Gyldensteen Strand

Gyldensteen Strand was originally a reclaimed agricultural area. The reclamation, drainage, and diking of Danish coastal land in the late 1800s provided society with over 40,000 hectares of additional land for crop cultivation. The flat and low-lying nature of these coastal areas made land conversion relatively easy, but at the expense of natural habitats and coastal biodiversity. As a result, Denmark’s coasts lost much of their natural ability to buffer waves and storms, and to protect inland areas. 

Today, Gyldensteen Strand is a 616-hectare nature reserve owned by the Aage V. Jensen Nature Foundation. In 2014, a coastal lagoon of 214 hectares was created through managed realignment by deliberately breaching the dikes, making it one of Denmark’s largest projects of this kind. New inland dikes were constructed to protect nearby residential areas, and a 144-hectare freshwater lake was established to provide habitats for birds. The area also includes freshwater wetlands and forests. 

Since 2014, the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) has been monitoring the ecological development of the coastal lagoon and freshwater lake, focusing on biodiversity, nutrient cycling, carbon dynamics, and greenhouse gas emissions. Gyldensteen Strand is now recognized as a pioneering demonstration project in managed realignment, climate adaptation, and mitigation. 

Aqua NbS’ role in Gyldensteen is to further explore the climate mitigation potential offered by the area, including climate offsets related to methane emissions from the freshwater lake. Additionally, Aqua NbS, in collaboration with other EU synergy projects, is investigating habitat connectivity and fragmentation, as well as the socio-economic aspects of Gyldensteen, such as its aesthetic and cultural value and its recreational potential.