Flanders’ coastal grasslands under threat
The landscape of East and West Flanders along the Scheldt is our own creation, a result of centuries of land reclamation. The polders that arose form a unique habitat but has little protection, say Natuurpunt
The prairies of the polders
Originally, these were natural wetlands such as salt marshes, but our ancestors drained them and turned them into fertile agricultural land, ideal for cattle to graze on. Some polder grasslands date from the time the Romans were in charge here.
“That’s the first reason the polder grasslands are so valuable,” explains Krien Hansen, policy officer at nature organisation Natuurpunt. “It’s important heritage. The majority of soil has been used for hundreds of years in the same manner.
“But equally importantly, the coastal polder grasslands are a very rich ecosystem. They are unique because the influence of the salt water is still visible. In the past, clay and peat were dug up, which makes it a landscape with a lot of micro-relief, or tiny variations in the elevation of the land. Plants and birds that are found nowhere else live here.”
Natural beauty
And indeed, on closer inspection, these unspectacular grasslands have a lot of natural beauty to offer. The relatively salty environment makes it an ideal spot for plants like samphire and salt grass, a reminder of the land’s past as tidal marsh.
Meadow birds like the black-tailed godwit, redshank and garganey, highly endangered elsewhere in Flanders, nest here. The polder grasslands also provide resting and wintering areas for migratory birds. The pink-footed goose, for example, spends the cold months of the year in Flanders’ coastal polders.
Ostend is largely spared from flooding because the grasslands absorb excess water
Despite their historical and ecological value, Flanders’ polder grasslands do not enjoy protected status, though conservationists have been fighting for it for nearly 20 years. As a result, many coastal grassland areas have disappeared, often replaced by buildings.
But most grasslands were lost because farmers ploughed them over to grow corn. Once ploughed, their value is gone forever; the nature that developed through the land being used in the same way for hundreds of years cannot be restored. Since 2005, an area of polder grassland the size of 300 football fields has disappeared.
Part of these coastal grasslands is protected by a directive from Europe that demands that member states protect specific habitats. But, according to Natuurpunt, that’s not enough. If the patchwork of wet grasslands is interrupted by agriculture and buildings, the organisation says, the natural value of the remaining areas diminishes significantly.
Conflict and co-operation
Despite the fact that much has been lost, 11,000 hectares of polder grassland remains. And those hectares have caused much debate over the last two decades. Why they are not yet protected is obvious. “Space in Flanders is scarce,” says Hansen, “and nature and agriculture both claim the polder grasslands. There are plenty of examples of good co-operation between the two, but there is also conflict.”
And there is also good news. Inbo, the Flemish government’s institute for scientific research into nature, has mapped all the polder grasslands. The new Flemish government coalition agreement states that a public inquiry will be carried out to protect these areas, or at least part of it.
It’s high time, says Hansen. “In addition to their ecological and historical value, the coastal polder grasslands fulfil a number of important functions, such as recreation. The typical vast polder view is dependent on preserving the grasslands, and their ability to absorb water in wet periods is very important. Ostend, for example, is largely spared from flooding because the polder grasslands around the city absorb the excess water.”
Photo by Wim Dirckx
