Denmark’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (2024) sets out the country’s framework for addressing biodiversity loss and aligning national policy with the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) adopted under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. The plan is built around the recognition that biodiversity globally and in Denmark is under severe pressure due largely to land-use change, especially intensive agriculture. The Danish government therefore proposes a major restructuring of land use to restore ecosystems while maintaining a sustainable agricultural sector. Central goals include increasing protected nature areas, restoring ecosystems, and improving species protection. Denmark aims to protect at least 20% of its land area, reduce agricultural land use, remove 140,000 hectares of carbon-rich soils by 2030, plant 250,000 hectares of new forest by 2045 (100,000 hectares of which will be untouched forests), and establish a Green Area Fund of about DKK 40 billion to finance these transformations. At sea, Denmark plans to protect 31.7% of marine areas, with 10% strictly protected by 2030, supported by maritime spatial planning and expanded marine conservation measures. The strategy explicitly operationalises the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which sets a vision for 2050 in which biodiversity is preserved, ecosystem services are restored, and genetic resources are shared fairly. The framework includes four overarching goals: maintaining ecosystem integrity and preventing species extinction; ensuring that ecosystem services support sustainable development; sharing benefits from genetic resources equitably; and mobilising financial and technological resources to close the global biodiversity financing gap—estimated at USD 700 billion annually. To reach these long-term goals, the framework establishes 23 global targets for 2030, which Denmark groups into three main policy areas: (1) more and better nature, (2) sectoral integration of biodiversity into economic activities and policies, and (3) international initiatives. Each Danish policy initiative is linked to one or more of these targets. To achieve the “more and better nature” objective, the strategy focuses on restoring ecosystems, protecting species, reducing pollution, and addressing climate change. Key initiatives include expanding Natura 2000 protected areas, implementing the EU Nature Restoration Law, and adopting a Marine Strategy Action Programme with over 100 actions aimed at improving marine ecosystems. Additional measures include establishing national marine parks, restoring stone reefs, creating national nature reserves, and expanding untouched forests to provide habitats for wildlife. Species protection policies address the decline of biodiversity—highlighted by the finding that 41.3% of assessed species in Denmark are on the Red List—through strategies for endangered species management, combating wildlife crime, and controlling invasive species. Pollution reduction initiatives target nutrient runoff, pesticides, PFAS and other micropollutants, plastic waste, and air pollution, while climate policies aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 70% by 2030 and achieve climate neutrality by 2050, partly through large-scale afforestation and ecosystem restoration.
الدانمرك · 2024-01-01