990-2011.

The previous government's Green Growth agreement (2009) contains goals to create a total of 800

hectares of new state forests close to urban areas and 6,900 hectares of new private forests by 2015.

In 2012 and 2013 the present government has granted more funding to support afforestation.

Approx. 7.500 ha forest is

conserved as “untouched forest”, and a larger area, approx. 40.000 ha

are managed as uneven aged untouched forest.

Strategy and actions

State afforestation has focused primarily on establishing new urban forests with a view to providing

spaces for outdoor recreational activities s and natural experiences, as well as forests which can help

to protect vulnerable groundwater resources. Afforestation is a very long term investment in high

biodiversity as it usually takes a very long time (> 100 years) to re-establish nature and biodiversity

corresponding to old-growth forests.

In 2013 the Danish Nature Agency commissioned an independent evaluation of biodiversity

initiatives in the Danish forests in the period 1992-2012. The evaluation showed that about 35,000

hectares of forest (6% of total forest area) were protected in the period, with protection of

biodiversity the primary or secondary goal. The protected forests comprise untouched, natural

forests, grazing forests, oak coppices and other forest types of high importance to nature.

March 2014

A large proportion of these areas are on land owned by the Danish Nature Agency. Furthermore,

since 2005, all the agency's forested land, an area of about 107,000 hectares, has been subject to a

transition to near-natural forest management and certification by both the FSC and PEFC

standards.

While the Danish Nature Agency uses several millions of DKK annually for biodiversity projects in

the state owned forests t the evaluation concluded that the forest initiatives could have been more

focussed and have targeted more on especially threatened species. At the same time the evaluation

acknowledged that in the long term many of the initiatives will result in better conditions for

nature, including better conditions for a number of endangered species.

Biodiversity data from around 1992 is too scanty to allow a direct assessment of the effect of the

initiatives, with the exception of data concerning endangered birds. Threatened and red listed

species of woodland birds have shown a positive population trend during the last 20 years in

Denmark.

Future initiatives should focus more on securing the survival of threatened species, structures and

habitats based on better data mapping of the locations in which threatened species are found.

The Danish forests were hit twice by storms in the autumn of 2013. Most of the downed deciduous

wood and a proportion of the conifers were decided left for biodiversity purposes in the State owned

forests after the storms. In this way the amount of deadwood in the forests will grow for the benefit

of special saproxylic species besides for birds and animals eating insects.

Different grant schemes for protection of biodiversity in private owned forests has been launched,

and resulted in approx. 2.700 ha forest with special care and 2.200 ha of protected oak coppice.

Grants for private owners to draw green management plans has resulted in approx. 200.000 ha

with green management plans, which are considered as a first step towards certification

2.3.3

Areas conserved by preservation orders

Policy and legislation

The Nature Conservation Act gives authorities a provision to designate individual sites by

preservation order. The registered areas are an important tool for natural conservation as they are

home to wild animals and plants, and offer some of the most important landscape, cultural and

historical, biological, scientific and educational values. Moreover, para 3 in the National Nature

Protection Law ensures that the general public has access to enjoy these values.

Preservation orders can be served to safeguard the objectives of the Nature Conservation Act.

Preservation orders are primarily issued if protection is not provided by other legislation. In

Denmark there are about 5,000 preservation orders, which cover a total area of about 230,000

hectares, corresponding to just less than 5% of Denmark's total land area. Every year new

preservation areas safeguard an additional 2,000 hectares.

Only the municipalities, The Danish Society for Nature Conservation (a private organisation with

125.000 members) and The Danish Nature Agency can propose new preservation orders. The

Danish Society for Nature Conservation in the period 2004-2011 put forward about 50% of the

proposals and was involved in 69 % of all proposals.

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The number and area of preservation

orders 1900-2010.

Preservation orders may be issued for different purposes. The key objectives of new proposed

preservation orders in the period 2004-2011 are listed below. Categorisation of the key objectives of

preservation orders is subject to interpretation, and individual cases often have multiple objectives.

The sum of percentage shares in the figure is therefore more than 100.

Strategy and actions

In cooperation with The Danish Society for Nature Conservation and Local Government Denmark,

The Danish Nature Agency has prepared a Preservation Order Action Plan (2013).

The Action Plan proposes prioritisation of the following key objectives in work with preservation

orders:

Gems

–

unique localities of national value and importance, setting additional focus on

maintaining these with stringent preservation orders.

Larger, cohesive nature areas. This proposal is intended to counteract a tendency towards

fragmentation of natural habitats, to ensure more robust natural conditions, in which

species can live and disperse and to allow the general public to enjoy nature.

March 2014

Preservation orders to protect large areas of virgin landscape, including protection of

particularly beautiful and characteristic landscapes from urbanisation, cultivation, changes

to terrain, etc.

Preservation orders distributed by IUCN categories

The figure shows the number of preservation orders distributed by the IUCN categories..

Protected churches and areas surrounding churches, urban parks, individual trees and

monuments are not included in the figure as they are not categorised in the IUCN categories. The

figure is based on 1,843 preservation orders.

IUCN subcategories include the following types used in the figure:

–Strict

Nature reserve)

Ib - Wilderness Area)

II - National park)

III

–Natural

Monument)

IV -Habitat/Species Management Area)

V - Protected Landscape)

2.3.4

Natura 2000 areas and plans

Policy and regulation

The term "Natura 2000 " describes a network of protected natural habitats in the European Union.

Natura 2000 areas are designated in accordance with the EU Habitats and Birds Directives. The

designated areas must preserve and protect natural habitats and wildlife (flora and fauna) species

which are rare, endangered or characteristic for EU Member States. There are 252 Natura 2000

designated areas in Denmark.

They account for about 8.4% of Denmark's land area. Marine Natura 2000 areas account for about

17% of Danish waters.

March 2014

Danish Nature 2000 areas.

Denmark is one of those countries which have designated the lowest relative share of its land area

but also one of the countries that has designated the highest share of its waters. To a great extent,

the designations reflect the Danish landscape, in which, due to intensive exploitation (especially

agriculture), there remain few nature areas with species and natural habitats that, in the EU

context, can be described as sufficiently worthy of protection to be designated. Similarly, the high

proportion of marine areas reflects the international importance of Danish waters, e.g. for large

flocks of migrating birds. Protected areas of habitat and protected birds' habitats tend to coincide.

In Denmark there are legal regulations pertaining to environmental assessment of the

consequences of new plans and projects which may affect the Natura 2000 areas and permission is

not given to activities which may compromise the integrity of Natura 2000 area.

Denmark's obligation to protect and manage Natura 2000 areas in accordance with the EU

Directive has resulted in six-year Natura 2000 plans for each individual Natura 2000 area (there is

an exception for woodlands and forests protected by Danish protected forest regulations, which are

managed through 12-years plans).

Natura 2000 planning processes are provided for by law. These plans are subject to wide public

consultations and include long-term goals for the individual Natura 2000 area and identify

requirements and prioritise a list of conservation methods which may be used to accommodate the

organic needs of species and natural habitats.

Natura 2000 plans are to ensure resolute and active management by local and state authorities..

Strategy and actions

The first-generation Natura 2000 plans (for the period 2010-2015) stipulate first and foremost that

initiatives must halt the decline in species and habitats indicated in their Natura 2000 designation.

The basic initiatives are the first inevitable steps towards meeting the Directive's goal to secure or

re-establish favourable conservation status. Standard initiatives comprise not only comprehensive

maintenance but also "one-off" events, e.g. improved hydrology, reducing disturbances and taking

steps to prevent the destruction of forest habitats and marine reefs. The initiatives actually

performed in individual area rely on a specific assessment.

The Natura 2000 plans for the first plan period (2010-2015) stipulate the following:

March 2014

Maintenance of about 130,000 hectares (all registered open natural habitats

including peripheral fragmented areas, etc.).

More natural water conditions will be established in a further 14-16,000 hectares

(in particular raised bogs, fens and salt marshes).

30-34,000 hectares will be cleared with a view to subsequent improvements to

aquatic conditions or in preparation for maintenance work.

20,000 hectares of forest are protected from felling, and extensive forestry is

ensured (all registered forest areas). Initiatives will continue until the end of

2021.

Disturbances reduced for birds and marine mammals. (The Hunting and Wildlife

Management Act's provisions relating to reserves).

Marine reefs will be protected from bottom-trawling equipment (Fisheries Act).

Impact of ammonia will be reduced (Livestock approval legislation was

toughened in 2011).

Instruments include voluntary subsidy schemes under the auspices of the Rural Development

Programme, which makes available subsidies for eco-friendly agriculture to support grazing and

cutting, subsidies to improve hydrology and subsidies to encourage more extensive forestry and

protection of woodland habitats. Furthermore, there are also initiatives to prohibit hunting and to

create disturbance-free zones. The scope of active nature administration stipulated in current plans

costs a total of about DKK 1.8 billion. It is too early to evaluate the effect of the plans.

The second-generation Natura 2000 plans (for the period 2016-2021) are currently on the drawing

board.

2.3.5

Aquatic environment plans

Policy and legislation

The EU Water Framework Directive established a firm framework within which to protect surface

water and groundwater. One of the key objectives of the directive is to prevent deterioration and

improve the status of surface water and groundwater. The EU Member States are required to

introduce programmes of initiatives with a view to achieving specific environmental goals. In this

connection, the Member States are obliged to ensuring that aquatic environment plans are drawn

up for the aquatic environment in every relevant district.

Requirements in the directive to achieve

“good ecological conditions” in surface water ecosystems

will subsequently benefit e.g. the status of natural habitats and wild populations of plants and

animals.

The Water Framework Directive stipulates that the first generation of aquatic environment plans

were to be published in December 2009, and subsequently revised and updated every six years, i.e.

the plan periods are 2009-2015, 2015-2021 and 2021-2027.

Strategy and Action

The first generation of aquatic environment plans are delayed. The draft version of first generation

of aquatic environment plans was overrules and declared null and void as, in December 2012, the

Environmental Board of Appeal determined that The Danish Nature Agency had set too short a

deadline for the public hearing of the plan.. The first generation of aquatic environment plans has

just been sent for a second public hearing. The Danish Nature Agency is currently evaluating the

hearing statements received and it is expected that the aquatic environment plans will be passed

during autumn 2014.

While work on the first generation of aquatic environment plans is still in progress, a preparation

for the second generation of aquatic environment plays is already under way. New water planning

March 2014

legislation has also been drawn up to create a new water planning concept in Denmark, which is

more closely aligned with the EU Water Framework Directive.

2.3.6

Wildlife reserves

A total of 95 reserves have been created in Denmark. Most of these (75) are inside Natura 2000

areas. These reserves cover a total area of about 340,000 hectares, of which about 30,000 hectares

are rural.

Wildlife reserves can be set up in pursuance of the Hunting and Wildlife Management Act and/or

The Nature Protection Act in land areas, in fresh water and in fishing territories to protect and aid

wildlife populations and to ensure that there are resting and foraging areas for migrant birds.

Wildlife reserves may be established in private and publicly-owned areas. On private areas, owners

and users may be entitled to compensation for any loss incurred. Compensation, establishment,

maintenance and inspection of wildlife reserves are financed by the Danish Nature Agency.

Strategy and actions

The Nature Agency has initiated a process to align the management and activities in the wildlife

reserves with the implementation of the Natura 2000 plans. This process is expected to be finalized

before the end of 2016. The amendments of the purposes and of management activities in the

wildlife reserve will ensure a focus on the protection of Natura 2000 nature types and species

against human disturbance, for instance by prohibition of public access during birds breeding

seasons on small islands.

2.3.7

Ramsar Sites

Policy and legislation

The Kingdom of Denmark has under the Ramsar Convention designated 43 wetlands of

international importance covering app. 23.150 km2 (within the geographical coordinates 54◦,38’N

to 81◦,10’N and 54◦,14’E to 08◦09’W) –

including large coastal areas. 3 sites are designated in the

Faroe Islands (63 km2) and 12 sites are designated in Greenland (15.600 km2). The 28 sites

designated in Denmark (7.500 km2) are legally managed as Nature 2000 sites.

Strategy and actions

In 2013 the 43

Danish Wetland of International Importance

–

Lille Vildmose

–

was designated.

73,4 km2 blend of bogs, forest, lakes and meadows holding important flora and fauna characteristic

of large bogs, including Sphagnum mosses and rich in European protected bird species. This site is

also important for carbon storage, groundwater recharge and climate regulation. It is worth noting

that the site has been designated in part under Criterion 1 in the Convention, especially under the

specification that wetlands can be selected for their hydrological importance including influence in

the context of at least regional climate regulation or stability. Thus the designation of Lille Vildmose

as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance signals that the Ramsar Convention reflects the

growing need to protect nature sites helping to combat the consequences of Climate Change.

A large part of the raised bog has been drained, cultivated and used for at turf industry. Peat

extraction ceased in 2011, however, and restoration plans supported by the EU LIFE+ funds have

implemented by the owner (Aage V. Jensen Foundation for nature conservation and wildlife

protection). The restoration of Lille Vildmose is expected to reduce CO2 emission with 14.000 tons

per year.

Denmark is an active player in the Ramsar Convention. In the Ministerial Council Declaration at the

Trilateral Danish-Dutch-German Governmental Conference on the Protection of the Wadden Sea in

February 2014 is stated the intend to list the Wadden Sea Ramsar sites as

Trans-boundary Ramsar

site “Wadden Sea”

on the Ramsar List of international importance and thus contribute to the

ongoing efforts of the Ramsar Convention to promote the trans-boundary aspect of the protection

March 2014

and the management of wetlands (Article 5 of the Convention and Resolution VII19(1999) on

international cooperation).

2.3.8

National parks

Policy and legislation

Denmark's national parks include some of Denmark's most outstanding areas of natural beauty and

landscapes. These are areas of importance to the Danish people and which either gain or will gain

international attention and importance. Our national parks help to develop, protect and conserve

Denmark's nature and landscapes as well as our cultural and historical values. By setting up

national parks, we seek to prevent the loss of landscapes, geological formations as well as of cultural

and historical values, and to ensure that these features are preserved, well-known and of benefit to

many.

The National Park Act was adopted by the Danish Parliament in May 2007. The National Park Act

sets up the rules for the establishment and development of Danish national parks. In June 2007 the

Danish Government decided to begin the establishment of a network of national parks and selected

Thy in North West Jutland as the first national park. “Thy National Park” was established in

August

2008. In August 2009 the area, Mols Bjerge, was also established as a national park. In September

2010 the third national park was established in and around the Danish part of the Wadden Sea.

Each national park is established by a designation order which determines the boundary and sets

up the objective and goals for the development of the park.

Strategy and actions

Each national park is governed by a National Park Board which is tasked to elaborate and

implement a national park plan. .Each national parks have to make 6 year plan for the development

March 2014

of the parks including all purposes outlined in the Danish National Park act. Each of the national

parks receives DKK 7,5 mill. a year to undertake their work.

In National Park Thy there have been projects concerning reestablishment of natural hydrology on

heat land. In National Park Mols Bjerge there have been projects concerning improvement of status

of commons and in National Park Vadehavet there have been projects regarding conservation of

meadow birds.

At the moment 2 more areas have been selected as potential national parks

–

Roskilde-Lejre and

Kongernes Nordsjælland. These will be established step by step over the next couple of years under

the condition, that public consent is achieved.

2.3.9

The sea

Policy and legislation

The first Danish Marine Strategy was finalized in 2012. The marine strategy comprises an initial

assessment of the environmental status of Danish waters, an economic and social analysis of the use

of the waters, a determination of good environmental status and a set of environmental targets and

associated indicators.

On March 13, 2012 the EU Commission proposed legislation to create a common framework for

Maritime Spatial Planning and Integrated Coastal Management

The aim of the Commission's proposal is to ensure a better coordinated use of marine and coastal

areas and help clarify the uncertainties on access to the maritime space in order to promote

sustainable growth in the marine sectors, in particular by improving cross-border cooperation. The

Commission expects that Maritime Spatial Planning and Integrated Coastal Management will boost

sustainable maritime growth by facilitating the spatial development of emerging sectors, such as

renewable energy or aquaculture, whilst taking into account the health of marine eco-systems.

Danish legislation in this area is expected to deliver an integrated approach to the management of

maritime activities. This approach will be governed by ecosystem-based management. Integrated

management of all maritime activities is also expected to encourage investment in the maritime

based businesses by instilling predictability and transparency.

In Denmark, Maritime Spatial Planning and Integrated Coastal Management are still tools in their

infancy. Work in this area is ongoing and will evolve over the coming years to better meet the needs

of all stakeholders while ensuring good environmental status in the marine waters.

Raw material extraction is regulated by the Raw Materiel Act. Permissions for extraction can only

be granted based on an exploration and an environmental assessment. When granting permission

due consideration has to be made on the supply of raw materials as well as on the protection of the

environment, fishing interest and marine archeology.

A marine monitoring programme by mid-2014

Adequate monitoring must be implemented to ensure ongoing assessment of the environmental

targets and associated indicators so that they may be adapted to the situation concerned, e.g. the

effects of climate change. Adequate marine monitoring is also expected to deliver an ongoing

assessment of the environmental status of Danish marine waters in general. Denmark is undergoing

work to this effect and expects to have a marine monitoring program in force by mid-2014.

Marine Natura 2000 areas

For many of the other impact areas, a raft of rules and regulating mechanisms are already in force,

which in the long term will contribute to the achievement of good environmental status in marine

March 2014

waters. These regulations comprise existing marine protected areas

–

the marine Natura 2000

which covers 18 pct. of the Danish marine waters.

Strategy and actions

Programme for good environmental status by 2016

By 2016 Denmark is also expected to have in place a program of measures to achieve or maintain

good environmental status. The initial assessment and years of national surveillance has shown that

for certain aspects of securing the marine environment, new measures may be foreseen. For

example measures may be necessary in order to mitigate the effects of fishing activities in order not

to threaten the overall distribution and biological diversity of the bottom dwelling fauna. A national

working group is considering measures in the form of protected areas to this effect.

Discarding (i.e. the practice of throwing unwanted fish overboard)- will be phased out with a precise

timeline for implementation (progressively between 2015 and 2019) and the individual EU member

states will have to ensure that the fleet capacity (number and size of vessels) is in balance with the

fishing opportunities in a given area. Targeted actionplans are in place to address the needs of the

cod in the Kattegat where spawning stock biomass has been at a historically lowest level since 2000.

Other challenges

There is a need for more knowledge and a better understanding of the scope of the challenges that

we face and the opportunities to reduce the effects, particularly with regard to non-indigenous

species, effects of fishing activities on marine ecosystems, marine litter and underwater noise. Work

as to gaining insight on these subjects is being undertaken towards the next marine strategy that

will be finalized in 2018.

In a report from this year the EU Commission assesses the first phase of implementation of the

Marine Strategy Framework Directive and emphazises on the need for more knowledge and a

better better understanding of the challenges member states face in securing healthy oceans for the

next generations to come whilst stating that

European Seas are not in “good environmental status”.

This report will serve as guidance for present efforts and for the efforts to finalize the next marine

strategy.

2.4

Species management and protection

Policy and legislation

The legislative protection of Danish plant and animal life is assured primarily by the Nature

Conservation Act, the Hunting and Wildlife Management Act and by provisions in the Fisheries Act.

A large number of species have also achieved protection via EU directives and international

conventions. Species-specific initiatives are achieved by means of direct conservation initiatives, e.g.

preservation orders or prohibition applicable to hunting and fishing, special initiatives defined in

specific species management plans as well as by means of indirect protection, i.e. conservation of

habitats.

About 310 species are covered by the Preservation of Species Executive Order, the legal basis of

which is the Nature Conservation Act and the Hunting and Wildlife Management Act. Some of these

species are also covered by the provisions of the EU habitats and birds directives. The directives

protect these species, for example, from collection. Furthermore, trees that are the nesting places of

specific species must not be felled at certain times of the year. Hollow trees are also protected by

special regulations. Protected plants may neither be removed from their habitat nor damaged.

Whole areas can also be protected in order to preserve specific species and e.g. to determine special

care and maintenance measures to benefit these species. For example, in 2004 a preservation order

was issued on a specific area to protect the marsh fritillary, an endangered butterfly.

March 2014

Strategy and actions

There are specific national management plans for a number of individual species. Management

plans are conventionally prepared with a view to protecting the relevant species. To date, there are

issued management plans for the following species: The common dormouse, northern birch mouse,

beavers, otters, porpoise, seals (grey seal and harbour seal), hare, partridge, all 17 Danish species of

bat, the cormorant, corncrake, meadow birds (primarily the dunlin, the black-tailed godwit and the

ruff), the red kite, salmon, the houting, the marsh fritillary and the marsh saxifrage.

In addition to management plans, special

plans of action

have been prepared to combat invasive

alien species. There are such plans for to combat raccoon dogs and mink.

As extraordinary follow-ups on the EU Habitats Directive, management plans are being prepared

for the sand lizard, European green toad and natterjack toad.

I 2012, the wolf re-migrated from the Eastern part of Germany and Western part of Poland to

Denmark. Denmark expects to adopt a management plan for wolves in 2014, which establishes the

framework for management of wolves in Denmark. A draft management plan has been made by the

relevant organizations and associations and the plan has been sent to the Minister of

Environment. According to this the wolves may only be regulated in exceptional circumstances, for

instance if regulation is justified by prevention of serious damage to livestock or humans. The final

management plan may also address the issue of an permanent compensation for damages for loss of

livestock caused by wolves and the possibility to receive subsidies to protect livestock.

Denmark expects to revise the management plans for seals by 2016. The revision will be carried out

on the basis of research projects investigating among other issues, damages on fishery caused by

seals.

The management plan for cormorants and the management plan for beavers will also be revised on

the basis of the latest data.

In 2014, the hunting seasons will be revised, as is the case every 4th year, to ensure that hunting is

conducted in a sustainable manner. The revision is based on recommendations from an

independent board of represenrtatives of the larger relevant NGO´s, and is expected to change

especially the hunting season for geese, gulls, common eider, goosander and smew.

Specific projects for threatened species

Apart from the above initiatives, in recent years, a number of projects have been targeted to protect

specific threatened species. These projects are funded by the state, local authorities, foundations

and privately, often with support from subsidy schemes, etc., including EU co-funding, in particular

from EU LIFE.

Meadow birds are some of the most seriously endangered species of birds in Denmark. Since the

1970s numbers of breeding meadow birds and suitable breeding areas have declined dramatically.

In the period 2006-2009, a project improved conditions in particular for the dunlin and the ruff in

four of Denmark's most important breeding grounds for meadow birds: Vestlige Vejler, Harboøre

Tange, Nyord and Vestamager. The project has also provided aid to complete the national

management plan for meadow birds in Denmark. The project was carried out by the Danish Nature

Agency in cooperation with The Danish Ornithological Association. The total budget for this project

was DKK 10.6 million. It was co-funded by the EU LIFE Nature Fund.

The North Sea houting is a white fish which lives only in the Wadden Sea area. It is one of the most

seriously endangered species of fish in the EU. It is Red-Listed and also on the EU list of animal and

plant species of community interest in need of strict protection (Annex IV). Denmark received

support from the EU LIFE Nature Fund to complete a project costing about DKK 120 million, which

aims to prevent the houting from becoming extinct. Support from EU LIFE was about DKK 60

March 2014

million. Other projects which received LIFE support include a project to save the marsh fritillary

butterfly and a salmon project financed by nature management funding.

Re-introduction of species

Denmark has reintroduced species to enrich the Danish biodiversity with native species, which have

become extinct in Denmark, and to ensure a positive effect on the biodiversity in general.

In 1999 was the European beaver reintroduced in Klosterheden Forest District in Jutland and in

2009-2010 in the landscape of Northern Zeeland. Since then the beaver populations have grown

and there is now an estimated population of 160 individuals in Jutland and about 25 individuals in

in Zeeland. The beaver contributes to biodiversity in the landscape by damming streams and swamp

forests.

In 2012 was the European Bison introduced on Bornholm. Seven bisons from Poland were released

and the first calf was born in 2013. The bisons were released into a 200 hectare area of fenced forest

and the plan is to take away the fence within a period of five years. The bison creates a dynamic

ecosystem conducive to biodiversity for instance by creation of openings in the forest.

In 2013 was lucanus servus (the most well-known stag beetle) reintroduced by release of adult

individuals and larvae in Dyrehaven north of Copenhagen while at the same time efforts were made

to create more dead wood at the location (the habitat of lucanus servus).

New initiatives regarding invasive species

A number of species present in Danish nature are not indigenous but have rather been introduced

by human beings. A small number of these species are invasive, i.e. they can repress indigenous

species and thus represent a threat to their survival.

There is a Danish plan of action against invasive species, which recommends many possible ways in

which to react. Special initiatives have been drawn up to combat two invasive species, the American

mink and the raccoon dog.

In September 2013, the European Commission announced proposals for regulations governing

invasive alien species (IAS), the purpose of which is to prevent, minimise and contain the loss of

biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystem services in the wake of the introduction and

dissemination (whether intended or inadvertent) of alien invasive species. The Member States are

obliged to combat invasive species. With certain reservations, the regulations propose a ban on

entry , transport, trade, cultivation, keeping, using, allowing to escape and planting, etc. of the listed

alien invasive species.

March 2014

2.5

Conservation of genetic resources

Policy and legislation

In 2004 Denmark ratified the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and

Agriculture and in 2007 Denmark ratified the Interlaken Declaration on global action plan for

conservation of animal genetic resources.

The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries (MAFF) is responsible for conservation and use of

genetic resources for food and agriculture. The Danish AgriFish Agency is the acting authority on

the matter.

Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture

In 2004, a strategy for future work on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture was

published. It has been followed-up

by action plans for periods of thee years which guide MAFF’s

activities on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. The current action plan covers the

period 2011-13, which will be prolonged to 2014 and contains activities on conservation and use of

plant genetic resources as well as awareness-raising and research. To guide its activities, MAFF has

established a plant genetic resources advisory board where relevant stakeholders are represented.

National and Nordic activities

Danish Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture are conserved both

ex situ

and

in situ

Denmark and

ex situ

though NordGens vault on Svalbard.

Ex situ

conservation

In Denmark, vegetative propagated material like fruit and berries are to a large extent conserved in

national clone archives, whereas seed propagated material is conserved in the joint Nordic gene

bank, NordGen. NordGen is an institution under the Nordic Council of Ministers. Nordic

cooperation plays a very important role in the field of ensuring the maintaining of the variety of

Nordic genetic resources for food and agriculture.

In situ

conservation

A large number of wild or weedy Danish species are related to crop plants and are thus plant genetic

resources for food and agriculture. A list of high priority species has been selected and the status of

conservation of these species is currently being mapped. In Pometet at Copenhagen University

there is a collection of native apple- and pear trees

c) Legislative matters

Legislation allowing for the marketing of old crop varieties has been implemented.

Strategy and actions

International activities

As a consequense of the ratification of the FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for

Food and Agriculture Denmark participates in meetings of its governing body. The treaty’s access

conditions are applied to plant material in NordGen. Denmark is also member of the European

Cooperative Program on plant genetic resources, ECPGR, and Denmark is involved in various EU-

activities relating to plant genetic resources.

Animal genetic resources for food and agriculture

The Danish Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries has newly approved a new Committee: The

Committee for the Conservation of Animal Genetic Resources of Rare Danish Breeds (CC), which

has a breeder majority elected though direct election. The task of the Committee will be to take care

of and coordinates all governmental efforts on Conservation of Animal Genetic Resources in

Denmark, including Gene bank, breeder support and information activities.

March 2014

In 2014, CC will prepare a new Strategy for the future work on conservation of animal genetic

resources for food and agriculture. The Strategy will be structured in accordance with the 4

Strategic Priority Areas, which can be found in FAOs Global Plan of Action for Farm Animal Genetic

Resources and Interlaken Declaration.

National activities

Farm animal genetic resources for food and agriculture are conserved both

ex situ

and

in situ

Denmark

Ex situ

conservation

The Danish Gene bank is financed though the Danish Budget and managed though CC. It contains

semen from native bulls, boars, stallions, billy goats and rams of endangered breeds and embryos

from native endangered cattle, pigs and sheep. Each year, new material is collected and stored in

the Gene bank.

In situ

conservation

In Denmark, around 150 breeders (private and public) participate in the

in situ

conservation of the

endangered native Danish Breeds. CC supports the endangered breeds every year, by providing the

breeders with national funds. Furthermore, support is provided to approx. 20 beekeepers and their

organization engaged in the breeding of the small, remaining population of the black (A. m.

mellifera)

subspecies of honeybee.

c) Legislative matters

CC has made a national scheme to support the endangered breeds and the various small societies

for breeders.

International activities

Denmark is represented at meetings arranged by the European Regional Focal Point.

The Danish National Coordinators for Animal Genetic Resources is a member of the expert group

under NordGens division for Farm Animal Genetic Resources, which gives advice to NordGens

Board.

Conservation and exploitation of woodland genetic resources.

The Danish Nature Agency has set up a genetic conservation programme specifically for trees and

bushes. Various initiatives, including an established network of conservation areas and a series of

propagation programmes for trees and bushes, may be utilised in connection with afforestation and

other planting initiatives in nature and landscape contexts. These initiatives will continue and they

will be further developed in the light of challenges that certain issues, such as climate change, are

expected to present.

March 2014

2.6

The national monitoring programmes for environment and nature

Policy and legislation

In 2004 Denmark established a system by which to monitor both aquatic and terrestrial nature and

environments, called NOVANA (National Aquatic Environment and Nature Monitoring

Programme). The programme comprises eight sub-programmes and administered a total budget of

DKK 242 million in 2012.

In addition to the national NOVANA monitoring programme, there is an independent national

programme which monitors Danish forests and woodlands. The framework for monitoring the

forests is established in the Forestry Act's Section 35.

Strategy and actions

NOVANA

In connection with local government reorganisation in 2007, the former counties’ ' monitoring

initiatives were transferred to the state. The overall planning and structure of monitoring nature

and the environment has been adjusted as a response to e.g. the implementation of the EU Water

Framework and Habitats Directives. The NOVANA 2011-2015 programme ensures that the

monitoring programme is even more closely synchronised and adapted to implementation of the

Water Framework and Natura 2000 Directives, including an objective to ensure that the necessary

know-how is available to prepare both Water Framework and Natura 2000 plans.

In connection with the monitoring programme, a needs assessment was conducted by the Ministry

of the Environment to study the political/administrative requirements of monitoring. NOVANA

2011-15 states that the programme aims to make available the necessary material and knowledge to

substantiate the following:

Denmark's obligations vis-à-vis EU and national legislation regarding the monitoring of

nature, the aquatic environment and air quality.

The effects of and degree to which the goals of national plans of action for the aquatic

environment and nature, including the Aquatic Environment and Natura 2000 plans in

pursuance of the Act on Environmental Goals, initiatives in the agricultural field and the

Danish Air Quality Monitoring Programme, are achieved.

Monitoring in pursuance of international conventions on nature and the environment.

The NOVANA monitoring program was revised in 2011 and while there was a reduction in costs the

programme became at the same time more targettet and efficient. The programme for 2011-2015

includes eight sub-programmes for lakes, watercourses, seas and fjords, species and terrestrial

nature, land use monitoring, groundwater, air and specific sources of pollution. All are described in

this report.

National forest inventory (NFI)

The forest inventory programme meets a requirement stipulating that sustainable forestry must be

documented. This requirement resulted from several ministerial conferences on the protection of

forests in Europe. Data collection and reporting are structured in accordance with the ministerial

conferences' requirements. Data is collected under the following headings: Forest resources, (area,

deadwood and carbon stock), forest health (loss of needles/leaves, forest damage, air pollution),

productive functions (growth, felling, carbon sequestration, etc.), biological diversity (diversity of

species, operations and biodiversity, peripheral areas, deadwood, native species, preserved and

protected forests, etc.), the forest's protective functions (groundwater and aquatic environment),

socio-economic functions (timber consumption, finance and employment, education, outdoor

pursuits, cultural values, etc.) and international conditions (area and deadwood mass). The forest

inverntory is assimilated into the NOVANA forest monitoring programme.

March 2014

An overall report is published for each five-year measurement period. Forest inventory is conducted

for The Danish Nature Agency by the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resourc

Management at the University of Copenhagen.

March 2014

2.7

Integration of nature considerations into spatial planning

Denmark has a simple, unequivocal planning system which maintains a strictly decentralised

distribution of responsibility. The local council is responsible for overall area-regulating municipal

planning and local planning, which is binding on landowners. The regional council prepares a

strategic regional development plan. The Minister of the Environment is responsible for ensuring

that national planning work is conducted in line with the state's best interests.

Objectives of the Planning Act

The Planning Act ensures that the overall planning reconciles the interests of society with respect to

land use and helps to protect the country’s nature and environment so that sustainable social

development with respect for human living conditions and the conservation of wildlife and

vegetation is secured.

National planning

National planning regulations were introduced in 1974 and stepped up in connection with the local

government reform in 2007. National planning is realised as reports, binding guidelines,

instructions and intervention in planning at the municipal level when topics or projects are of

international, national or regional interest.

National Planning Report:

After every general election, the Minister of the Environment must

present a national planning report. This is a periodical report on comprehensive regional policy for

use in municipal planning. The national planning report must be tabled as a motion. The Minister

then invites public debate and finally, on behalf of the government, the Minister presents the final

report. The national planning report contains visions and perspectives for current planning themes

with a plan of action for their realisation.

Nature and environment policy report:

At least every four years, the Minister of the Environment

must publish one or more reports on Denmark's environmental status, and nature and environment

policy. National environmental, industrial, labour market and consumer organisations are actively

involved in the process.

List of state interests

–

specifically in relation to nature conservation:

Every four years the

Minister of the Environment must publish a list of matters of state interest in municipal planning.

The list reiterates the requirements, to which municipal planning must comply in order to

accommodate state interests. The requirements have legal basis in the Planning Act, in other

legislation, or in parliamentary decisions. They may also originate from political agreements

between the government and Local Government Denmark.

The state goals for nature conservation by 2020 are to secure high biological diversity, protect

ecosystems and halt the loss of biodiversity. Nature and biological diversity must be protected by

protecting ecosystems so that the natural habitats of endemic species of plants and animals are

improved and recreated. A further goal is to ensure that municipal plans do not compromise

international nature conservation areas, and thus to ensure that Denmark meets EU obligations, the

Habitats Directive, etc.

The state also aims to ensure that planning creates cohesion between Natura 2000 areas, the

national parks, protected areas in general (para 3 areas) and preservation areas by connecting them

with ecological/dispersal corridors. Ecological corridors between natural areas will be expanded

and supplemented in municipal planning initiatives, e.g. planned "new" natural areas, more

extensive land exploitation, nature rehabilitation and in planning initiatives towards the realisation

of Aquatic Environment and Natura 2000 plans. The local authorities are encouraged to establish

quality goals for their ecological corridors.

March 2014

When they establish general nature management goals, the local authorities are also encouraged to

apply "nature quality planning" measures as a basis on which to prioritise specific nature

management initiatives. Nature quality planning must correlate closely with the preconditions for

municipal planning established in the Natura 2000 plans and Aquatic Environment plans in

accordance with the Act on Environmental Goals.

Objections and injunctions:

The Minister of the Environment is responsible for coordinating and

securing state interests in municipal planning. The Minister of the Environment is obliged to voice

objections to any proposed municipal planning initiative that contravenes general state interests.

The Minister of the Environment's authority is delegated to The Danish Nature Agency.

Municipal planning

The local councils are obliged to revise their municipal plan on an ongoing basis. During the first

half of a four-year election period, the local council must present a political municipal planning

strategy

–

known as a "plan strategy"

–

and make necessary revisions to the municipal plan. The

municipal plan then functions as a reference framework for the preparation of local plans and for

handling individual cases.

A municipal plan comprises:

A main structure including general goals for development and land use in the municipality.

Land use guidelines in many fields

Framework for the content of local plans for individual areas of the municipality.

Land use guidelines

–

specifically in relation to nature conservation.

Municipal planning guidelines describe the main structure's goal in more detail. Guidelines must be

presented for every topic and field listed in the municipal plan catalogue in the Planning Act. The

municipal plan must, for example, contain guidelines for safeguarding nature conservation

interests, including the location of natural areas which have specific nature conservation issues.

Among others, the term "specific issues" covers Natura 2000 areas, nature areas that are generally

protected under Section 3 of the Nature Conservation Act, areas with protected dunes and protected

natural habitats.

The municipal plan must also contain guidelines for safeguarding the nature conservation interests

of current and future ecological corridors and for potential natural habitats. Designated areas must

be pinpointed on a map and coordinated with neighbouring municipalities.

The objective of designating natural habitats and ecological corridors, etc. is to ensure that natural

habitats are connected and that it is possible for species of wild animals and plants to migrate and

disperse. Designating and safeguarding these areas must also be coordinated with action plans

prepared for Aquatic Environment and Natura 2000 planning.

Coastal zone

The Planning Act contains special regulations for municipal planning, e.g. in coastal areas. Within a

(theoretically) 3 kilometres-wide coastal zone, areas may only be appropriated into the urban zone

or planned for land zone development if there is specific planning or functional reasons for a coastal

location. The state goals for planning in the coastal zone are to ensure that open stretches of

coastline continue to constitute an important natural and landscape resource.

Open Danish coastal landscapes are a threatened and limited resource, which is unique in Europe

due to its variation and scope. The state goal and national planning task is to preserve open Danish

coastlines so that they continue to be continuous landscapes, in which natural and landscape values

are given high priority. The state also intends that these areas are used for well-founded, most often

recreational, purposes. The state's aim remains also to preserve open, undeveloped coastal areas

March 2014

while ensuring that development and buildings which require coastal locations are assimilated and

that coastal towns can still be developed.

The state aims to ensure that coastal zone development is achieved by directing urban development

away from the coast and coastline, to ensure that cohesive stretches of undeveloped coastline

remain intact.

The Nature Conservation Act and planning

In pursuance of the Nature Conservation Act's Section 20, development in open countryside must

be designed such that as much attention as possible is paid to landscape values and other interests

stated in Section 1 of the Act.

An executive order determines that no public road development, aerial cable and above-ground

pipelines may be built in the open landscape unless approved by the Ministry of the Environment or

the relevant local council.

Major public works presuppose that there are both EIA and Section 2o approvals. In some specific

cases, public works may need to apply for dispensation, etc. from provisions in the Nature

Conservation Act.

State roads are approved by The Danish Nature Agency based on negotiations with the Danish Road

Directorate. Major aerial cable and pipelines must also be approved by The Danish Nature Agency.

Approval is required in order to safeguard the landscape itself and specific issues stipulated in the

Nature Conservation Act regarding the protection of nature including the population of wild

animals and plants and their habitats, and improving, restoring and providing areas which are

important to wild animals and plants. Local roads and minor aerial cable lines may be approved by

the local council.

If development will cause changes to the status of a Natura 2000 area, the local council must

submit the project and local council recommendations to The Danish Nature Agency with a view to

achieving the agency's approval. The recommendations must be based on an Environmental Impact

Assessment (EIA).

In a Section 20 approval, the establishment e.g. of fauna passages, may be required to protect

endangered species.

Afforestation and planning

According the Planning Act, municipal plans must contain guidelines for the location of

afforestation areas and of areas where afforestation is undesirable.

The objective of nominating afforestation areas is to ensure that more private landowners plant

forests are planted in areas that, from the general social perspective, can be regarded as most

suitable. New forests must meet a range of objectives, including increased timber production,

promoting outdoor pursuits, biodiversity and environmental protection.

Areas nominated for tree planting must, for example, be coordinated, via municipal planning, with

urban green areas and ecological corridors in the rural landscape.

The so-called "negative areas", i.e. those in which afforestation is undesirable, are nominated so as

to ensure that values related to nature, landscape, geology, as well as cultural history, which are not

compatible with forestry, are exempt from tree planting. Amendments or new nominations of

negative areas are based on specific assessments of how afforestation will conflict with other

important issues. E.g. important conservation issues.

March 2014

2.8

Financing biodiversity conservation

The table below summarizes Danish national expenditure on biodiversity and the amount of

overseas development assistance (ODA) related to nature and biodiversity conservation Denmark

spends per year since 2006-2012. Furthermore, private funding in terms of

Foundations’

contributions as well as NGO’s are shown. The amounts will be further explained in the sections

below.

Table 1. Summary of national and international expenditure on biodiversity

Year: 2006-2012

Currency: million DKK

2006

National

public

expenditures

Central

State/Provincial

Local/

Municipal

Total

national

public

expenditure

Official

Development

Assistance

Total

national

public and

ODA

expenditure

Private and

NGO

funding

1) Greenland in not included in the data.

2) Source: Own calculations based on data received from The Ministry of Environment, The Ministry of Agriculture, The Ministry Higher Education

and Science, the Ministry of Defence and the 98 municipalities in Denmark.

3) Source: ‘The Danish Assistance in relation to the Convention on Biological Diversity’, The Ministry of Foreign affairs (2013).

4) Data cover only a part of the funding to biodiversity managed by NGO’s and private foundations. The main explanation

for the increase from 2010

to 2012 is an increase in the number of private foundations which have provided data. The data for 2011 and 2012 cover The Danish Society for

Nature Conservation (DN) and the Danish Bird Life Foundation ( DOF), The 15. June Foundation, The Vilum and Velux Foundations, The Nordea

Foundation, and The Bikuben Foundation.

5) Provinces were demolished in 2007.

2007

965

180

2008

1,315

232

2009

1,179

267

2010

841

278

2011

1,253

298

1,551

2012

1,591

340

1,931

863

267

1,213

1,145

1,547

1,446

1,119

Bilateral

Multilateral

812

1,153

560

1,286

856

1,532

621

1,253

1,796

1,490

876

1,336

1,874

1,455

3,178

2,991

3,935

3,320

4,403

3,825

5,312

239

200

National expenditure for nature and biodiversity conservation

Financing for nature and biodiversity protection in Denmark mainly comes from government

budgets and the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Government budgets include direct

public spending, expenditure at the municipality level and financing received

through EU’s Rural

Development Program, the European Fishery Fond, and EU LIFE program. Activities both directly

and indirectly improving or conserving biodiversity have been accounted for. For the years 2011 and

2012 research on biodiversity related matters has been included in the data.

In 2012, Denmark spent DKK 1,9 billion on national public activities related to biodiversity. The

trend in expenditure has been increasing in the period 2006-2012, the majority of which stems

from the inclusion of research expenditure in 2011 and 2012.

Government funding

About one quarter of public spending on biodiversity stems from the municipal level. This reflects

the decentralised structure of the Danish public sector, see Chapter 2.1).

March 2014

Another main chunk of public expenditure is related to biodiversity-related research activities. In

2012 research amounted to DKK 420 million; corresponding to 22 % of national public expenditure

on biodiversity related matters.

Nature management and sustainable management of forests as well as planting of forest,

management of meadows is an area of focus in public spending.

Some government funding directly targets improvement of habitats and threatened species. One

example is part of the revenue from fees on hunting permits (approximately 95 million DKK per

year.) This includes management initiatives and plans for hare and grey partridge, action plan for

mink, eradication of raccoon dog, action plans for species listed in Habitats Directive Annex IV,

action plan for the great cormorant, management efforts for colony nesting birds, management of

red deer, contingency plan for marine mammals, projects regarding the hazel dormouse, harbor

porpoise and the Montagu's harrier, surveillance of beavers and establishment of advisory service

on bats. Furthermore spending targeting specific species have been implemented such as for bats,

northern birch mouse and hazel dormouse, European green toad and the natter jack toad.

In 2013 the government decided to establish The Danish Nature Fund. The purpose of the

foundation is investment in high nature value land to protect biodiversity, the water and to reduce

emissions of greenhouse gasses. The government provides 500 million DKK for its work. Two large

foundations are also providing financing the fund, The Villum Foundation donates 250 million DKK

and Aage V. Jensens Nature Foundation donates 125 million DKK.

Funding through EU

Since 1999 Denmark has benefited from EU funding for many projects associated with nature and

biodiversity.

The agricultural expenditure is financed primarily by two funds, which form part of the EU's

general budget: the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) finances direct payments to

farmers and measures to regulate agricultural markets such as public or private storage and export

refunds, while the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) finances the rural

development programs of the Member States.

Especially the Rural Development Program exerts a strong influence on nature by improving

competitiveness for farming and forestry and by providing funding for a variety of specified nature

improving activities (e.g. protection of certain threatened species of animals, planting of hedgerows,

grazing of semi-natural habitats, and restoration of wetlands).

In addition, the EU LIFE program contributes significantly to nature and biodiversity conservation.

To date, the LIFE Nature component (now called Nature and Biodiversity) has co-financed 28

projects in Denmark. These projects represent a total investment of Eur 86 million, of which Eur 45

million has been contributed by the European Union since 1999.

The projects completed focused mainly on the restoration of habitats (grey dunes, coastal lagoons,

dry grasslands, heaths and fjords, marine cavernous boulder reefs in Kattegat, and the Mølleåen

river system) and the implementation of actions to sustain specific endangered species (marsh

fritillary, meadow birds, fire-bellied toad, dormouse). These projects were mainly carried out by the

Danish Nature Agency, as well as by three of the former shires, Aarhus, Fyn and North Jutland.

There is a range of ongoing LIFE+ Nature and Biodiversity projects in Denmark. Except for one

project, which aims to restore and maintain the favorable conservation status of the houting in four

Danish river systems, these projects focus exclusively on the conservation and restoration of

habitats. These are:

March 2014

Ongoing projects

Semi-natural habitat at Helnæs

Atlantic heaths and inland dunes project

Sǿlsted Mose project

Lille Vildmose and Eastern Denmark project

Birdlife and natural habitats project on Læsø

Rare wetlands habitats of national importance in Southern

Denmark

Amount in million Euro

2,5

4,1

1,9

5,6

2,1

4,4

On average the EU funded approximately 50% of the project costs. The remainder is typically

funded by the state, municipal authorities, foundations and NGOs.

International expenditure for nature and biodiversity conservation (ODA)

Denmark is involved in development activities in less developed countries and contributes yearly to

both multilaterally and bilaterally financed activities. Biodiversity and nature is an integrated part

of the Danish government´s development strategy, “The right to a better life”.

Official

Development

Assistance

Bilateral

Multilateral

812

1,153

560

1,286

856

1,532

621

1,253

1,796

1,490

876

1,336

1,874

1,455

Denmark seeks to support activities which combat poverty and create sustainable development

based on principles of sustainable management and use of natural resources. Biodiversity related

aid is defined as activities that promote at least one of the three objectives of the Convention on

Biological Diversity (CBD): the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components

(ecosystems, species or genetic resources) and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits of the

utilization of genetic resources.

All the statistical summaries of Danish bilateral assistance presented here are calculated on the

basis of the OECD DAC Rio markers on aid targeting the objectives of the Rio Conventions

(Conventions on climate, desertification and biodiversity). Multilateral aid has been examined.

There is no known way of estimating how many of the activities of the different multilateral

organisations are actually supporting CBD. The statistical summaries include the full contribution

to organisations and projects that support activities targeting the objectives of CBD. This may lead

to overestimates of the ODA.

On average Denmark provided an estimated DKK 2,4 billion annually from 2006 to 2012 for

development assistance in support of developing countries’ efforts related to the objectives of the

CBD. The expenditures on ODA vary from year to year. Even though there was decrease in the

expenditures in 2011 the amount has generally increased since 2006. The higher level of CBD

relevant aid in recent years may be partly due to the efforts of mainstreaming environment as a

cross-cutting issue in the sector-programs through which ODA is channelized. In average

multilateral aid represents 56 % of the total amount of ODA in the years 2006-2012.

Private foundations and NGO funding

There is a general trend that private foundations are financing an increasing amount of activities

and projects which relates to the objectives of the Biodiversity Conventions. The main part of the

increase, however, in the expenditure on biodiversity provided by foundations from 2010-2012 is

due to the number of foundations which reported on their activities.

The foundations engage in various activities related to biodiversity and nature. Improving public

awareness, ecological restoration, establishing a marine centre are just a few of the activities, for

which these foundations have provided financial support.

Some Danish NGOs, such as the Danish birdlife foundation (DOF) and the The Danish Society for

Nature Conservation (DN) are also directly engaged in nature protection and conservation.

March 2014

Volunteers are engaged in different activities and work for the organisations which provide funds

and petitions for funding for biodiversity and nature conservation projects.

March 2014

3. Chapter

Achieving the Millennium

Development and the Aichi

Targets

March 2014

While the Millennium Targets are to be achieved by 2015 most of the Aichi Targets are to be

achieved by 2020.

In the EU a systematic and thorough assessment of the progress towards achievement of the Aichi

targets is planned to take place in 2015 and several processes involving the EU Commission and the

EU member states have been initiated to establish common procedures and methods to make this

assessment.

Thus, this chapter only presents a preliminary and indicative assessment of the Millennium

Development and the Aichi targets.

Contributions towards achievements of the Millennium Development Goals and Targets 2015

The most biodiversity-oriented goal is goal 7 (Environmental Sustainability) and the most relevant

targets under this goal are:

Target 7.A: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and

programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources

Target 7.B: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate

of loss (pls. note that this target is from before UN extended its overaching goal of halting

the decline in biodiversity from 2010 to 2020)

Since the goal on environmental sustainability and the targets were adopted in 2000 Denmark has

worked towards their fulfilment (see chapter 2 for an overview of policies and strategies).

In 2011

Denmark adopted the EU’s biodiversity strategy including a new overall target for

biodiversity: “Halting the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystem services in the EU

by 2020, and restoring them in so far as feasible, while stepping up the EU contribution to averting

global biodiversity loss”. Denmark is now working towards fulfilling the EU Strategy’s 6 goals

aiming at obtaining the overarching target.

Achievement of the Aichi Targets

The Aichi targets are supposed to be achieved by 2020 (except target 10 and 17 which are supposed

to be achieved by 2015). Below follows a brief presentation of important activities which support the

achievements of the targets as well as brief assessments of the progress.

Target 1

The population will be familiar with the values related to biological diversity by no

later than 2020, along with the steps they can take to protect and make use of

biodiversity.

Work is going on in Denmark in many areas to increase public awareness of the values related to

biological diversity. The campaign will be aimed at the population at large, children, adolescents,

landowners, the authorities, stakeholder groups etc.

The following activities have been launched:

The start of an international citizens

involvement project (“World Wide Views on

Biodiversity”) , with over 3,000 residents of over 25 different countries concerning the key

issues negotiated at the last Biodiversity Convention held in India, in 2012

A national 'citizens' summit' held in 2012, with 200 representatives selected from the

population to raise awareness of nature and dialogue concerning central political

challenges on nature.

March 2014

The Danish Nature Agency has published information materials, folders, posters, videos

and YouTube clips on biodiversity, highly endangered species and invasive species, nature

protection, care etc.

The Nature Guide scheme provides information via around 300 guides all over the country

on natural habitats and biodiversity through over 30,000 events p.a., with the

participation of around 1 million people, of which 2/3rds are children. There are also daily

items on national radio on natural habitats and biodiversity (DR P1).

The national Green Flag, Green School project focusses on active education for children on

biodiversity and sustainability.

The Nature Agency has published educational material for all classes in primary school,

and a nature directory published in 2009 has been followed up with educational material

in the form of themed books focusing on Denmark's nature.

Awareness of nature is promoted by easier access to nature at locations where there is

normally no public access - the "Clues in the Landscape" project.

"Woodland's Day" is held every year in private and public-owned woodlands, designed to

increase awareness of the diversity of woodland, and sustainable exploitation of their

resources. (The Danish Forest Association, private and public-owned woodland, supported

by private funds).

“Nature’s day” is held every year and focusses on public

awareness of nature and

biodiversity.

To promote public debate on nature and biodiversity, the Ministry of the Environment

published "Biodiversity, a Public Issue" in 2011.

Many Danish NOG’s make a valuable contribution to public awareness of nature and

public engagement within the field.

Continued efforts to increase public awareness (and particularly that of youngsters) of the

importance and value of biological diversity are expected to help Denmark reach this target.

Target 2

The value of biological diversity will be integrated in national and local

development, anti-poverty and planning strategies by 2020, and will be

incorporated into national accounts and reporting systems in a suitable manner.

Biological diversity is integrated into a number of strategies and policies, and represents a central

element of physical planning (see also chapter 1 and 2). Nature is a major element of the

government's strategy for sustainable development "Considerate Growth" dating from 2009, and

thus integrates regard for biological diversity across all sectors. Through its national contribution to

IUCN, Denmark has provided financial support to the international TEEB programme (The

Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity), which has helped create the scientific and practical

foundation to be able to appreciate the value of natural resources with the aim of compiling green

accounts and other measures.

Other relevant initiatives:

The government took part in a survey of Nordic ecosystems, their services and social value

in 2012 (TEEB Nordic 2012).

Work in progress regarding development of green national accounting (Danish National

Statistics Institute, 2013)

Financial support has been granted for the development of green national accounts in

collaboration with the World Bank.

Consideration for biological diversity and combating poverty is an integrated element in

Danish foreign aid policies.

Consideration for biodiversity is integrated in several parts of the Danish legal and

physical planning systems.

March 2014

A national project to survey and evaluate ecosystems and ecosystem services will be

launched in 2014.

Denmark is in the process of integrating the value of biodiversity into a range of policies, strategies

and programmes in order to achieve the target.

Target 3

Incentives and subsidies that are detrimental to biological diversity will be

eliminated, phased-out or converted by no later than 2020 to minimise or avoid

their negative effects, and positive incentives for the protection and sustainable use

of biodiversity are being developed in accordance and harmony with the

Biodiversity Convention and other relevant international obligations, with regard

to national socio-economic status.

The majority of Denmark's rural natural and semi-natural habitats are found or linked to farming

and forestry areas, and the majority of national grant schemes for nature are co-financed by funds

from the EU's rural development programme (RDP). A new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and

RDP for 2016-2020 are being compiled, and the EU is working on analysing how negative

incentives and subsidies can be phased out. There is growing focus under the CAP on "greening

elements," concerning consideration for nature, protection of permanent grasslands, crop

diversification etc.

The Ministry of the Environment has commissioned a survey of nature-related legislation to focus,

simplify and strengthen it. Work is also in progress to promote biodiversity in towns and cities, and

many local authorities are putting more emphasis on ensuring green, multifunctional spaces in

urban areas.

The government's National Commission for Nature and Agriculture published a range of

recommendations in 2013 which could bolster biological diversity, including the setting up of a

Nature Trust for the re-establishment of natural habitat areas. The trust has been given the political

green light and obtained financing from the government and two private charitable trusts (Villum

Fonden and Aage V. Jensens Naturfond)

Other mentionables:

Negative incentives such as subsidies for draining have been removed from agricultural

grant schemes, and subsidies for draining and building roads in woodlands under the

woodland improvement scheme have been stopped.

Pesticide tax has been reallocated to stimulate the reduced use of those pesticides resulting

in the highest load with respect to human health and the environment.

Specific subsidy schemes under the national Rural Development Programme have been set

up for protection of threatened species living on open land and in woodland.

The Nature Agency has set up an advisory scheme with information on the national

subsidy schemes under the RDP, and a special campaign for highly endangered species is

to be launched in early 2014.

Through the Green Growth Agreement (2009) and co-financing

from the EU’s Rural

Development Programme funds, significant amounts have been earmarked in recent years

for protection and care of Natura 2000 and Article 3 areas, for restoration of nature and to

improve the aquatic environment, and ensure more water in the countryside.

The first generation of nature plans (2010-2015) are being implemented and the next

generation is being drawn up. The first generation of water plans has been sent for

consultation and is expected to become law in 2014.

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The development of more nature-friendly farming and organic farming has been promoted

by financial subsidy schemes. 5 year environment and organic schemes have been

promoted by caring for grass and natural areas, including 1-year subsidy schemes for

extensive farming.

Denmark has established several schemes and regulations to reduce harmful subsidies and to

provide positive economic incentives of importance for biodiversity. Among other endeavours

Denmark is active in the EU negotiation on establishment of a greener subsidy system for the

agricultural sector.

Target 4

The government, business and industry and other stakeholders at all levels will

have taken measures to achieve or have implemented plans for sustainable

production and consumption, and have kept the effects of consumption of natural

resources within ecological constraints by no later than 2020.

The government is currently working on a Strategy for Sustainable Development, which will bring

targets and initiatives together within economic, social and green areas. The Minister of the

Environment will publish a report in 2014 on which initiatives within nature and the environment

the government has launched. The report will be followed by a further report on the status of

nature and the environment in Denmark.

The Green Growth Agreement (2009) and the agreement on Green Conversion (2013) aim to

promote sustainable production and the National Commission for Nature and Agriculture launched

a series of initiatives in 2013 designed to promote more sustainable agricultural production, to the

benefit of biodiversity. The government is currently considering how it can best follow up its

recommendations.

Denmark has launched the following:

Funds have been earmarked as part of the annual budget to “the Environment

and

Demonstration Programme (MUDP)”, under which grants are provides for the

development and demonstration of solutions for prioritised problems within the fields of

environment and nature.

A proposal for a resource strategy has been published with the overall principle of

increasing recycling and reducing the amount of refuse incinerated. The strategy includes

a target of 50% recycling of domestic refuse.

A resource strategy for prevention currently under production will contain a number of

specific initiatives designed to prevent the loss of resources.

Binding requirements will be placed on government purchasers stipulating that wood for

furniture, construction and paper shall originate from sustainable forestry.

The Partnership for Green Public Procurement, Forum for Sustainable Procurement and

several specific projects, including the "Responsible Purchaser" web portal are in place to

promote consideration for the environment in public sector procurement.

Schemes have been set up to support the use of 'eco labels' (including via public sector

procurement) and increase their use (e.g. through labelling grocery products).

The Green Growth Agreement (2009) and Agreement on Green Transition (2013) are

both designed to develop the economic and environmental criteria for sustainable

agricultural production, and the National Commission for Nature and Agriculture (2013)

has formulated recommendations for the same purpose. The government will be

publishing its proposals for following-up on these recommendations in 2014.

The government has set a target of 50% of livestock manure, instead of being utilized as

fertilizer, will be used for energy production by 2020.

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The Chemical Programme for 2014-17 contains a number of initiatives, including on the

substitution of problem chemicals in materials and products in small and medium-sized

enterprises.

Denmark has established several national incentive schemes and regulations to support

development of sustainable production and consumption and Denmark is active in the EU and in

international fora which makes efforts to achieve more sustainable and green development and

transition.

Target 5

The loss of all natural habitats, including those in woodlands, is to be halved as a

minimum by 2020 and where possible brought close to zero, and the degrading and

fragmentation of nature is to be significantly reduced.

Focus in Denmark has been placed on the protection of habitats as a cornerstone of existing nature

conservation efforts. Denmark's natural landscape areas represent 26% of the total, of which

woodlands account for around 14%, but both types of area are on the increase.

Some of the most significant programmes to improve and increase the area of habitats are the

designation of habitat areas (Natura 2000), general protection of nature types, conservation,

forestry planting, setting up no-cultivation zones along lakes and watercourses, and the

establishment of new wetlands.

The newly established Nature Fund and the forthcoming Nature Plan Denmark are also expected to

make significant contributions to the establishment of more - and more cohesive - natural

landscapes, and to prevent further fragmentation of natural habitats.

Major initiatives include:

Just under 9% of Denmark's land area and approx. 18% of total territorial waters have

been designated as Natura 2000 areas.

The Green Growth Agreement included the protection of 20,000 ha of particularly

valuable woodland against felling and conversion.

The Nature Agency will conclude the national updated surveying of general protected areas

(Article 3 areas) in 2014, which will give good grounds for future protection.

In connection with the first generation of the Nature Plans, activities will be initiated with

a focus on stopping the loss of habitats within Natura 2000 areas.

The Green Growth Agreement earmarked funds for caring for 110,000 ha within the

Natura 2000 areas, and 40,000 ha of Article 3 land outside Natura 2000 areas.

State-owned forests have been tasked with ensuring natural values and biodiversity as a

key operational objective. Areas of untouched woodland or traditional management have

been designated, equivalent to around 12% of the state forests.

The state forests are being converted to close-to-nature management, including giving

more consideration to nature and biodiversity.

Government nature programmes have resulted in around 77,000 ha of new natural

landscape being created since 1989.

Defragmentation of nature is also being countered by the creation of up to 75,000 ha of

new natural landscapes by 2015.

A long-term target within forestry is the doubling of woodland areas within a tree

generation, to extent the amount of afforested land to 20-25% of Denmarks area.

Several private trusts are making a significant contribution to the promotion of

biodiversity by re-establishing former natural landscape areas in their own projects and in

partnership within ministries, local authorities, NGOs etc.

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During the last decades Denmark has initiated a series of concrete initiatives to halt the loss of

biodiversity and for some types of nature areas like wetlands and forests there is an increase in

numbers and area.

Target 6

All stocks of fish, invertebrates and aquatic plants are to be sustainably managed

and exploited legally and using eco-system based methods to avoid over-fishing by

2020. Re-establishment plans and targets are in place for all threatened species,

fishing has no significant negative effect on threatened species and vulnerable

ecosystems, and the effect of fishing on stocks, species and ecosystems is within safe

ecological limits.

The management of Danish fish stocks is primarily determined by the EU's Common Fisheries

Policy (CFP). As such, the EU sets overall quotas and devises management plans to ensure that

targets for fishing at Maximum Sustainable Yields are reached. The EU also stipulates control

measures and data gathering criteria for scientific advice. A common fisheries development fund

allows the financing of necessary fisheries-related plans and projects in relation to the CFP and

fisheries measures within the Natura 2000 and the EU's Marine Strategy Framework Directive. The

government has recently adopted a national mussel policy, that limits the scraped area in Natura

2000 zones to 15%.

Work on sustainable stocks in the seas includes:

New fisheries policy and reform of the Common Fisheries Policy.

Discard ban in the Baltic Sea by 2015.

Political agreement with Sweden on no-go areas for fishing in the Kattegat, for the sake of

preserving cod stocks.

Effective fisheries control via the EU’s 2009 Fisheries Control Scheme.

Management plans for various fish stocks: cod, sole, plaice, northern hake and eel.

The EU’s management plans are intended to ensure that stocks are maintained or restored

to the benefit of fishermen and the fish.

Combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

Sustainability certification of Danish fisheries.

Annual action plans for fish recovery (annual funds are earmarked to promote the natural

reproduction of fish stocks, including the release of farmed stocks).

Protected zones at sea, where 18% of the area is designated as Natura 2000 zones.

Denmark's Marine Strategy (2012) sets targets for good environmental status in the sea by

2020. Programmes will be defined in 2015.

The first major maritime nature restoration project has been completed, with the

restoration of a 7 ha area of grotto-forming rocky reef off Læsø, a rare and very

biodiversity-rich type of natural habitat in Denmark.

Most of the commercially utilized Danish fish stock are harvested sustainably (re chapter 1), while

initiatives have been launched to address situations where this is not yet achieved.

Target 7

Agricultural, forestry and aquaculture areas managed sustainably by 2020, to

ensure biological diversity.

Denmark has launched a series of initiatives designed to support sustainable development of

agriculture, forestry and aquaculture. For example: the state forests (18% of Denmark's total

afforested area) are run on near-natural principles, and certified to FSC and PEFC standards.

Hunting is a popular pursuit/hobby in Denmark, and generates around DKK 88 million in licence

March 2014

fees, of which a large portion goes to financing programmes to conserve and improve specific

species and natural landscapes.

In addition:

The majority of Danish woodlands are subject to a preservation order, protecting them

against conversion to other purposes.

The 2004 Danish Woodlands Act was designed to promote sustainable forestry, including

the preservation and increase of biological diversity. Along with certification of the state

forests, the act means that Danish woodlands are run in a more sustainable manner now

than 10 years ago to the benefit of biodiversity.

In relation to aquaculture, the agreement contains a sub-agreement that earmarks an

additional DKK 100 million for the period of 2010-2015, to promote eco-friendly

aquaculture production. In accordance with the EU's Common Fisheries Policy, a strategy

is to be developed for sustainable development of the aquaculture sector for 2014-2020.

Tougher regulation of fish farming and salt water fish farms that will include threshold

limits for maximum emissions of nitrogen and phosphorus, as well as substances.

Denmark has decided to fully utilize the funds from the European Agricultural Fund for

Rural Development (RDP) which contain several schemes for financing of nature

management, nature restoration activities and for protection of threatened species.

A series of national initiatives have been launched to facilitate the development of sustainable

agriculture, fishery and forestry and more initiatives have been planned.

Target 8

Pollution, including the surplus of nutrients, will be brought down to levels which

are harmless to ecosystem functions and biological diversity by 2020.

The aquatic plans has as an overall target to reduce reduction by 9,000 tons by 2015.

Emissions of phosphorus are to be reduced by 210 tons.

Changes to the Livestock Act in 2011 laid down maximum ammonia amount requirements

for vulnerable nature.

The effect on nature of ammonia emissions and pesticides must be reduced, i.e. through

technological environmental solutions.

The designation of 50,000 ha with 10 metre-wide buffer zones along their edges in which

spraying and cultivation is banned along all watercourses and lakes with a surface area of

over 100 m

The scope of PLI for pesticides is to be reduced even further, through reorganisation of the

pesticide tax.

No pesticides are used in principle in state forests. In addition, there are subsidy schemes

for private woodland planting that favour cultivation without pesticides.

Efforts to improve water quality, primarily in watercourses and lakes by focusing on waste

water processing.

Several initiatives have been launched to reduce the pressure of nutrients and pesticides on the

national nature. The pressure from nutrients have been reduced substantially and efforts will be

made to further ensure reduction. It is still a challenge to turn around a trend of increasing

utilization of pesticides, but new and targeted regulations have been established. The target is

expected to be reached by 2020.

Target 9

Invasive species and their spreading routes are identified and prioritised,

prioritised species are under control or exterminated and systems for controlling

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their spreading routes are in place to prevent their introduction and establishment

by 2020.

Denmark has concentrated for many years on combating invasive species through targeted

campaigns at species level, more long-term management and the provision of information (for more

detail please see chapter 2

Major activities include:

Plans to deal with mink (2012) and raccoon dogs (2010).

The Executive Order on raccoon dog prevention (2011).

Via the NOBANIS network, information on problem species on their way into the region is

shared. Denmark therefore has a good idea of which species could be in the process of

introducing themselves into the country.

The Nature Agency runs regular information campaigns on invasive species and will

conclude a project in 2014 that gives a detailed understanding of the spreading routes used

by them.

An amendment to the Executive Order on combating giant hogweed (2009) means

improved opportunities for effective eradication of this invasive species.

Denmark became a signatory to the International Maritime Organisation's Ballast Water

Convention in 2012, designed to reduce the discharge of invasive species from ship ballast

water.

Denmark's Marine Strategy sets targets concerning programmes to combat invasive

species. Programmes will be defined in 2015.

Several national initiatives have been launched to analyse invasive species pathways and dispersal

patterns and to reduce populations and at EU level new legislation will be implemented and

strengthen efforts in near future.

Target 10

The various types of pressure from human activities and on coral reefs and other

vulnerable ecosystems affected by climate change or ocean acidification shall be

minimised with regard to preserving their integrity and functions by 2015.

Denmark's territorial waters do not contain coral reefs, and the target is therefore of less relevance

to the country.

Another vulnerable marine ecosystem with large scale biodiversity is rocky reefs. One such

example is the almost 7 ha grotto-forming reef north east of the island of Læsø in the

Kattegat, which was restored by depositing 86,000 stones in late spring 2013 (Læsø

Trindel, Natura 2000 area).

As from 2015, shipping will be required to use fuel with a lower sulphur content and the

use of scrubbers in designated coastal areas (cf. the EU sulphur directive) to reduce ocean

acidity

The government's Climate Strategy (2013) includes a number of CO2 reduction targets and

initiatives to help reduce sea CO2 content, and thus acidity.

Studies were conducted during definition of the Climate Strategy and by the Nature

Agency on the relationship between climate change and its effect on biodiversity, the

results of which will be used in future nature preservation policies, including Nature Plan

Denmark.

Work is being done at national and international level to reduce ocean acidity, but will involve a

long process, which will be highly dependent on global climate initiatives (CO2 reduction etc.).

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Target 11

At least 17% of the land area, including fresh water areas and 10% of sea and coastal

areas - especially those that are very important to biological diversity and

ecosystem services - will be protected by effective and evenly-applied, ecologically

representative and well-linked systems of protected areas and other effective zone-

based measures, and integrated into broader sea- and landscapes by 2020.

Denmark has designated a large number of protected zones at land and in the sea, including in

connection with the Natura 2000 programme. On land, over 8% of the total area is protected as

Natura 2000 areas. 18% of territorial waters are protected. Protection includes rocky reefs and

biogenic mussel reefs. Four zones have been designated to date that will protect 30 coastal habitat

areas.

All Natura 2000 protected zones have management plans designed to halt the decline in biological

diversity. The government has also launched an initiative to boost care and restoration of open

natural habitats.

Other mentionables:

Over 14% of Danish land is covered by woodland.

Fresh and salt meadows, commons, lakes, heaths, watercourses and bogs account for 9% of

the land area, and are protected throughout the country (approx. 40% of these types of

natural habitats are within Natura 2000 zones).

In addition are the buffer zones along watercourses, lakes, coasts and woods, conservation

areas, nature reserves, national parks etc., which also provide various forms of protection.

The establishment of 50.000 hectares of pesticide, cultivation and fertiliser free

bufferzones along water courses and lakes and of more forests and wetlands.

Denmark's Marine Strategy (2012) sets targets for good environmental conditions in the

sea by 2020. New programmes are to be decided in 2015, which could include the

establishment of a cohesive, representative network of protected sea zones.

Much of the terrestrial, aquatic and marine nature is already protected and more protected areas

will be established in near future.

Target 12

The eradication of known threatened species will be prevented and their protected

status improved and maintained, especially for species in the steepest decline by

2020.

Denmark is working to halt the decline of species at many different levels. In addition to the habitat

species covered by the EU's habitat and bird protection directive and Natura 2000 plans, a number

of other species will also be protected. The aim is to protect the habitats, breeding and resting areas

used by such species. The population of certain threatened species will also be boosted through

translocation. The reintroduction of disappeared species which play a major role in the dynamics of

nature, or which can put focus on certain elements of nature has also been performed.

Although a number of species have disappeared, such as the white stork and black grouse, others

have returned in recent years, such as the sea eagle and red kite.

Other relevant schemes and initiatives worth mention:

Around DKK 88 million p.a. from hunting licence fees goes to subsidies for schemes to

protect species that are threatened or in need of protection.

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The INTERREG project for the dormouse, northern birch mouse and bats on Funen and

in Southern Jutland (2010-2013).

The LIFE project for the establishment of habitats for threatened species including the

European fire bellied toad, natterjack toad and fen orchid (concluded 2014).

Management plans are in place for all Danish species of the bat, dormouse and northern

birch mouse, large blue butterfly, otters, seals (grey seal and harbour seal), porpoise,

beaver, partridge, hare, salmon, houting, marsh fritillary and marsh saxifrage.

Management plans for the sand lizard, European green toad and natterjack toad are

expected to be in place by the spring of 2014. The objective for all such plans is that the

species in question should be ensured a beneficial preservation status.

Management plans for birds cover the cormorant, white stork, pink-footed goose, red kite,

sea eagle, Montagu's harrier, golden eagle, osprey, peregrine falcon, corn crake, dunlin

and ruff.

The Nature Agency expects to launch a project concerning the surveying of "high nature

value zones" in woods in 2014 or 2015.

Programmes for red-listed species in state forests are expected to be started in 2015 based

on the mapping project.

Subsidies under the Rural Development Programme (RDP) for the protection of breeding

and rest areas for bats, dormouse, northern birch mouse, sand lizard and toads.

Information materials designed to promote species protection: Best practices for

woodland areas with bats, a folder sent to 95,000 farm owners, electronic map showing

the spread of threatened species etc.

Re-introduction of European bison (2013), stag beetle (2013) and beaver (West Jutland -

1999, North Zealand - 2009).

Subsidies for hedge planting with bee-friendly plants (proviens) and the sowing of bee and

wildlife-friendly field margins.

The Ministry of the Environment has granted a subsidy to the Danish Hunters Association

for a project to form a voluntary field wildlife league. The project will identify and

facilitate setting up the league with the intention of supporting the recommendations of

the management plans for hares and partridges. 100 leagues are expected to be set up

around the country by 2016.

Focussed measures are deemed to still be required for species protection to prevent the decline in

biological diversity. The NOVANA monitoring scheme has shown that certain species are on the

increase, but that many of the threatened species continue to decline, e.g. the sand lizard, European

green toad, dormouse and northern birch mouse.

Target 13

The genetic diversity of cultivated plants, livestock and their cousins in the wild,

including species deemed to be of socio-economic and cultural value, will be

preserved and strategies for minimising genetic erosion and protection of their

genetic variation will be developed and implemented by 2020.

The government is prioritising efforts in NordGen, the Nordic Gene Bank, for plant material, and a

programme to locate and register the wild cousins of crops and their preservation status was started

in 2010. The government devised an action plan in 2011, entitled 'From Gene Bank to Table'. The

government has also supported the provision of information in the form of teaching material for

schools, and the publication of a culture-historical cooking book.

Denmark has ratified the FAO's international treaty on genetic plant resources for

agriculture, and has signed the FAO’s

Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources

and the Interlaken Declaration.

Strategies for the preservation of plant and animal genetic resources are described in:

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103

The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries' action plan 2011-13 for agriculture's plant

genetic resources, The Gene Resource Committee's strategy 2009-2012 for preservation of

genetic resources for Danish livestock and in tThe Ministry of Food, Agriculture and

Fisheries bee breeding strategy 2009

–

2013.

Denmark is taking part in a major re-establishment programme for the European Bison

–

and has reintroduced this species on the island of Bornholm

The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries has earmarked specific funds for the

preservation of agriculture's genetic resources. Funds have also been obtained from other

sources, such as via the ministry's agreement with Aarhus University on consultancy.

A gene preservation programme for trees and bushes has been set up, to ensure the

preservation and use of genetic resources. A total of 81 species are the subject of a network

of preservation zones on the Nature Agency's areas, approx. 2900 ha have been registered

as gene preservation zones, approx. 1550 ha are designated for seed supply, and around

32 seed nurseries have been set up through the Nature Agency's bush programme since

2000.

Copenhagen University's 'Pomet' programme has collected around 750 species of apple

since 1956, of which 250 are Danish.

A new national committee has been established for Conservation of Animal Genetic

Resources and Rare Danish Breeds. The committee is to coordinate and take care of all

genetic resources conservation activities, including a gene bank, breeder support and

information activities. The committee has been tasked to develop a new national strategy

for conservation of animal genetic resources for food and agriculture in 2014.

A series of initiatives have been launched to protect genetic resources of cultivated plants and

livestock and their wild relatives.

Target 14

Ecosystems that provide basic services - including those related to water and that

contribute to health, subsistence and wellbeing - will be restored and protected with

regard to women, original and local communities, the poor and vulnerable by 2020.

Target 15

The robustness of ecosystems and contribution from biodiversity to carbon dioxide

retention will be increased by 2020, through preservation and restoration, entailing

the restoration of at least 15% of the deteriorated ecosystems, thus helping minimise

climate change and adaptation, plus the spread of deserts.

Denmark focuses heavily on protection of habitats and ecosystems, and a large element of existing

efforts is aimed at retaining and improving them.

Including:

Nature protection of natural habitat types and species covered by the EU's habitat and bird

protection directive, protection of natural habitat areas covered by Article 3 of the Nature

Conservation Act, protected areas, national parks etc.

The general running of state-owned woodland areas, which are conversed to close-to-

nature management. The woodland improvement scheme and replanting after storm

damage also help to establish or re-establish ecosystems that are robust to climate change.

Woodland planting and an increase in wooded areas help towards CO2 retention and thus

make a positive contribution to the CO2 accounts, protect groundwater and ensure high

quality drinking water.

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Establishment of 50.000 hectares of pesticide, cultivation and fertiliser free buffer zones

along watercourses and lakes, plus the establishment of wetlands and woods.

Continous national monitoring of carbon stocks and emissions from forests and

agricultural areas in accordance with IPCC guidelines for LULUFC

A national project to survey and evaluate ecosystems and ecosystem services will be

launched in 2014.

Local authority plans include the designation of ecological links, valuable landscapes etc.,

which can be used as the basis for continuous expansion, planning and focusing of nature

management to boost ecological cohesion.

A number of recreational activities such as mountain biking in hilly areas, hiking in

remote, quiet areas and hunting can already be enjoyed in many scenic areas, contributing

to health and wellbeing. More work is also being done in state forests to improve access for

the handicapped.

Many initiatives have been launched to achieve this target and a national project on mapping

national ecosystems and ecosystem services will take of in 2014.

Target 16

The Nagoya Protocol on access to genetic resources and equal distribution of their

benefits will be in effect and operational in accordance with national legislation by

2015.

In recent years, intense negotiations on the Nagoya Protocol have been taking place at UN and EU

level. The protocol was ratified by the UN in 2012, and agreement reached in the EU on a new

directive to fulfil its provisions.

Denmark has been one of the leading proponents for ratification of the Nagoya Protocol

within the EU and internationally. We will continue to strive nationally, within the EU and

globally to ensure the goal can be reached.

Parliament passed a new law in December 2012 on regulation of the use of genetic

resources from abroad by domestic consumers (businesses and scientists). The law is

designed to protect developing countries from exploitation of their genetic resources from

rainforests, coral reefs etc. for the development of medicines, enzymes, cosmetics, food

products etc. without their prior consent or agreement on benefit-sharing.

The government has supported African countries in negotiations on the Nagoya Protocol,

and continues to support focus on the development of good governance in this area in

developing countries, with a subsidy of DKK 15 million for the period of 2013-2015. The

subsidy is managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the form of co-financing of an

ABS Capacity Development Initiative.

A survey of Danish businesses and academic institutions affected was performed in 2013,

and the Nature Agency is currently preparing to implement the new national legislation,

plus new EU and UN rules within this area as from late 2014.

Denmark is well down the road to support and prepare the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol.

Target 17

Every party involved will have devised, adopted as a political instrument and

commenced implementation of an effective, participatory and updated biodiversity

strategy and action plan by 2015.

Denmark's does not have one specific biodiversity strategy . The white paper on 'Biodiversity - a

Public Issue' was published in 2011 to create public dialogue on the future of natural habitats in

Denmark.

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105

The government set up the National Commission for Nature and Agriculture in 2012, tasked with

arriving at proposals for solutions to the structural, financial and environmental problems of the

agriculture industry, including how it can contribute to climate, environment and nature

preservation. The commission published a number of recommendations in 2013, including clear

targets and strategies for the natural habitat. Denmark's Biodiversity Strategy is being devised along

with Nature Plan Denmark, expected to be completed by the end of 2014.

Target 18

The traditional knowledge, discoveries and methods for protection and sustainable

use of biological resources of the indigenous people and local communities will be

respected by 2020, in line with national legislation and relevant international

obligations, and fully integrated and reflected in the implementation of the

convention with complete, effective participation of the indigenous people and local

communities at all relevant levels.

Denmark believes in protection of the rights and living conditions of indigenous peoples, and in

promoting their knowledge and methods as an important contribution to protection and

sustainable use of biodiversity. As such, Denmark and Greenland played an important role in

ratifying the UN’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous

Peoples (UNDRIP) from 2007.

Target 19

The knowledge base and technologies related to biodiversity, the value, functions,

status and trends of biodiversity and consequences of its loss will be improved,

widely distributed, transferred and utilised by 2020.

Denmark has implemented a monitoring system for certain types of natural habitat and species

(NOVANA and the National Woodland Monitoring Scheme). The system is designed to provide an

understanding of the status of natural habitats and the environment in the country. That

understanding is part of the management data for national natural habitat and environmental

policies and for decision-making on environmental initiatives. Data gathered by stakeholder

organisations will be incorporated when possible.

A national project to survey and evaluate ecosystems and ecosystem services will be launched in

2014.

Target 20

Mobilisation of financial resources from all sources and in line with the

consolidated processes decided for the strategy of resource mobilisation is to be

significantly increased from the current level, to effectively be able to implement the

strategic plan by 2020.

The latest Danish report to the Biodiversity Convention Secretariat on resource mobilisation for

nature preservation purposes states and annual contribution of DKK 2.3 billion, equivalent to USD

390 million p.a. (average for 2006-2010). This amount corresponds to approx. DKK 410 per person

per year, or 0.13% of GNP.

As such, Denmark's contribution per capita is one of the very highest compared to other developed

nations. In addition, ratification and implementation of the Nagoya Protocol plays a vital role, as

implementation will facilitate benefit-sharing with the developing countries supplying the genetic

resources for new medicines, enzymes, cosmetics etc.

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