“Daniel, don’t do this to us”
Residents on the Baltic Sea are sounding the alarm
08/24/2023, 10:55 p.m
The Baltic Sea has been in poor condition for many years. However, plans to improve the situation by establishing a national park are causing concern among some coastal residents. This becomes particularly clear during a visit by Prime Minister Daniel Günther.
Screaming whistles, loud boos and lots of noise – that’s how several hundred demonstrators welcomed Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther in Burg on Fehmarn. They protested against the state government’s plans to set up a Baltic Sea National Park. The demonstrators see this endangering fishing and, above all, tourism on Fehmarn. “Without the tourists, we can close here,” said one participant on the sidelines of the demonstration.
Protest Island Fehmarn. There have also been campaigns against the construction of the tunnel to Denmark for years.
(Photo: dpa)
The “Free Baltic Sea” initiative, which has been fighting against the plans for months, called for the protest. Among other things, campsite operators and representatives of the local port company have joined forces. The demonstrators carried large flags with inscriptions such as “More protection for the Baltic Sea: Yes – Baltic Sea National Park: No”. Others vented their displeasure on hand-painted cardboard signs. “Daniel, don’t do that to us” was to be read and “Existence – Extinction”. A farmer from the region had even immortalized his rejection on his field. “Daniel, we don’t want your national park,” it said in capital letters.
Schleswig-Holstein’s Environment Minister Tobias Goldschmidt from the Greens wants to improve the poor state of the Baltic Sea by establishing a national park. To do this, he wants to bring together various protected areas between Flensburg and east of Fehmarn. CDU politician Günther said: “The procedure is still completely open, we will only submit a proposal at the end of 2023.”
According to the organizers, many of the desired protection goals are already largely legally defined by existing nature protection areas. “So far, however, they have not been implemented sufficiently,” said Klaus Osterkamp from the initiative. The most urgent problems in the Baltic Sea – contaminated munitions, warming of the water, noise pollution and too much nutrient content – would not be solved by a national park. Opponents fear a slump in tourism, by far the most important economic sector on the island. Fehmarn has around 300,000 overnight guests a year.