A Case Study: A Fragile Ecosystem

Nature Park Lillebælt is a vital landmark for both visitors and its diverse local wildlife in Denmark. It hosts populations of one of the world’s smallest whale species, porpoises. It also serves as a crucial nesting site for coastal birds. Disruption of this ecosystem would be detrimental to multiple biological chains. The park currently faces two challenges. First, the decades-long removal of stone reefs to expand Danish ports and produce concrete has led to disappearances of natural shelters and eelgrass for fish, resulting in fewer nesting and feeding places. Second, in their search for fish, crabs have developed more aggressive foraging patterns, further destroying eelgrass. This cycle of disruption is unlikely to stop on its own. Therefore, regenerative tourism is being used by Nature Park Lillebælt as an innovative tool to help reintroduce balance.

Conceptualising Regenerative Tourism

First introduced around 2006, regenerative tourism offers a fundamentally new alternative to often-harmful mass tourism. Said to draw inspiration from indigenous practices and various local natural methods, it focuses on community, local environments, and the intricate interconnections of the world’s ecosystems. At its core, regenerative tourism offers numerous environmental and economic benefits, including the reduction of harmful tourist activities and additional incentives for protecting natural habitats as tourist flows increase. These increased tourist flows can lead to greater spending and economic circulation within a region, supporting the local economy and enhancing the eco-oriented workforce. In Nature Park Lillebælt, the concept “Partners for Belt in Balance” (link) has evolved, fostering regenerative tourism whereby the partners of the Park help bring balance to the Little Belt region.

Raising Awareness for Ecological Challenges

Regenerative tourism can foster the establishment of new infrastructure links that benefit local communities. Familiar examples in the Lillebælt Nature Park include delivering crabs to local restaurants, processing them, and shifting consumption patterns. Eating crab soup is encouraged to help reduce the crab population, which is currently out of balance. The crabs, though a natural part of the sea ecosystem, have proliferated excessively. Initiatives in the Lillebælt are guided by the motto “nature transforming back into nature”, with the consumption of crabs serving as a meaningful method of disposal that helps manage the crab population and reduces pressure on other seafood-producing industries.

Removing Bad Elements

Aside from putting crabs on the menu, another key activity in regenerative tourism is the removal of harmful elements from the ecosystem. In the Nature Park Lillebælt, tourists and regular visitors are encouraged to collect crabs from both the shore and underwater. This process is guided by trained instructors who support participants in their efforts to promote ecological regeneration. It is vital to recognise that the collection of crabs is intended to help restore balance to disrupted species within the ecosystem, not for violence or careless amusement.

Creative Addition to Ecosystems

An approach opposite to the removal of elements from the ecosystem is to adding to the ecosystem. Similar to re-growing forests in deserts, tourists in the Lillebælt are encouraged to plant seaweed underwater. Equipped with aqualungs and hydro-costumes, volunteers spend time both below and above the water’s surface, helping to restore eelgrass, build nurseries for fish fry, and rehabilitate local water streams. Such active engagement fosters a sense of belonging as participants physically shape a tangible patch of public land. Human input here shifts the status quo and breaks destructive cycles within the ecosystem, helping local nature regain its self-regenerative abilities.

Other Initiatives at Hand

The power of regenerative tourism as a tool to protect marine life does not stop there. Some of the nature park’s partners sell a porpoise plush toy and when you buy one, they collectively give at least 26 DKK per sold porpoise to the local porpoise foundation. The foundation supports projects that help whales and fish in the Little Belt. Moreover, there is a need to make sure that the Nature Park is not destroyed with refuse, such as plastic in the sea. Most of the Nature Park partners work actively to reduce refuse, and along with the partners, guests are encouraged to join in this mission.

A Path to the Future

Between June 2021 and December 2022 alone, 428 kg of crabs have been caught. Moreover, 4,339 kg of garbage were removed from the Little Belt and its surroundings. The positive effects of regenerative tourism at Nature Park Lillebælt are becoming evident, making the case for the concept increasingly compelling beyond the shores of Denmark.