Conflicts between drinking water protection and income from Christmas tree production

Provision of pure drinking water is a main priority throughout Europe. At anoverall level, The EU Water Framework Directive provides rules andguidelines for achieving a *good environmental status* in the waterenvironment, including also drinking water resources. In Denmark, areaswith valuable drinking water resources (groundwater) have been designated,so as to direct land use in these areas towards activities that enhance waterprotection. Forestry is considered a land use suitable for groundwaterprotection, and one of the aims of public afforestation is to protect groundwater.Forests cover 11 % (486,000 ha) of the land area in Denmark. TheForest Act allows production of Christmas trees and greenery on up to 10 %of areas designated as forest reserves (90 % of all forest areas).Additionally, Christmas tree production takes place on farm fields.A total of 40,000 ha (8 % of the forest area) was forested with either Abiesnordmanniana (ANR, Christmas trees) or Abies nobilis (ANO, greenery).However, the production of Christmas trees and greenery involves use ofpesticides and fertilizers. This creates a potential conflict between thefinancial interests of the landowner and the common concern forgroundwater protection.The aim of this study is to investigate to what extent there is ageographical overlap between areas used for Christmas tree or greeneryproduction and areas designated for groundwater protection, and how theseareas are allocated to different types of owners (public, private).Implications for policy and practice are discussed. The analysis is based ondata from a national forest inventory.