The government received a final advisory report on Friday from the Nature and Agriculture Commission, which has spent the past year trying to figure out how Denmark can enrich its nature and a support a profitable agriculture with jobs and healthy food products.
The food minister, Mette Gjerskov (Socialdemokraterne), and the environment minister, Ida Auken (Socialistisk Folkeparti), were both pleased with the commission's 44 far-reaching recommendations to promote a green transition in Denmark and assist the government 's goal of 'green mapping' the nation. The aim is to have a comprehensive overview of all of Denmark's nature areas in order to better maintain them and to assist in planning new green areas.
“We are taking an important step towards a greener future. The report contains many good ideas on how we can develop our agriculture sector, create jobs and take better care of our nature,” Gjerskov said in a press release. “With the environmental initiative, farmers will have more freedom and can create a better environmental platform with more nature.”
The commission recommended that environmental regulations be modernised to consider the vulnerability of the earth.
”Historically speaking, nature and agriculture have been presented as opponents, but this government believes that we can create a more effective agricultural sector whilst securing a better and more cohesive nature,” Auken said. "It won’t be easy, but it is possible. In the long run, agriculture must be regulated like any other industry.”
“The commission’s proposal about green mapping is a great idea, because with a green map of Denmark, which shows where the nature is, we can create better connectivity between nature areas,” Auken added. "When we need to create a new forest or restore an area, the map will help us make a natural link with pre-existing green areas."
The government believes that the commission report will prove an invaluable tool in ending the decades of conflict between nature lovers and the agricultural sector.
The first public meeting involving the plans will take place in Aarhus on May 16. The two ministers will be present and everyone is welcome to attend. The commission's full recommendations can be read in a 120-page report (in Danish).
