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4. Denmark

The Danish policy landscape concerning rewetting measures is strongly rooted in agriculture policies. Agricultural land use consists of almost 60% of Danish land area
Danmarks Statistik (n.d.)
 and approximately 5% of that area consists of drained peatlands used for agricultural production.
Beucher et al. (2023)
Miljøstyrelsen (n.d.-e)
 This corresponds to approximately 117,000 ha of agricultural land.
Gyldenkærne & Callisen (2024)
 However, those 5% account for around one fourth of the total CO2e-emission level in Danish agriculture.
Hansen (2024)
Gyldenkærne & Callisen (2024)
 The area estimates of peatlands and the associated emission factors for greenhouse gases have been updated as an effect of new research in 2024, which has concluded that peatlands were less widespread than what was presented in previous assessments.
Møllgaard et al. (2024)
Gyldenkærne & Callisen (2024)
 Still, rewetting of peatlands is considered to have great potential for CO2 mitigation, and their climate mitigation effect is the primary basis for the most recent rewetting measures in Danish policy. Moreover, rewetting measures are targeted towards mitigation of nutrient pollution of nitrogen and phosphorous to the water environment from agricultural production.
Through the Climate Act, the Danish government has committed to fulfil the objectives of the Paris Agreement
LBK nr 2580 af 13/12/2021. Bekendtgørelse Af Lov Om Klima  
  • Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in 2025 by 50–54 % compared to 1990 levels.
  • 70 % reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
  • Climate neutrality in 2050.
It is moreover described in the Climate Act that the fulfilment of the climate goals should be carried out in the most cost-efficient way possible.

4.1 National rewetting policies and objectives

Danish agriculture has historically been regulated to protect and conserve the water environment. Since the 1980s, the Danish Aquatic Environment programme has focused on safeguarding Danish groundwater, freshwater bodies and coastal waters from nutrient pollution caused by agricultural practices. This has been regulated through measures such as regulations on fertilizer use.
Grant & Waagepetersen (2003)
Miljø- og ligestillingsministeriet (n.d)
 Since then, the objective in regulating Danish agriculture has broadened from water protection to include the conservation of biodiversity, increasing natural habitats and decreasing CO2 emissions. For this reason, rewetting is becoming more relevant as a policy tool in climate adaptation plans and biodiversity strategies and as a means to reach the overall climate goals and Danish obligations, both in the National Climate Act and EU obligations.
Regeringen (2022)
Miljøstyrelsen (n.d-a)
 Since the Danish landscape is mostly agricultural land, rewetting as a measure is mostly discussed in the agricultural policy sphere.
Landbrugsstyrelsen (n.d-d)
The main policies regulating rewetting in Denmark are presented in Table 1 below. The policies are further described below.
Name of policy
Kind of policy
Responsible actor
Source of funding
Agreement on a green transition of the agricultural sector, 2021.
Aftale om grøn omstilling af dansk landbrug
Political Agreement between the Government parties and other Parliament parties
The Governmental Parties and supporting parties
State budget
River Basin management plans 2021-2027
Miljøministeriet (2023)
Vandområdeplaner 2021-2027
Regulation of water management through LBK nr.126, especially §19 and §20 of law in water management
LBK nr.126 of 26/01/2017, Chapter 6. Bekendtgørelse af lov om vandplanlægning.
Initiation of projects to rewet 800 hectares of phosphorous wetlands.  
The Danish Environmental Protection Agency
European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (2021-2027)
The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)
Government Budget to the Danish Environmental Protection Agency
The Green Tripartite Agreement (2024)
Regeringen et al. (2024a)
Aftale om et Grønt Danmark
Trilateral voluntary agreement between the government and stakeholders to achieve goal of extensification and rewetting of 140 000 hectares agricultural areas.
The Danish Ministry for Green Tripartite
State budget
The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)
Regeringen et al. (2024b)
Denmarks Green Land-use Fund (Danmarks Grønne Arealfond)
Private funding
The Danish Nature protection Act
LBK nr. 240 of 13/03/2019. Bekendtgørelse af lov om naturbeskyttelse
Lov om naturbeskyttelse
Regulation ensuring active measures to protect nature types.
§2 describes obligation to re-establish e.g. wetlands
All official regulatory bodies
State budget
Table 1: Key policies governing rewetting in Denmark.

Agreement on a green transition of the agricultural sector

In 2021, the Danish Government made an Agreement on a green transition of the agricultural sector, setting a goal of taking land out of agricultural production and rewetting 50,500 hectares of agricultural land.
Finansministeriet & Ministeriet for Fødevarer, Landbrug og Fiskeri (2021)
 The area-based goals for rewetting have since been revised in the Green Tripartite Agreement (see section below), but the measures from the Agreement on a green transition of the agricultural sector are still in place. Through rewetting and other measures, the Agreement on a green transition of the agricultural sector aims to reduce the CO2e emissions from agriculture and forestry by 1.9 million tons.
Finansministeriet & Ministeriet for Fødevarer, Landbrug og Fiskeri (2021)
 The main responsible actors in implementing rewetting instruments are primarily The Danish Agriculture Agency, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency and the Danish Nature Agency. They administer measures concerning private landowners and public management in the municipalities. The implementation of the agricultural agreement from 2021 has been followed up with progress reports in 2023, one in February
Ministeriet for Fødevarer, Landbrug og Fiskeri (n.d)
 and one in June.
Ministeriet for Fødevarer, Landbrug og Fiskeri (2023)
A task force comprising diverse stakeholders has been established to address the challenges of removing agricultural soils from production, focusing on identifying and prioritising solutions to barriers that arise throughout the process.
Landbrugsstyrelsen (n.d.-c)
 In 2024, the task force published an overview of solutions for barriers to taking agricultural soil out of production.
Landbrugsstyrelsen (2024b)
 The task force includes members from relevant ministries, municipalities and relevant industry stakeholders. In addition to the task force, an expert group for low-lying carbon-rich soils was established through the agreement. The expert group was provided a sum of approximately €402,000 for their operations each year in the years 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Landbrugsstyrelsen (n.d.-c)
Finansministeriet & Ministeriet for Fødevarer, Landbrug og Fiskeri (2021)
 The expert group consists of members from relevant agencies and researchers and has published two reports, providing recommendations for how to take low-lying carbon-rich soils out of agricultural production quickly and successfully.
Ekspertgruppen for udtagning af lavbundsjorde (2023)
Ekspertgruppen for udtagning af lavbundsjorde (2024)
 Based on the agreement, funds are annually allocated to a corps of consultants for takeout of agricultural soils for wetlands until and including 2027.
Promilleafgiftsfonden (2024)

River Basin Management Plans

The River Basin Management plans have been pointed out in the Agreement on a green transition of the agricultural sector as the main policy for the regulation of measures that are meant to limit nitrogen pollution of coastal waters. The measures have been termed ‘kollektive virkemidler’ or collective measures.
Miljøstyrelsen (n.d.)
 These consist of four types of measures:
  • Nitrogen wetland projects
  • Lowland projects
  • Mini wetland projects
  • Private afforestation
Each of these wetland measures, and their funding mechanisms, are further described in the section on Economic instruments further down in this chapter. Private afforestation is not further described, as it is not relevant for rewetting.
The current River Basin Management plans run from 2021 to 2027.
Miljøministeriet (2023)
 They are financed primarily through EU funds (e.g. LIFE-project funding) and the Government Budget to the Danish Nature Agency.

The Green Tripartite agreement

As of 2024, the latest policy on rewetting measures is the Green Tripartite Agreement
Regeringen (2024)
 (June 2024, agreement on implementation in November 2024). The agreement aims to achieve solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from Danish agriculture, set up frameworks to decrease nutrient loading in water bodies and thereby reach the goals of the Water Framework Directive, and finally provide more area for nature and biodiversity, mainly through protected forest. The agreement is based on input from the Danish Government and stakeholders from agricultural organisations, nature conservation and industry organisations. It sets specific goals for how to increase the area of certain nature types in Denmark and the means to get there. Here, a pivotal tool is the aim of ceasing agricultural production on 140,000 hectares of drained peatlands and their buffer zones by 2030. Rewetting carbon-rich drained wetlands on agricultural land is expected to reduce emissions by 0.3 million tons of CO2 emissions in 2030, and 0.8 million tons in 2032. This will mainly be accomplished by voluntary measures of private landowners, who will be financially compensated for the rewetting of their property. Apart from the government budget and the CAP, one of the main pillars that finance the Green Tripartite Agreement is the creation of the Green Land-use fund (Den Grønne Arealfond) financing the policy goals with €6 billion (see more under the section on Economic Instruments further down in this chapter).
Table 2 gives an overview of funding allocated for measures that may support rewetting in the Green Tripartite Agreement. As part of the agreement's implementation, the parties have agreed on budgets to remove low-lying, carbon-rich soils from agricultural production, implement nitrogen-reducing measures, and provide agricultural consultants to support the process of taking land out of agricultural production.
Regeringen et al. (2024a)
 The first measure, removing low-lying carbon-rich soils from agricultural production, means that landowners get compensation for stopping agricultural production, and in many cases, the land is rewetted by blocking existing drains. The agreement also supports agricultural consultants for supporting landowners and municipalities in these processes. The third measure, the Framework for nitrogen-reducing measures, is a common pool for different types of measures, including strategic land acquisition for larger land areas, such as parts of watersheds or areas that can be restored to lakes. This can support land acquisition by private actors, such as funds, to cooperate to secure larger nature areas. These three measures all contain rewetting projects to some degree. However, it is not known to what extent rewetting specifically will be a part of these budget shares.
Funding
2024
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
Total
Remove agricultural production on low-lying carbon-rich soils
53.6
281.5
324.3
324.3
194.4
80.4
67
1,325.7
Agricultural consultants for taking out land from agricultural production
1.3
1.3
1.7
5.4
0
0
0
9.4
Framework for nitrogen reducing measures
126.3
160.8
285.1
288.7
269.7
265.2
259.4
1,666.2
Table 2: Funding (million euros) for measures supporting rewetting under the Green Tripartite Agreement. The funding categories are not exclusively for rewetting but include it as one of the tools. This list is not exhaustive; other funding sources may also contribute to rewetting projects.
Regeringen, Socialistisk Folkeparti, Liberal Alliance, Det Konservative Folkeparti, & Radikale Venstre. (2024b).

The Nature Protection Act

The Nature Protection Act plays a role in rewetting policy as it sets the framework for the expropriation of land for rewetting purposes. It is stated in the Act that:
“§ 2 The powers of the Act must also be used to combat sand drift and increase the forest area, as well as restore wetlands and river valleys, which must contribute to improve the water environment.”
LBK nr 927 af 28/06/2024. Bekendtgørelse Af Lov Om Naturbeskyttelse
The Act authorises the Danish Ministry of Environment to expropriate land outside of urban areas to restore wetlands or river dales to decrease nutrient leaching. The authorisation can also be given to municipalities. Since the Danish government practice voluntary approaches to rewetting, the expropriation based on the Nature Protection Act is not currently used as a measure.

4.2 Economic instruments for rewetting initiatives

The main overall instrument of rewetting measures in Denmark consists of subsidy schemes for both municipalities and private landowners. These schemes are both directed towards projects for establishing wetlands on local/municipal level as well as funding for initiating projects on larger scales.
Miljøstyrelsen (n.d-d)
 As Table 3 illustrates, most funding schemes are partly financed by funding measures within the European Union.
Instrument
Responsible authority
Total amount
Who does it apply to
Land type
Funding for water- and climate projects
2024 and 2025
Landbrugsstyrelsen (n.d-e)
Landbrugsstyrelsen & Miljøstyrelsen (2024)
Vand- og klimaprojekter
The Danish Agricultural Agency
€36.2 mio. (2024)
€36.9 Mio. (2025)
Municipalities and local departments of the Danish Nature Agency
Agricultural and other productive land
Funding for
Climate-Lowland
Miljøstyrelsen (n.d-b)
Klima-Lavbundsprojekter
The Danish Environmental Protection Agency
€19.7 mio. (2024)
Municipalities, private landowners, funds
Agricultural and other productive land
Funding for mini wetland projects
The Danish Agricultural Agency
Landbrugsstyrelsen (2024a)
€.18 mio. (2024)
Private landowners
Agricultural
Denmark’s Green Land-use Fund (Danmarks Grønne Arealfond)
The Ministry for Green Tripartite
Total of €6.03 billion for all measures
Not yet specified.
Not yet specified.
Tax on CO2e emissions from agricultural soil.
The Ministry for Green Tripartite
€ 3.5/tons CO2e
Agricultural holdings
Agricultural
Table 3: Overview of economic instruments for rewetting in Denmark

Funding for Water- and Climate Projects 2024 and 2025

Funding for Water- and Climate Projects 2024 and 2025
Landbrugsstyrelsen (n.d-e)
 is a funding scheme for projects concerning the rewetting of drained peatlands for municipalities and local departments of the Danish Nature Agency. It is administered by the Danish Agricultural Agency. The water and climate projects are a part of the Danish CAP-plan 2023–2027 and are primarily financed through the EU via the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).
Landbrugsstyrelsen (2021)
 The funding scheme supports four types of measures:
  • Nitrogen wetland projects
    1. Nitrogen wetland projects are often constructed near the coast. The main aim of these wetlands is to reduce nitrogen emissions to fjords and coastal waters.
    2. The total grant sum for Nitrogen wetland projects is around €25 million in 2024 and expected to be similar €25 million in 2025.
      Landbrugsstyrelsen & Miljøstyrelsen (2024)
    3. Nitrogen wetland projects are financed 80% through EAFRD and 20% through national funds from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries.
  • Lowland projects
    1. The main aim of lowland projects is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from soils with high carbon content. Lowland projects can also contribute to reducing emissions of nitrogen to coastal waters, and to enhance ecological conditions.
    2. The total grant sum for Lowland projects is €6.7 million in 2024 and is expected to be € 33.5 million in 2025.
    3. Nitrogen wetland projects are financed 100% through EAFRD.
    4. The Environmental Protection Agency have developed methods to calculate the expected effects of lowland projects on nitrogen, phosphorous and CO2 emissions. The calculation sheets are available online on their website.
      Miljøstyrelsen (n.d.-d)
  • Phosphorous wetland projects
    1. Phosphorous pollution is the main cause of eutrophication in Danish lakes, and phosphorous wetland projects aim at reducing phosphorous emissions to the freshwater environment.
    2. The total grant sum for Phosphorous wetland projects is €1.9 million in 2024 and expected to be €1.7 million in 2025.
    3. Phosphorous wetland projects are financed 80% through EAFRD and 20% through national funds from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries.
  • Projects about watershed restoration
    1. Watershed restoration projects are large-scale projects meant to restore natural hydrology and enhance conditions for fulfilling environmental goals
    2. The total grant sum for watershed restoration projects is €2.4 million in 2024 and expected to be similar € 2.4 million in 2025.
    3. Watershed restoration projects are financed 80% through EAFRD and 20% through national funds from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries.
All projects go through a preliminary study before they are implemented, to examine the potential positive and negative effects of rewetting the specific area. Nitrogen wetland projects, lowland projects and phosphorous wetland projects can be very similar in their implementation, but they are separated in the application process. The Environmental Protection Agency states that the wetland measures implemented through Water and Climate projects can also contribute to flooding mitigation as they can hold more water.
Recipients of the funding scheme are compensated for all expenses related to the preliminary study and the project implementation, including technical surveys, consultant services, and materials.
Landbrugsstyrelsen & Miljøstyrelsen (2024)
 Landowners can choose to sell the land to the Agricultural Agency at an agreed price or to keep the land and receive economic compensation for loss of value (værditabskompensation), or economical one-off compensation (engangskompensation). In compensation for loss of value, landowners are compensated for any loss of value resulting from the extensification of land and its potential conversion to wetter conditions as part of a project. The Danish Agricultural Agency determines the loss of value for each area based on several conditions, calculating it individually for every plot included in the project zone. One-off compensation is another option for landowners choosing to keep the project land. The one-off compensation builds on pre-determined compensation rates, which vary depending on whether the land has been used for intensive or extensive agricultural production in the time up until the project period. For Water and Climate projects 2024–2025, the compensation is €11,060 per hectare for intensively cultivated agricultural land such as areas used for crop production, and €4,759 per hectare for nature areas and grassland, with or without grazing animals.
Landbrugsstyrelsen & Miljøstyrelsen (2024)
Landbrugsstyrelsen (2024c)
 Landowners are also able to request compensational land instead of economic compensation, meaning that the state supplies another land area that the landowner gains ownership of.
Economic compensation for the project is disbursed after the project has been carried out, and a final report is submitted together with a request for reimbursement of expenses. The project period is set to a maximum of four years for the project implementation, and a maximum of two years for the preliminary study.

Funding for Climate-lowland projects

Climate-lowland project funding support projects that take agricultural land out of production in carbon-rich wetlands to support CO2 reduction.
Miljøstyrelsen (n.d.-b)
 They are also meant to support goals for nature, good water quality and climate adaptation. The overall policy about climate-lowland projects were subject to an environmental impact assessment from the Environmental Protection Agency before the decision of their implementation.
Miljøvurdering af klima-lavbundsindsats, 2020/2021
Grants can be given to municipalities, private landowners, national park foundations, and foundations that support nature, environment or climate. Moreover, the Nature Agency can carry out climate-lowland projects. All projects go through a preliminary study before they are implemented, to examine the potential positive and negative effects of rewetting the specific area. To qualify for grants in a specific project area, the area must meet the following criteria:
  1. Soil composition: At least 60% of the project area must consist of organogenic soil with a minimum carbon content of 6%.
  2. Size requirement: The total area must be at least 10 hectares.
The compensation for Climate-lowland projects is based on pre-determined compensation rates. The rates are the same as for Water and climate projects, so the funding schemes do not compete. This means that the compensation rates are €11,060 per hectare for intensively cultivated agricultural land such as areas used for crop production, and €4,759 per hectare for nature areas and grassland, with or without grazing animals. Just as for the Water and climate projects, compensation can be received after the project, when a final report is submitted.
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Agricultural Agency have developed a map tool with all land areas in Denmark, mapping the areas that are relevant for the funding schemes for Climate-lowland projects and Lowland projects. The map platform is publicly available for all at www.udtagning.dk developed in cooperation with The Danish Environmental Portal.
Miljøstyrelsen & Landbrugsstyrelsen. (n.d.)

Funding for Mini wetland projects
Landbrugsstyrelsen (2024a)

Private landowners can apply for funding for mini wetland projects through a specific pool of funding at the Ministry of Agriculture.
Landbrugsstyrelsen (n.d.-)
 The scheme is partially funded by the EU under the Danish CAP plan, with additional support for maintenance and area compensation from national funds from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries. In 2024, approximately € 18 million are available for mini wetland projects.
Mini wetlands are small, constructed wetlands which consist of components like sedimentation basins, deep basins, and shallow vegetated zones, which work together to filter sediments and remove nitrogen and phosphorus from water. The size requirement for the wetland depends on the drainage basin of the wetland and can therefore vary.
Many mini wetland projects may not be considered as rewetting as their placement is determined by nitrogen reduction capacity, and not by the placement of historical wetlands. It is a requirement from the funding scheme that projects are coordinated with larger rewetting projects.
Landbrugsstyrelsen (n.d.)

Denmark’s Green Land-use Fund

The Green Land-use Fund, implemented through the Green Tripartite Agreement, is a dedicated financial resource aimed at accelerating land conversion in the Danish landscape, from productive agricultural land to nature areas or less intensive agriculture such as pasture.
Regeringen et al. (2024a)
 In terms of rewetting, the purpose of the fund is to strengthen the existing efforts and support the state's ability to strategically acquire agricultural land ahead of lowland projects. In this way, the state can also to a greater extent provide replacement land. This can help ensure that lowland projects can be implemented more quickly. The Green Land-use Fund will also support increased land consolidation, facilitated distribution processes where landowners can buy or exchange land areas. Through the land consolidation processes, the government and municipalities can also buy land from private landowners.
Landbrugsstyrelsen (n.d.-a)
 It is however outlined in the Green Tripartite Agreement that it is not an ultimate goal for the Danish Government to own more land through the Green Land-use Fund, but that the fund is put in place to facilitate land re-distribution, strategic land acquisition and resale.
Regeringen et al. (2024b)
 Moreover, measures implemented through the Land-use Fund should not be more attractive than existing funding schemes (described above), or than selling land at market conditions.

Tax on CO2e emissions from agricultural soil

Through the Green Tripartite Agreement from 2024, the Danish government has decided to implement a tax on greenhouse gas emissions from low-lying carbon-rich soils. The aim of the tax is to provide incentives for landowners to enter rewetting projects through the above-mentioned funding schemes. Landowners that take part in these projects will therefore be exempted from paying the tax. The tax is based on calculations made in the Green tax reform proposal in 2024.
Svarer et al. (2024)
The proposed tax for greenhouse gas emissions from organogenic low-lying soils is €3.5/tons CO2e.
Regeringen et al. (2024a)
 The tax will be revisited by the parties behind the Green Tripartite Agreement in 2027, where there will be an evaluation of whether the tax should be increased to reach the goal of ceased production on 140,000 hectares of low-lying carbon-rich soils before 2030.
Regeringen et al. (2024b)
Details regarding the implementation of the tax are not in place as of November 2024 and will be decided on in forthcoming political agreements.

4.3 Rewetting policy evaluations and monitoring

In general, there are no large-scale monitoring efforts of the environmental and climate effects of rewetting policies in Denmark. The measures which are directed towards rewetting agricultural soils are followed up through monitoring of the rewetted area. There is currently no large-scale monitoring of the greenhouse gas emissions, nutrient load and ecological effects of these rewetting projects. There are a few pilot projects that have monitored or evaluated specific effects of rewetted areas through research projects. 

Monitoring rewetting area-based goals

In Denmark, there are some overarching efforts to monitor the area-based goals of rewetting. Since the Agricultural Agreement in 2021, The Environmental Protection Agency, The Agricultural Agency and the Nature Agency have continuously followed up on their respective efforts to rewet peatland agricultural soils in Denmark. This is reported as the area (hectares) of lowland projects that are in the pre-investigation phase, under implementation, or finished.
Landbrugsstyrelsen (n.d.-b)
 The reporting has so far been carried out approximately once per year. Results from the reporting are presented in Table 4.
Type of project
2022, Septem­ber
2023, Novem­ber
2024, May
Nitrogen wetland projects
0
2,641
3,590
Lowland projects in preliminary study phase
15,562
31,433
43,369
Lowland projects under implemen­tation
530
4,368
9,059
Established lowland projects
187
187
187
Table 4: Overview of area (hectares) in lowland projects and nitrogen wetland projects.
Landbrugsstyrelsen (n.d.)
As seen in Table 4, projects covering over 40,000 ha in total have gone through a preliminary study, while projects covering only 187 ha in total are established. According to the Agricultural Agency, the project period from preliminary study to actual establishment of the wetland usually takes between four and seven years, which may be an explanation for the low wetland establishment so far.
The Environmental Protection Agency also reports on the implementation of nitrogen-reducing efforts from The Agricultural Agreement from 2021, and the prior policy, the Food and Agricultural Package from 2015. The nitrogen-reducing efforts (collective measures) are implemented through the River Basin Management Plans and cover the four funding schemes for nitrogen wetlands, lowland projects, mini wetlands and private afforestation. The Environmental Protection Agency reports on the number of projects applied for, approved and implemented, and the expected nitrogen emission reduction from these projects.
Miljøstyrelsen (n.d.-c)
 Since project applications and approved projects count towards the reduction goals it is difficult to figure out the actual reduction in nitrogen emissions from this reporting.

Monitoring through research projects

In several cases, the Danish agencies have entered into partnerships with research institutions to monitor the effects of rewetting measures on nutrient emissions, biodiversity, climate adaptation potential, and greenhouse gas emissions.
A research project focusing on the water and nutrient balances of 12 restored wetlands was performed between 2018 and 2022.
Hoffmann et al. (2021)
 The monitoring was carried out by Aarhus University through the National Monitoring Program of Water and Nature (NOVANA). Based on the monitoring, the researchers calculated the nutrient retention potential for each of the wetlands. The results showed that the studied restored wetlands are effective in retaining or removing nitrogen primarily through plant uptake and denitrification, although retention rates and efficiency vary due to factors such as nitrogen load and climatic conditions such as precipitation rates and winter temperatures. Phosphorus retention also exhibits significant variation, with some areas achieving high retention rates while others experience losses. Over half of the monitored wetlands retain total phosphorus, and many areas successfully retain phosphate, though some re-established lakes lose organic phosphorus.
Another project which started in 2019 also focuses on measuring nutrient balances in three project areas. The project is run by Aarhus University and University of Southern Denmark. The project has specific focus on phosphorous emissions from newly established wetlands. Monitoring began prior to the initiation of the projects and will continue for a number of years following the rewetting of the sites.
Miljøstyrelsen (n.d..d)
Aarhus University, University of Southern Denmark and the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland have also been awarded funds from the Climate-lowland scheme in 2020 to carry out eight research projects on the nutrient balance, biodiversity, climate adaptation and greenhouse gas emissions from rewetted agricultural soils. As a result of this, a report on prioritization of biodiversity in restoration of lowland soils was published in 2023.
Brunbjerg et al. (2023)
 The study used the bioscore, a national biodiversity metric based on red-listed species and habitat data, to examine the biodiversity potential of rewetting. It revealed that most agricultural fields hold low biodiversity value, with 96% falling into categories 9–11 (category 12 has the lowest expected positive effect on biodiversity). Meadows and fens exhibit relatively higher biodiversity values but still show a substantial portion in lower categories. While the climate benefits of rewetting are immediate with regards to CO2 emissions, biodiversity improvements may take time without proactive restoration efforts such as hydrology regulation, grazing, and nutrient management. The study underscores the need for a strategic approach to maximize the synergistic benefits for both climate and biodiversity.
Another report examining the climate adaptation potential of rewetting lowland soils was published the same year.
Schneider et al. (2023)
 The study concluded that rewetting of low-lying soils typically has minimal climate adaptation potential in Denmark, as the areas selected for these projects often receive substantial upstream water flow relative to the rewetted area’s capacity. The impact is further limited by saturated soils during winter, when high water flows occur, reducing the potential for additional water retention. While some upstream areas show potential for moderate flow reductions, significant retention of upstream water would require larger-scale interventions, such as dams or floodplain restoration. Moreover, the evaluation concluded that detailed hydrological models are essential to accurately assess the effects of rewetting projects, and GIS mapping can help identify areas where further modeling could be beneficial.

4.4 Concluding remarks

Denmark’s rewetting policies represent a deliberate response to the dual challenges of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and reducing nutrient pollution from agriculture. With agricultural peatlands contributing disproportionately to national GHG emissions, the rewetting measures align with an ambition to fulfil national and EU climate objectives, notably the targets of the Danish Climate Act and the Water Framework Directive. However, the success of these efforts is dependent on voluntary participation from private landowners and the availability of significant public funding, highlighting the reliance on cooperative, rather than mandatory, frameworks. Compensation schemes play a large role in the Danish rewetting policy landscape, and the funding assigned for these schemes will increase in the coming years. Meanwhile, the implementation of a CO2e emission fee on low-lying carbon-rich soils will be implemented to provide stronger incentives to enter the voluntary compensation schemes.
The effects of rewetted areas on climate, biodiversity and surrounding environment in Denmark are not extensively monitored or evaluated. The area-based targets put in place through political agreements are, however, followed up on.
Nordic Council of Ministers I www.norden.org/publications I pub@norden.org