In 2001, Denmark began one of its most ambitious river restoration projects, transforming a 19-km straightened section of the River Skjern into a 26-km winding river. The project was designed to repair environmental damage caused by large-scale river engineering and wetland drainage carried out in the 1960s.
The restoration of the lower River Skjern in West Jutland helped reconnect the river with its floodplain and improved conditions for several aquatic species. However, long-term research found that some of the habitats lost during decades of river engineering may take several decades or even centuries to return through natural processes alone.
