Last week, a major construction project began in Kruibeke, East Flanders. The intention, however, is not to construct new roads or buildings, but new nature: reed fields, small islands and spawning grounds for fish.

The works are part of the Flemish government’s Sigma plan, which aims to create space for new bodies of water along the river Scheldt and its tributaries. The plan will not only aid nature, it will protect against flooding.

Kruibeke is not the only place in Flanders where nature is being actively developed. Since the 1990s, many projects to restore natural landscapes have been carried out, sometimes in unexpected places.

One is the Maas River Valley, a river restoration project, which we covered in last week’s issue. Another is in the industrial area of the port of Antwerp, where wetlands have been created as a habitat for grassland birds.

Doing nothing seems the most obvious option if you want to create new nature: Just wait and see what happens. But in practice, it requires a skilful approach. If the aim is to give a certain type of nature the chance to develop, choices have to be made.

A lot depends on factors such as the condition of the soil and the water, for example. Similar areas elsewhere are taken into consideration, too, as is data about the plants and animals already present in the surrounding area.

Home and abroad

“Throughout the years, we have developed a consistent body of knowledge on new nature,” says Geert De Blust, a biologist working at the Institute for Nature and Forest Research (Inbo), which supplies the scientific basis for Flanders’ nature and conservation policy. “What happens here in Flanders is based both on our own research and experiences from abroad. For example, while planning the recent project with the river Maas, we had a close look at experiences in France with the river Allier.”

But Flanders is not France, and the pressure on the available land is particularly high here. Nature development requires space, and that space is becoming increasingly limited.

“For example, to develop a forest, you need at least 50 hectares. That’s the only way to get a full-fledged forest ecosystem,” explains De Blust. “Other habitats such as species-rich grasslands can be created in smaller areas, provided that there is not too much interference from outside. Drainage and fertilising are quite often a problem. In addition, you need a lot of patience: A forest doesn’t grow overnight.”

On the contrary. De Blust: “It requires at least 150 years.”

In the past, Flanders hasn’t made nature development in spatial planning a priority, and the future use of the available space is now a pressing issue. Nature development is a difficult political and economic issue. Everyone would like to live in a green environment, but that requires space, which is becoming increasingly scarce.

“New nature requires land, and that is often agricultural land,” says Noah Janssen of conservation organisation Natuurpunt. “But it is also true that quite a few soils are not suitable for modern agriculture. Creek valleys, for example, are too wet for farming, which relies on heavy machinery. The conversion of agricultural land to nature always leads to debate, and we try to reach a consensus. But that doesn’t always work.”

Compensation

Nature development often occurs as compensation for nature lost elsewhere. That is an EU obligation, explains Janssen. “We would all like to see Brazilian rainforest conserved. But in Brazil, they also think that the European lynx is a beautiful animal. That’s why Europe has to take responsibility for its own nature. In practice, this means Flanders is obliged to preserve a certain number of natural habitats. So if these ecosystems are affected, compensation is required.”

That sounds good in theory, but with the possibility to create new nature, isn’t there the risk that policymakers will be less careful with existing nature? De Blust doesn’t think so. “Nature development does not guarantee that the specific type of nature we would like to see will effectively evolve. Compensation is really a last option that takes a lot of time and resources.”

Janssen is less convinced. “We see sometimes that nature development projects are claimed as compensation when originally this wasn’t the purpose of the project. It is important to keep in mind that nature, especially some ecosystems like old-growth forests or peat moors, is simply irreplaceable.”

Natural healing

But how natural is new nature? That question is irrelevant, according to De Blust. “In Flanders, there is no single piece of land that is not influenced by man. Creating new nature can be done by natural means, but a site almost always has to be prepared before nature can take its course. Still, some external influence can never be completely eliminated.”

And of course, there are degrees of human interference in the management of new nature. Large herbivores such as sheep and cattle are sometimes used to secure variation in the ecosystem, so that the ecosystem as a whole comes as close as possible to its natural state. Mowing prevents certain species becoming dominant, and this is often necessary to maintain maximum biodiversity.

Many habitats are in fact not a genuine natural ecosystem but historical remnants. In Flanders, for example, heathlands came into existence due to certain farming methods. To conserve such valuable areas, management methods that replace these ancient farming methods are necessary.

Within Europe, the concept of “new wilderness” is gaining ground. These are areas without any human interaction, such as the Oostvaardersplassen in the Netherlands. In this vast area created during the land claim on the Zuiderzee inlet in the North Sea, a complete ecosystem has been developed and is doing without any human intervention whatsoever.

“That wouldn’t happen in Flanders,” according to De Blust. “There is simply no space and no public support. Just look at the fuss about foxes and wild boars and the anxiety caused by the possible return of the wolf. Nature cannot be neatly divided into isolated areas and will always cause border conflicts. Flanders is just too densely populated for true wilderness.”

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