Denmark

Denmark does not have a mainstreamed policy around NBS and does not yet use the term NBS in policy related contexts. There is, however, many types of policy that govern nature and climate issues, and there has been a lot of development in these fields within the past few years. While the overarching legal framework is regulated by the EU for the environment and sectors such as forestry and agriculture, national law has large influence on spatial planning and climate adaptation.

The state is responsible for implementation of EU directives in national law as well as guiding and partially financing municipalities in local implementation. For example, the state appoints flood-risk areas according to the Floods Directive and affected municipalities are obliged to develop risk-management plans. Similarly, the state appoints water bodies in need of restoration actions to reach good ecological status under the Water Framework Directive, obliging municipalities to select and implement actions.

Spatial planning is governed at national and municipal levels in Denmark, regulated by the Planning Act. The regional level does not have formalised governance of environmental and climate topics but have been involved through regional collaboration and development plans. In Denmark, climate adaptation is handled by the municipalities, which have developed local climate action plans. According to data from the beginning of 2024, 25% of the municipalities mentioned NBS when describing their efforts to decrease climate risks through climate adaptation

Some of the main efforts related to NBS in a Danish context are connected to afforestation, ceasing of agricultural protection on lowland soils, coastal protection and rainwater management. Denmark has tradition as a highly productive country, with over 60% of the land dedicated to agriculture, and this presents a challenge in terms of the spatial aspect of NBS.

In 2024, an agreement was made between the government, green organisations and industry organisations, resulting in the green partite agreement, and a Ministry for the Green partite. This Ministry will be responsible for the implementation of activities such as construction of 250,000 hectares of forest, extraction of 140,000 hectares of carbonaceous lowland soils, increase of protected nature areas, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Two new agencies are going to work on the implementation of the agreement.

Many policies influence the political landscape for NBS in Denmark. Relevant policies are currently particularly focused on coastal and marine areas, agricultural soils and forests, reflecting the countries nature and environmental challenges.

For coastal areas, interventions are regulated by the coastal protection act. A coastal protection fund administered by the Danish Coastal Authority provides funding for climate adaptation projects. In 2024, the fund prioritises coastal protection where NBS are integrated.

In terms of agricultural policy, the Danish Common Agricultural Policy announces the right to seize production on carbon-rich agricultural soils with the purpose to decrease CO2 emissions and restore nature. Afforestation is a highly prioritised, and among the policies promoting this there is funding for afforestation on private land, funded by the EU CAP as well as national funding. This is administered by the Danish Agricultural Agency.

Specific funding is also directed towards forest biodiversity, which promotes planting of native trees. Multi-functional land distribution schemes are a policy tool that is more and more commonly used to distribute land between landowners, private and public, in order to free land which can be used for wetland construction, afforestation, or other types of NBS. These projects have multifunctional purpose and aim to address climate adaptation, biodiversity, recreation, as well as productive land and other objectives.

Lind, M.H. & Hansen, K.E.E. (2023). Klimatilpasning i danske kommuners klimahandlingsplaner. Rapport. November 2023 - opdateret februar 2024. CONCITO. https://realdania.dk/publikationer/faglige-publikationer/klimatilpasning-i-danske-kommuners-klimahandlingsplaner

Regeringen. (2024). Aftale om et Grønt Danmark. Aftale mellem regeringen, Landbrug & Fødevarer, Danmarks Naturfredningsforening, Fødevareforbundet NNF, Dansk Metal, Dansk Industri og Kommunernes Landsforening 24. juni 2024. https://www.regeringen.dk/aktuelt/publikationer-og-aftaletekster/aftale-om-et-groent-danmark/

Landbrugsstyrelsen. (2022). Multifunktionel jordfordeling. https://lbst.dk/tilskud/tilskudsguide/2014-22/multifunktionel-jordfordeling