Skjern River Wetlands - one of the finest wetlands in Denmark for ducks, geese and waders
Background to the project
Produced with the support of "Life", the
European Community's financial instrument.
At the mouth of the Skjern River a delta area of about 4.000 ha has been built up during centuries. It was formerly a marshland with a mixture of reed-swamps, meadows, meandering watercourses and shallow lakes.
In the 1960s cornfields were more profitable than cattle farming. In the period 1962-68 the lower part of the Skjern River was straightened out and dikes were built preventing the river to flood. Pumping stations and drainage channels lowered the groundwater level.
The channelling of the river and the cultivation of the marshland soon showed to have negative impact on the wild flora and fauna. The reclamation had also severe effects on the water quality, and thereby the fish and waterfowl populations of Ringkoebing Fjord.
Almost 20 years later - in 1987, the Danish Parliament decided to restore the lower part of Skjern River and the river valley. The purpose were to restore the nutrient retention capacity of the river and its valley, to restore an internationally valuable wetland and to increase the recreational and tourist values of the area.
A working group and an advisory board were established with representatives from local and national authorities and NGOs. Their tasks were to assess the different restoration possibilities and to act as an advisory council for the Danish Government.
A project proposal and an Environmental Impact Assessment were published in 1997. This was the background for a public hearing about the project. Ideas and proposals from this public hearing phase were included in the Parliament Act on Restoration of Skjern River.
In 1998 the Danish Parliament adopted the project "Skjern River Restoration Project".
The construction work started in June 1999 and was largely finalized by December 2002.
Project assesment
The overall project assesment is unambiguous: The nature restoration project has been succesfull. As mentioned earlier the monitoring of wildlife allready shows a quickly response to the changes, which is clear to everyone who pays a visit to the restored river valley.
Spoonbills, Avocets, Black-necked Grebes and White-tailed Eagle are being observed from the new bird observation towers. Also large numbers of Ruffs can be watched during spring seeking for insects in the marshes. Even though the Ruffs maybe only are passing by for a few days, the new flooded grassland has proved to be an important habitat also during migration.
Successes and failures
If it is possible talking about failures regarding to the overall project assesment, one of the failures must be the expected 1600 hectares of graasland. Only about 1200 hectares of grassland have been established. The reason is a consequence of increased areas of lakes and wetlands. The extended areas of wetland will however benefit important species like Spotted Crake, Avocet and Bittern.
Want to read more about the Skjern River Wetlands and the restoration project?
A booklet about the Skjern River was published in 2005. You can find an electronic version in English here (pdf)
Before the restoration
After the restoration