Denmark

Some of the environmental issues in Denmark are air and surface water pollution. Denmark has succeeded in cutting total greenhouse gas emissions by 7 percent from 1990–2005, despite the fact that emissions from transportation have increased significantly. Furthermore, Denmark has increased the production of renewable energy from offshore windmills, and Denmark has joined the European Union’s scheme for climate gas emission trading.

Finally, the Danish government emphasized the Kyoto Mechanisms, joint Implementation and Clean Development Mechanism projects as cost-effective means to reach the Danish reduction goal. Denmark is hosting the UN climate summit in 2009 in Copenhagen.

Renewable energy

Denmark is at the forefront of the race for renewable energy. More than 40 percent of the energy produced in offshore wind farms in Europe belongs to Denmark. Denmark recently expanded its capacity with two new wind farms, making it a leader in offshore wind turbine. Last year 199 wind turbines were installed in Europe. Denmark has 305 turbines installed currently.

The Convention on Biological Diversity

The Convention on Biological Diversity was inspired by the world community's growing commitment to sustainable development. It represents a dramatic step forward in the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.

The following discusses Denmark's plans for biodiversity nationwide:

The Kingdom of Denmark is composed of Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, each having extensive autonomy on matters of environment and thus biodiversity. Although implementation is done separately in each, close collaboration exists on many issues. Denmark has large arable areas and thus relatively few natural and semi-natural areas. Both natural and agricultural areas are under pressure from urbanisation, roads and other infrastructure, but the drastic decline in natural areas of the past 200 years has stabilized. Landscape features of special significance in Denmark include the tidal flats of the Jutland Wadden Sea and the Atlantic dune heath along the west coast of Jutland. Danish waters are one of Europe’s most important winter refuges for several marine birds. Main threats to habitats include fishing, dumping of material and mineral exploitation at sea, drainage of wetlands and widespread eutrophication. Forest areas have increased from 4 % to 12 % over the past 200 years, but the majority is cultivated and non-native species are widely used. Around 30 % of all well-documented species are on the Danish Red List.

As a member of the European Union, Denmark has integrated all biodiversity-related EU directives and regulations into national policies and programmes. As a result of the double protection provided by the combination of EU directives and national legislation, more than 10 % of all Danish ecosystems are protected under a variety of instruments. Biodiversity is also increasingly integrated into national acts and guidelines. To promote the conservation of genetic diversity, several mechanisms are in place such as the Tree and Bush Strategy, which calls for a preferred use of indigenous species for subvention plantings. In terms of sustainable use of natural resources, initiatives include the certification of all state forests and a National Strategy for Sustainable Development. However, problems exist in implementation, distribution and transfer of knowledge and skills, as well as with insecure financial stability. The new Nature Protection Act of Greenland, adopted in 2003, has the overall objective of conserving biological diversity at all levels and to ensure the sustainable exploitation of natural resources. Climate change is an increasingly worrying factor and a prioritized working area for research and monitoring in Greenland. The creation of a red data list is ongoing for Greenland and CITES regulation is fully implemented. In the Faroe Islands, measures to prevent overfishing are in place since the 1980s. A management system was introduced with licensed fisheries, effort quotas based on fishing days, closed areas for towed gears like trawl, spawning and young fish area closures and additional management measures. The most important marine areas have been protected, including the recent protection of coral areas, which may be increased due to low awareness of the ecological significance of these areas. Little attention has been paid to threatened terrestrial species and ecosystems, although ongoing monitoring and ad-hoc arrangements are made to secure populations or species if declines of notable size are registered. National protection of bird species and whales is achieved through Acts of Parliament. There is very little control or management of alien species, with new ones appearing regularly.

Source: Convention on Biodiversity