The Danish policy mix to address the environmental impacts of fertilisers - Bror Andreas Christensen - Biodiversity Workshop 25 October 2017

1. Danish policy mix to
address the environmental
impacts of fertilisers
OECD Workshop
Bror Christensen
25th October 2017

2. / Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark / Titel på præsentation2
60%
16%
7%
11%
6%
Area of Denmark
Agricultural
farmland
Forest or heath
Lakes, rivers and
wetland areas
Roads and built-
up areas
Other
Denmark
• Intensive agricultural production

3. 367,000
370,000
234,000
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
400,000
450,000
Tonnes inorganic N applied in Denmark
Tonnes N
/ Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark / Titel på præsentation3
1962: the CAP i
introduced
1991: The Nitrates Directive
1987: Action Plan on the
Aquatic Environment I
(Action Plan I)
1985: NPO Action Plan to
reduce N and P pollution
1991: Action Plan for
Sustainable Agriculture
Target: 49% reduction
of nitrogen leaching
compared with the mid-
1980s
Timeline – first DK-regulation
Based on: FOA: Nitrogenous fertilizers, Consumption
2000: Water Framework Directive
1999: the Amsterdam treaty:
environmental concerns must be
integrated in to all policies.
Agenda-2000 (CAP)-reform
introduces the RDP.

4. Danish regulation of Nitrates from 1991
/ Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark / Titel på præsentation4
78.3
0.0
50.0
100.0
150.0
200.0
250.0
300.0
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Inorganic N applied per ha
Organic N applied per ha
1991: Action Plan for
Sustainable Agriculture
Target: 49% reduction of
nitrogen leaching
compared with the mid-
1980s
Based on: Unfccc, Submission 2017 v2,
Own calculations
2008: Mid-term
evaluation of the Action
Plan III
2009: Green Growth
Agreement
2011: River Basin
Management Plan I
2015: The Food and
Agricultural Package
1994: 10-Point Programme for
Protection of Groundwater and
Drinking Water
1996: Follow-up on the Action
Plan for Sustainable Agriculture
1998: Action Plan on the
Aquatic Environment II
(Action Plan II)
2001: Mid-term evaluation
of Action Plan II
Action Plan for Reducing
Ammonia Volatilisation
from Agriculture
2003: Final
evaluation of Action
Plan II
2004: Action Plan on the
Aquatic Environment III
(Action Plan III)
50%reduction

5. N-Surplus and N-efficiency
/ Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark / Titel på præsentation5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
%
N-surplus per ha N-efficiency (%)
Based on: Vinther F. and P. Olsen (2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017?
• A strong, significant linear relationship
between the national land surplus and
the total normalized Nitrogen transport
from diffuse sources to costal waters
• Clear correlation between the annual
development in N surplus and the
national concentration of nitrate in oxic
groundwater.
• The N-surplus was been reduced by
47%.

6. RDP Measures
/ Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark / Titel på præsentation6
• The RDP includes measures for pasture management in high-nature value and Natura 2000
areas, as well as a measure for organic farming conversion and maintenance.
• The main focus of funding is not on biodiversity, but rather on tackling pollution, which will in
turn also have a positive affect on biodiversity.
• The RDP is going to be one of the main instruments for voluntary measures under the new
regime for Nitrates regulation, including funding for:
o Constructed mini-wetlands, to tackle nitrates pollution.
o Wetlands
o Afforestation (new forests)
o Set-aside of farmland on organogenic soils and
o Organic farming
o Targeted regulation?

7. Environmental effect
/ Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark / Titel på præsentation7
• The nitrate content monitored in surface water and near-coastal waters has been reduced by apprx. 50
percent.
Marine areas (fjords and coastal areas)
• Discharge of nutrients, especially nitrogen, generally has the greatest significance for these environments.
• In the fjords and coastal areas, the nutrient content has fallen most and at the same rate as the runoff from
Danish lands.
• There has been a clear decrease in chlorophyll content in fjords / coastal areas, whereas in the open areas
is less significant. This is considered a direct consequence of the reduced emissions of nutrients.
Also a positive effect on lakes and streams
• A tendency for an increased proportion of predatory fish in some lakes due to decreasing nutrient supply.
Vandmiljø og Natur 2015

8. The future
• A further reduction of 6 900 t N in the period 2015-2021 is needed.
• Due to high N reduction in Danish soils the N load to coastal waters is, on average, 70
% lower than N leaching from the root zone.
• Large variations between catchments and also variable inside specific catchment.
• The same is true for groundwater catchments.
• As expected, the measures related to agriculture have, over time, become more
expensive per kg of reduced N leaching.
• We have already harvested the “low-hanging fruits”.
• This calls for a targeted approach!
/ Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark / Titel på præsentation8

9. Targeted regulation?
Targeted regulation is an advantage for both the environment and the farmers.
The environmental efforts are targeted, ensuring local protection of groundwater and coastal water where necessary.
/ Ministry of Environment and Food/ Targeted regulation9
GENERAL REGULATION
Current situation
With the current regulation the same nitrogen reductions are required across
Denmark.
Current effort Future regulation if general regulation were
to be continued
Targeted regulation
The way forward
The future regulation specifies the effort and differentiates it according to approx.
3,000 areas in Denmark.
Future effort with targeted regulation
Necessaryeffort
Areas Areas
Necessaryeffort

10. Agricultural package – from general to targeted regulation
/The Danish Agricultural Agency / Agri-environmental and climate policy and regulation10
Targeted regulationGeneral regulation
1 area Approximate 3.000 areas

11. Targeted N-regulation
Targeted N-regulation – 3.500 ton N in 2021
The future targeted regulation of nitrogen is expected to be implemented from 2019 and
onwards.
The regulation will be based on:
• The needed measures are differentiated geographically in 3.000 areas.
• Each farmer is given flexibility in the choice of catch crops or alternatives like reduced use of
fertilizer.
• The farmers will be compensated for the costs involved with the compliance of additional
catch crops or alternative measures.
• Denmark is planning to use the Danish Rural Development Programme to compensate the
farmers affected.
/The Danish Agricultural Agency / Agri-environmental and climate policy and regulation11

12. Thank you for listening!
References:
Vandmiljø og Natur 2015: NOVANA. Tilstand og udvikling - faglig sammenfatning. Aarhus
Universitet, DCE – Nationalt Center for Miljø og Energi, 56 s. - Videnskabelig rapport fra
DCE - Nationalt Center for Miljø og Energi nr. 211 http://dce2.au.dk/pub/SR211.pdf
VANDLØB 2015: NOVANA. Aarhus Universitet, DCE – Nationalt Center for Miljø og Energi,
68 s. - Videnskabelig rapport fra DCE - Nationalt Center for Miljø og Energi nr. 206
http://dce2.au.dk/pub/SR206.pdf
Vinther F. and P. Olsen (2017): NÆRINGSSTOFBALANCER OG ÆRINGSSTOFOVERSKUD
I LANDBRUGET 1995/96-2015/16, DCA - Nationalt Center for Fødevarer og Jordbrug, DCA
rapport Nr.: 099 http://web.agrsci.dk/djfpublikation/djfpdf/DCArapport099.pdf
ENV/EPOC/WPBWE/RD(2015)2: Danish policy measures to reduce diffuse nitrogen
emissions from agriculture to the aquatic environment
/ Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark / Titel på præsentation12