The People’s Festival of Nature
The People’s Festival of Nature is an annual celebration of everything nature has to offer. The festival started in 2016, and this year, hosted over 20,000 people.
Held 23th to 25th of May, the festival focused on public debate, where politicians, scientists, organizations, and the public unite to discuss and debate on a variety of issues and topics involving nature.
The People’s Festival of Nature serves as an agenda-setting platform in a participatory community. Sustainability, pro-environmental, and innovation are keywords on the agenda; however, recreational outdoor activities and family-orientated events are also part of the Festival.
This year, the Council of the Limfjord participated in organizing one of many debates: “Debate on Water Council and stakeholder involvement in water plan efforts” - the debate was well attended and had had more than 100 people participating.
Attendance at this year's Nature Meeting was completely obvious due to timing with the deadline for comments on "Work program for the watercourse plans 2021-2027" which initially calls for help from citizens, businesses and interest groups alike. The deadline for this falls just a month after the festival.
The Limfjord Secretariat works to meet the environmental objectives in the catchment area - and in the Limfjord. The work will be carried out in collaboration with colleagues from 16 municipalities in the catchment area of the Limfjord. To be inspired to solve the tasks and share experiences, the Limfjord Secretariat has been participating in the EU Interreg project - Water CoGovernance since 2016.
The debate, initiated by the Environment Manager for the Limfjord Secretariat, Michael Damm, focused on the importance of dialogue about the involvement in the third planning period of The Water Frame Directive. The academic introduction to the debate was given by postdoc Morten Graversgaard, who has been conducting an evaluation of the Danish Water Council.
After the festival, the Limfjord Council submitted the consultation responses to the work program for the River Basin Plans 2021-2027, including comments on stakeholder involvement in the third planning period. Until now (October 2019), a definitive work program has not been adopted.
Watch the event video below: