European Commission Highlights Economic Benefits of Denmark's River Restoration

The European Commission highlighted a restoration effort in Jutland, Denmark, involving the Skjern River. This project reversed a 1960s engineering scheme that had straightened the river and converted marshland into farmland. The restoration, which began in 1987, returned 26 kilometers of the river to a natural course and restored around 2,200 hectares of marshland. The project found that the local economic opportunities created outweighed the total cost of the work.

The project demonstrates that returning rivers to their natural courses can yield economic benefits. Although agricultural productivity on the converted land declined sharply over time, the restoration led to improved water quality and attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors to the area.