UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN: Letting nature manage itself may lead to the least costs - but EU subsidies remain an obstacle.
ENPNewswire-April 7, 2021--UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN: Letting nature manage itself may lead to the least costs - but EU subsidies remain an obstacle
(C)2021 ENPublishing - http://www.enpublishing.co.uk
Release date- 06042021 - UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN: REWILDING Nature management through rewilding can be significantly more cost-effective than by traditional conservation measures. However, EU agricultural subsidies distort competition. This is the conclusion of an economic analysis headed by the University of Copenhagen.
Thirteen national parks have been planned for Denmark. The Danish government proposes that park management should be based on rewilding, a strategy that includes the reintroduction of key grazing animals such as bison, elk and red deer in large natural areas that will manage themselves. The concept has become a heated topic of debate. One of the arguments against rewilding is that its economic costs will be high.
But that argument does not always hold up, according to the first major economic analysis in this area. The analysis, led by the University of Copenhagen, compares the cost of rewilding in large contiguous natural areas with today's most common type of nature conservation: extensive farming, with cows or sheep grazing on grassland. This type of conservation does not seem to have been able to halt biodiversity loss , which continues to shrink. On the other hand, numerous studies suggest that rewilding is a biologically more efficient method of management.
'Looking at the costs alone, rewilding can also be the most effective way of restoring nature for society. And, if the EU subsidies are exempted, the picture is in clear favour of rewilding,' states Associate Professor Jesper Solver Schou of the University of Copenhagen's Department of Food and Resource Economics.
EU support distorts competition
The analysis points out that EU agricultural support schemes, which are the main financing feature of nature conservation schemes in Denmark, create lopsided competition between the two types of management. Regardless of whether we opt for rewilding or continue with nature conservation in the form of extensive farming, there is a negative effect on revenues. However, whereas EU subsidies compensate for farm-based management expenses, the EU does not support nature management initiatives like rewilding.
'Because EU support schemes favour agricultural-based nature management, it is very difficult for other types of management...
To continue reading
Request your trial