Over 100,000 Danes have signed a petition organised by the nature conservation organisation Danmarks Naturfredningsforening (DN) that aims to prevent the government from developing the free Danish coastline.

Since May, DN has asked Danes to sign a petition to enforce the 300-metre buffer zones that exist nationwide along the coastline to prevent its development.

“I hope the many signatures make the politicians realise that developing the coastline is not the way forward,” said Ella Maria Bisschop-Larsen, the president of DN.

“Not in order to spark growth in the outer areas of Denmark either. Once the protection of our unique coastal nature has been breached, there is no turning back.”

READ MORE: Government has plans to build big on Danish coastline

Dating back to 1937
The petition (here in Danish) was launched in the wake of the government proposing to reduce the coastal protection zone earlier this year. It is the largest petition in Denmark since the protest against the sale of DONG Energy last year.

Bisschop-Larsen underlined that the petition efforts would continue until Parliament confirms the politicians won’t go through with Venstre’s proposal.

Parliament passed the first nature protection law in 1937, ensuring a 100-metre protection buffer zone along the coastline of Denmark. In 1994 that buffer zone was expanded to 300 metres.

Thanks to its numerous islands, Denmark has 7,314 km of coastline – over twice the length of Britain’s.