On August 23, I visited the nature restoration projects in the Biesbosch area. While in the Zeeland region, people are very reluctant against “giving back agricultural lands to the sea”, no such sentiments exists among the Biesboschers (among which I am one), and large former polder areas were “returned to the river” to provide a safety buffer against river floods. See below some photographs of how these “ontpolderde” areas look like after a few years. A must admit I was amazed by the diversity of habitats, plants and birds that we observed, even when looking from a distance. A sighting of a (likely) Sea Eagle nicely ended the day.
Click here to see more about Ontpoldering in de Biesbosch .
Johan van de Koppel 