TITLE OF RESEARCH: Nature rehabilitation and development in the Grensmaas area, river Meuse, Dutch-Belgian border
start on 01/01/1997_____end on 31/12/2000
Research done at:
World Wide Fund for Nature, Belgium (WWF-Belgium)
= Fonds Mondial pour la Nature (WWF-Belgium)
= Wereld Natuur Fonds, België (WWF-Belgium)
Emile Jacqmainlaan 90
B-1000 Brussels
Belgium
Phone: +32-(0)2-340.09.99 ---------- Fax: +32-(0)2-340.09.33
info@wwf.be
Official language: French and Dutch
more information on this research:
River ecosystems in the Meuse and Rhine delta have since ancient times been subjected to human intervention: transport, dyke building, gravel extraction and agriculture. Recognition of the natural values of the section of the Meuse constituting the Dutch-Belgian frontier has been a recent development, and is a reaction to policies which focused too exclusively on the economic exploitation of the river, thereby even contributing to the recent severe winter floods. In the Netherlands pilot projects have already demonstrated how sustainable river management can be implemented and how ecological criteria can be integrated into economic sectors, creating a potential win-win situation where nature restoration and socio-economic use fit glove in hand. The Meuse along the Dutch-Belgian border still meanders and contains islands and gravel banks, so that nature restoration is possible. EC-LIFE funding wants to continue the actions undertaken in the Netherlands on the Belgian side by contributing to the nature development of the remaining Belgian Meuse floodplains, simultaneously linking them to certain nature reserves located inland and connected to the Meuse by tributaries. In so doing, the expansion of species can eventually be stimulated and stepping stones created. In concrete terms, the project is to restore and develop the habitat types characteristic for this district on the one hand, and on the other to strengthen the relationships between sites with different habitat types,such as bog woodlands and remnant alluvial forests, within the same catchment area. Seven sites between Maaseik and Maasmechelen were selected (St Maartensheide/de Luysen, De Tösch, Negenoor-Kerkeweerd, Vijverbroek, Heppeneert, Bichterweerd and Maaswinkel) and the prime target is to purchase 65 ha alluvial habitats and to ensure extensive grazing of the meadows. A special aspect of the project is its collaboration between four NGOs, three of which already own land along the Meuse and participate in the Flemish government's conservation policy for the district.