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Facts Facts Facts
Overview of parameters measured in the multifunctional land a llocation. Source: Sustainable Landscapes of the Future – collective impact.
Local organisation in Mariagerfjord
Based on experience from the other pilot projects, the Mariagerfjord pilot project was methodically established as a multi-disciplinary, facilitating project from the start.
To represent community stakeholders in the local project area, a council for local change was established with the participation of politicians, commercial interests, landowners and ordinary people. The purpose was to combine the knowledge and skills about landscapes of those involved to create a more holistic approach. A local development plan was devised as a framework for making project ideas concrete. This local facilitator function has produced project ideas capable of fulfilling national and international goals and provided the opportunity to gain grants.
Work process
In the steering group and work groups
The purpose of Sustainable Landscapes of the Future has been to engage in dialogue, while not politicising. The basic premise was to reach a consensus on all decisions made. Steering and working groups based their work on the knowledge, analyses, and surveys supplied by experts, as well as the mutual contributions of the partners. In the working groups it proved possible to work in depth and gather concrete experiences from the projects, which subsequently improved the quality of work in the steering group. This has proved a significant and valuable way of working.
In the pilot projects
In collaboration with farmers’ associations and land-use planners, municipalities have headed up a complicated facilitation task, in which the desire of landowners to farm and the ideas local people had for their community had to be balanced and turned into concrete projects with gave real results. The facilitation task has been crucial in establishing networks between the municipality, commercial interests, and local people.
Right from the start, a multi-disciplinary research team has been attached to the pilot projects. The researchers come from three different universities and represent research expertise in the fields of aquatic environment, climate, the natural environment and biodiversity, outdoor recreation, rural development and agricultural management and economics. The research team has been tasked with screening project content for potential to meet societal objectives, disseminate to local stakeholders knowledge about the landscape's potential and assess the impact of the projects that have been implemented.
Joint knowledge gathering and communication
The joint gathering and sharing of knowledge has been a key component in creating cohesion and collaboration with regard to common goals and initiatives among the partners and other collaborative relationships within the projects.
One very important factor is that the organisations have produced analyses and research reports. Together with the ongoing collection of results from the actual projects, this has resulted in the parties being able to produce joint policy recommendations to Parliament, the Government, and the European Commission throughout the project period.
Important landmarks along the way
• The task given to the research team of screening the project areas and assessing the impact of the implemented projects has required the development of cutting-edge, interdisciplinary methods, and throughout the period the research team has had articles published in international journals. The research methodology development and documentation has contributed to the perceived professionalism and objectivity of the whole process, both internally and externally.
• Based on Sustainable Landscapes of the Future, including the experience gained from the four pilot projects, the development of research methodology and collaboration on policy statements, in the 2018 Finance Act DKK 150 million was allocated to implement similar pilot projects throughout the country. Municipalities and landowners have responded positively to the multifunctional approach and land allocation, and as a result there have been too many applications when applications have been called for. Moreover, an additional DKK 20 million has been allocated to implement and launch in 2022 new projects at the same level as in previous years. To monitor the projects under the Multifunctional Land Allocation Scheme, a so-called Multifunctional Land Allocation Advisory Committee was set up under the auspices of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. In addition to all Collective Impact partners, the advisory committee also includes foundations, trade unions, other interested organisations, including Finance Denmark, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities, and the Ministry of the Interior and Housing.
• In 2019, the Danish Agriculture and Food Council and the Danish Society for Nature Conservation joined forces to work on the development of methods for multifunctional land allocation in Sustainable Landscapes of the Future. The fact that agricultural and nature conservation organisations were able to put forward a joint proposal attracted a lot of political attention. Since 2019, billions have been allocated by politicians in several rounds of funding for the extraction of low-lying soils. Synergy effects and other considerations, particularly concerning the natural environment and adaptations to climate change, must be actively considered in such low-lying soil projects. This approach benefits from inspiration from Sustainable Landscapes for the Future.
'In Sustainable Landscapes for the Future, we have identified tools for local dialogue and negotiation. When agriculture organisations, the Danish Society for Nature Conservation, other green organisations and the municipality sit down and talk to each other, we see that it can be done. Pragmatism in local projects has been an important lesson for the main labour market organisations'. Søren Møller, Chairman of the Sustainable Landscapes for the Future steering group
'Previously, sectorial level planning, including water plans, were dictated by the authorities and the locals just had to make the best of it. Today it's completely the other way round. Now it's the locals themselves who come up with good ideas, and in fact actually deliver results. That's a significant difference. And then, of course, there are the professionals who help assess whether the ideas are capable of meeting climate targets, for example, or whatever else may be at stake'. Rasmus Fuglsang Frederiksen, Project Manager, Joint Change, Mariagerfjord
An essential part of the collaboration has been to gather know-how and experiences from several local pilot projects, in which traditional sectoral solutions have been replaced by a more holistic approach to the use of land, aiming to achieve many societal goals simultaneously. A new tool has proved essential: 'multifunctional allocation of land'. Testing the tool in concrete projects has provided experience of the local effects of government goals, legislation and subsidies, as well as of the opportunities municipalities have to secure the balanced implementation of, and synergy between, government goals and a multitude of project schemes devised by the EU or the state.
The focal point of the multifunctional allocation of land has thus been expanded over these eight years. Now it is all about land reform to find solutions to handling the climate crisis, the biodiversity crisis, the food crisis, and the energy supply crisis, which all require a lot of space, and how this can be translated into meaningful local projects that contribute to the green transition as a unifying national project. Thus, the initiative has grown from being about testing a new approach in selected local projects to a whole new approach to land use in general, and the broad application of many approaches that will be required in the transformation of the Danish landscape towards 2050.
Key challenges
Testing new approaches to landscape management in actual pilot projects is not supported by existing legislation and no grants are available, nor is facilitating dialogue and cooperation between different local stakeholders on land allocation a task that anyone has undertaken before. This means that both partners in Sustainable Landscapes for the Future and actors in the pilot projects have taken on difficult roles as 'change agents' – without being able to rely on existing administrative procedures.
'We have shown the need for a reform of government procedures. We've tried and struggled and taken all sorts of twists and turns to make some of the good ideas that local people have come up with happen – and then they've just ended up in quicksand because of procedures that are not flexible enough'.
Rasmus Fuglsang Frederiksen, Project Manager, Joint Change, Mariagerfjord
'We need to design a grant scheme that is able to handle multifunctionality and values more gains than just one. The big challenge has been that if there’s one criterion that you don’t live up to, you don't get a grant, even if you score high on other criteria. That's the rather rigid system. But we're starting to see a softening up in that area'. Thyge Nygaard, Senior Advisor on Agricultural Policy, Danish Society for Nature Conservation
Several members of the alliance call for ministerial participation in Sustainable Landscapes of the Future. This would have strengthened the capacity for action and provided a better understanding across the board.
'Originally, the design was that all parties operating in the open landscape would be part of the alliance. That includes the relevant ministries. They were there at the beginning, but were pulled out. Politically, there was a wish for them not to be involved. We could have achieved more tangible results if we had included the relevant ministries throughout the process'.
Anker Madsen, Chief Policy Advisor, The Swedish Outdoor Council and member of the Sustainable Landscapes for the Future alliance
Value for parties to the alliance
Most of the participants in the steering group and in the working groups knew each other beforehand. However, the Collective Impact collaboration created a mutual understanding of each other's perspectives, and several participants mention that they have become much better at formulating objectives and working politically. This was equally true in the work done in the pilot projects. One needs to be able to understand all parties in the complex puzzle; landowners, other local stakeholders, local politicians and officials, national agencies and other national participants. Knowledge was created and shared on how the many agents and levels interacted and what created the drive for change.
Essential learning
• The role of facilitator is essential to creating credible processes and holistic solutions. The team must be established from the start and include a broad range of professions and organisations.
• Local involvement and ownership are essential to starting and sustaining change processes.
• Shared knowledge of the local area and the multifunctional potential of the landscape open up new opportunities compared to traditional sectoral approaches. Synergy can be achieved between projects that would otherwise run on separate tracks.
• There is power for change in shared knowledge. Participants in the project cannot themselves be expected to seek out knowledge and project updates. It is also about the accuracy of information and communicating information about communities and a more meaningful life in the countryside.
• There must be greater flexibility with regard to translating national policy into local solutions. Willingness to change is greatest when local communities are supported in developing their own solutions that are meaningful for individuals and communities.
• The administration and ordinary people have been able to meet in new ways. This builds trust and democratic legitimacy.
• Land allocation provides the muscle to create change in the landscape, both from a project perspective and from a farmer's perspective.
'Things take time. The joint work has clearly shown how important psychology is when working with people and with the places where people live and where their connections are. It's hugely important to respect history and know how to deal both with the conflicts of the present and those of the past'. Thyge Nygaard, Senior Advisor on Agricultural Policy, Danish Society for Nature Conservation
Results
• The launch and implementation of projects across the country under the government's multifunctional land allocation scheme is a very big scaling-up victory for the four pilot projects under Sustainable Landscapes for the Future.
• In 2021, Sustainable Landscapes of the Future was tasked with evaluating a number of projects under the government grant scheme. Evaluation was approached in line with the Collective Impact way of working, i.e. with a focus on shared knowledge and learning (as opposed to assessment). This has helped Sustainable Landscapes of the Future become a recognised and serious voice when it comes to the need for new solutions –and a professional centre from which things can spread out like rings in water.
• The Municipal Climate Barometer is an annual assessment of municipal climate action. Climate action is to a large extent implemented through the municipalities' DK2020 plans. In the latest assessment from 2022, 77 % of the municipalities point to agriculture as the most important challenge when it comes to meeting the targets set in the DK2020 plans. 58 % of the municipalities indicate that they want to use multifunctional land allocation to reduce the shortfall (answered by 81 municipalities).
• As part of the Tøndermarsk Initiative, 25 landowners have either bought or sold land in or around Margrethe Kog Nord, a flat marshland area overlooking the Wadden Sea, in a major climate and nature project. The project is a multifunctional land allocation project and is the first of its kind (for the state scheme). Tønder Municipality, the Danish Nature Fund and the Danish Agricultural Agency are behind the collaboration.
• The Advisory Committee on Multifunctional Land Allocation recommends that other grant schemes be allocated funding to support measures which have proven essential to securing successful multifunctional land projects. This includes funding for project facilitation, recreational initiatives, and land acquisition and future loss of value.
• In June 2022, the Minister for the Interior and Health published the agreement on a new planning law under the heading: New agreement on the Planning Act to promote the green transformation. With the revision of the law, it has been agreed that an interministerial committee will be established to gather experience and identify possibilities for the holistic municipal planning of land use in the open countryside. This initiative has also benefitted from inspiration from Sustainable Landscapes for the Future.
• The pilot projects have succeeded in building bridges between local stakeholders with very different interests. This has resulted in solutions that are supported by all parties and has been achieved through a number of projects, large and small, several of which are still being funded. Together, the sub-projects are enhancing the attractiveness of local areas and contributing to reaching national and international climate, water and biodiversity objectives.
• A major benefit of the pilot projects is that the many cross-cutting dialogues and negotiations strengthen cohesion and build new relationships between citizens in local communities.
• A common understanding of the problem and the solutions to be found has been created among all stakeholders. The long-term cooperation between stakeholders has proved to be a good starting point for policy development that has subsequently been well received outside the walls of the parliament at Christiansborg, thereby also achieving local value and impact.
'We have not had time to see systemic change while the initiative has been running. But we have certainly challenged the way management is thought about in the municipality. We have challenged how the agricultural organisations think about cooperation with the municipalities and the Nature Agency. Agriculture knows that we need to cooperate and have the tools to do so. And we have inspired new approaches in the Danish Nature Agency and the Danish Agricultural Agency'. Søren Møller, Chairman of the Sustainable Landscapes for the Future steering group
