A majority of the landowners who answered a survey about the proposed Nationalpark Smålandsfarvandet have said no to letting their land be included, the Danish Nature Agency reports.
Of the roughly 850 landowners who responded to the questionnaire, 52 percent rejected having their property form part of the planned national park. The figures were published in a press release from Naturstyrelsen, the Danish Nature Agency, and reported by DR. A further 40 percent said they were positive toward joining.
The gap in area is far wider than the gap in numbers. Landowners who asked to be exempted own more than 10,000 hectares between them. Those in favor own a little over 1,000 hectares, according to the agency.
Per the steering group behind the feasibility study, it is typically the smaller landowners who have said yes. The largest landowners most often said no. Together, the respondents hold areas making up about 70 percent of the coastal zones inside the proposed park boundary.
No decision in the near term
Line Trap Mogensen, project manager at Naturstyrelsen, said it is too early to conclude whether the national park will happen. As she noted, the steering group will use the answers as it finalizes its recommendations to the environment minister.
That group must decide whether a national park should be created at all. It must also decide how the boundaries would be drawn if it goes ahead. The landowners’ responses play an important role in that work, according to Mogensen.
Not all landowners in the area responded to the questionnaire. DR notes that the survey nonetheless gives an indication of the level of support for the project. The area covered includes the coastline around Svinø on southern Zealand.
The steering group is due to decide this autumn which recommendations it will forward. The final report is expected to be ready in 2027, as stated by Naturstyrelsen.
The recommendations are to be sent to the minister in early summer 2027. After that, it is up to politicians to decide whether Nationalpark Smålandsfarvandet is established, according to Mogensen. She said the outcome will not be clear either today or tomorrow.
The survey asked landowners directly whether their land may be included in the future park. The responses have now been passed on to the steering group for the feasibility study, Naturstyrelsen reports.
Land ownership in the proposed area is spread across many holdings of very different sizes. The distribution of hectares between supporters and opponents is one of the factors the steering group must weigh, as reported by DR.
No political decision on the national park has been scheduled beyond the 2027 report, according to the agency.
