A new report gives optimism for Denmark’s goal of protecting 30 percent of the country’s nature. According to the report, which is the most comprehensive analysis of biodiversity on Danish nature, forest, and agricultural areas, it is possible to create large contiguous natural areas without breaking the state budget. Professor Carsten Rahbek from the University of Copenhagen, who has prepared the report together with Anders Højgård Petersen in collaboration with the Department of Food and Resource Economics, highlights that Denmark still has the chance to significantly improve its biodiversity with a manageable economic effort. “Denmark has the EU’s most threatened and worst nature. But we still have the opportunity, with a manageable economic effort, to have a more varied nature for the benefit of us all,” says Rahbek. The report emphasizes that Denmark, like the other EU countries, must ensure 30 percent protected nature. Currently, only about two percent of Denmark’s area is protected.
Many have been skeptical about whether this goal can be achieved in a country with intensive agriculture, but the report shows that it is possible. “We also indicate the obvious areas to do it,” says Rahbek, adding that Denmark has so far focused on small projects without much effect. The report, on the other hand, highlights the importance of large projects that can make a real difference. The identification of 239 large natural areas, equivalent to 20 percent of Denmark’s area, is a central element in the report. With further expansion, the necessary 30 percent can be reached, costing between two and four billion Danish kroner annually, a fraction of the total Danish national budget.
In addition to improvements in biodiversity, the report points to several additional benefits such as purification of drinking water, protection against floods, help against oxygen depletion, climate improvements, and health benefits. Moreover, tourism could receive a significant boost. “The EU has pointed to Danish benefits, including tourism worth 30 billion,” says Rahbek, highlighting that climate change could make Denmark an even more attractive tourist destination due to rising temperatures in southern Europe.