A nature survey in a political landscapeLena Heldgaard Pind Jensen2019-06-03T11:14:31+02:00 A nature survey in a political landscapeAmager Common was a unique task in many ways, and we had to invent a brand new index for this purpose. Never before has a danish nature reserve been the biggest issue in a municipal election campaign. But this was no doubt the case with Amager Common. In this context, Artelia was assigned the task of giving the politicians a solid decision-making basis. In order to assess the most appropriate location for building, both soil and groundwater analyses were performed, and, most importantly, a comprehensive nature survey of this green oasis was conducted. A brand new index The main point of contention in the debate about Amager Common is Strandengen, where the building work had initially been planned. It is the only part of Amager Common that is completely untouched and can be traced back to the Stone Age. The question therefore was which parts of the Common would be suitable for development instead, now that resistance to the construc-tion at Strandengen was so massive. This was far from an easy task. Parts of the Common have been used for military exercises, while other parts have been landfill sites. Thus extensive pollution studies had to be carried out, including in areas that had not previously been examined. An assessment of how costly and difficult it would be to handle also had to be made. According to environmental specialist Hans Ohrt, another aspect of the studies was to give a picture of which areas were the most worthy of preservation. “In this respect, nature can be quite indifferent, because rare species also settle even where the soil is contaminated. Those are precisely the species we focus on, therefore we had to survey the natural habitats and the general state of the natural environment. The history of the areas also plays a role here, as there is no doubt that there is a difference between an area of natural land that has been allowed to develop over 80 years as compared to 10 years. We have developed a brand new natural asset index with this as our starting point. Roughly speaking, the index was created to give the different areas a grade.” Hans OhrtSenior Project DirectorPlans & Nature Photo Lars Maltha Rasmussen A dream team of biologists In the period around the municipal election in 2017, there was significant interest in Strandengen and Amager Common. Social media was on fire, spearheaded by the TV chef Nikolaj Kirk and the citizens group Friends of Amager Common. There was also a great deal of resistance at Copenhagen City Hall, and the press covered the debate intensely. In light of the massive media scrutiny, there could not be the slightest cause for criticism, says Hans: “It was important to look at the previous studies in order to assess exactly which species we should concentrate on. We found all the old reports and their authors, so we could get them involved in the process. This was both to ensure a certain continuity in work related to the Common and to draw on the best experience. We were thus able to set up a team of niche specialists, familiar with the place, who could go out and perform field analyses – in other words, botanists and various experts on insects, amphibians, birds and other wildlife. In addition, we included the information about the natural environ-ment and rare species that has been collected by the Friends of Amager Common.” This extensive analysis work culminated in a survey report with recommendations for possible building sites. Urban nature – a new expertise In September 2018, the municipal pol-iticians in Copenhagen finally reached an agreement to develop the so-called “camping area” in the southern part of Amager Common. This was entirely in keeping with the recommendations of the report, and was therefore a satisfactory result for the specialists behind the report. Hans points out that we can learn from the entire process on several fronts: “The debate on Amager Common clearly shows that there is a growing interest in the environment and the possibility of more natural experiences in urban areas. There is even evidence that green surroundings can actually have a therapeutic effect. We should reflect here on the fact that there is not necessarily any conflict of interest between development and natural assets. With the right planning, we can actively contribute to increasing biodiversity. This is what we call ‘urban nature’, which is one of our focus areas at Artelia,” Hans concludes. The wild military orchid had otherwise disappeared from Denmark for 27 years. It was, however, discovered on Amager Common in 2016.The dusky plume moth was discovered as a new species for Denmark and is only found on Amager Common.Great crested newt larva. The species is strictly protected throughout the entire EU.The largest Danish stock of the butterfly The White W is found on Amager Common. The butterfly is classified as an endangered species.The wild military orchid had otherwise disappeared from Denmark for 27 years. It was, however, discovered on Amager Common in 2016.The dusky plume moth was discovered as a new species for Denmark and is only found on Amager Common.Great crested newt larva. The species is strictly protected throughout the entire EU.The largest Danish stock of the butterfly The White W is found on Amager Common. The butterfly is classified as an endangered species.
