Protected natural areas, the removal of low-lying lands, and new farming methods were some of the topics that helped shape the answer to the question of how we can make room for biodiversity in the Danish landscape, as the symposium “Land Sparing & Land Sharing” was held at the Moesgaard Museum on November 30.
More than 60% of Denmark’s land area is set aside for agriculture. And when you add in production forests, cities, and infrastructure, the remaining space for intact biodiversity is virtually nonexistent. In light of this, it is no surprise that Denmark ranks at the bottom of EU rankings on the quality of nature and biodiversity. The need for a paradigm shift is underscored by global reports from IPBES, and here in Denmark, an expert opinion from the Danish IPBES office and the Biodiversity Council’s first report point to agriculture’s dominance in terms of land area as a major cause of the dire state of Danish nature.
Based on this issue, the Moesgaard Museum at Aarhus University provided the framework for the biodiversity symposium “Land Sparing and Land Sharing,” organized by IPBES Denmark with a grant from the 15 June Foundation. Among the symposium’s nearly 150 participants, local municipalities were particularly well represented, along with businesses, universities, organizations, foundations, and private individuals.
Land conservation and land sharing
Land sparing and land sharing have received significant attention in recent years, with “land sparing” is used to describe an approach in which farmers intensify agricultural operations to increase productivity, which theoretically means that expansion into natural areas can be limited, or that the area of natural habitat can be increased. In contrast, “land sharing” involves the use of environmentally friendly methods or a different structure in the agricultural landscape that promotes biodiversity.
Professor Andrew Balmford of Cambridge University and Professor David Kleijn of Wageningen University are two of the leading experts in the field, and both were invited to the symposium as keynote speakers. Balmford opened the symposium with a presentation on land sparing and land sharing from a global perspective, and highlighted, among other things, why land sparing is a necessity from a scientific perspective, since specialized species disappear when intact habitats are degraded as a result of, for example, agricultural activities. Species richness may well remain the same, but the composition of species will change because specialized species disappear when one shifts from land conservation to land sharing.
Watch Andrew Balmford’s presentation here
In the second keynote address, Professor David Kleijn focused on improvements in biodiversity in the open landscapes of the future in northwestern Europe, drawing on research findings from his home country, the Netherlands, which show, among other things, that careful and long-term collaboration with local stakeholders can help restore habitats and ecological corridors, enabling species to naturally reestablish themselves in areas where they had previously disappeared.
A number of Danish researchers and experts presented their research related to the topic and the Danish context. Signe Normand, chair of the Biodiversity Council, presented the findings from the council’s new report, Hans Henrik Bruun from the University of Copenhagen discussed lowland soils, including a reassessment of the importance of willow thickets for biodiversity, while Peter Stubkjær from the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management gave a lecture on planning in open landscapes.
After lunch, there were presentations by Professor Tommy Dalgaard from Foulum, Aarhus University, who provided an introduction to how the agricultural sector must comply with the EU Biodiversity Strategy. Stine Kramer Jakobsen from the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at the University of Copenhagen explained how biodiversity impacts and can promote the production of various crops, and finally, Beate Strandberg and Jørgen Axelsen presented new farming methods that take biodiversity into account to a much greater extent. Farmer Lone Vitus concluded with a charming presentation of life on a farm that is committed to biodiversity.
Presentations from the symposium are available here
From a coffee-table discussion to an expert opinion
As part of the symposium’s program, the day’s participants were divided into groups, where—over a cup of coffee—they were asked to offer their professional perspectives on, and discuss among themselves the options for creating more space for biodiversity in the Danish landscape of the future, based on either a “land sparing” or a “land sharing” approach, as well as topics such as land management, behavioral changes, policy, and legislation. The groups’ extensive input and expert assessments will subsequently be used as input for an expert opinion from the Danish IPBES office on the theme of land sharing and land conservation in a Danish context.
IPBES Denmark would like to thank the many participants of the symposium for attending and engaging with the symposium’s academic content. A big thank you also goes to the symposium’s presenters and to Aarhus University for their excellent hospitality. The next IPBES symposium is expected to be held in the spring of 2023.
