Biodiversity threatened by industry
Once a vast expanse where many species flourished thanks to the diversity of landscapes, ranging from the Zeeland delta to long coastal dunes, the Netherlands is now experiencing a decline in its wildlife. The country is known to be home to a wide range of bird species, a joy for birdwatchers. For a territory so drastically modified by man, it is not surprising that biodiversity has been impacted. Thus, nearly 10% of the species on the territory have been introduced. As the Netherlands became more industrialized, the number of living creatures became smaller and smaller, especially due to the intensive use of pesticides and herbicides.
However, nature has once again shown a remarkable sense of adaptation. Thus, large cities, such as Amsterdam, thanks to its many canals, its clay soil and the pastures that surround it, still see many species living alongside their inhabitants. The capital region alone has 10,000 animal species: a quarter of those found in the country! Visitors may have the pleasure of encountering foxes, voles, red squirrels, butterflies and bats, all without even having to go to Artis-Zoo! For the lucky ones, seals can sometimes venture into the canals, although this is a rare occurrence.The natural areas of the Netherlands
Despite its relatively small size, the Netherlands has 20 national parks, ranging from long, stretched lagoons to expanses of grassland and even near-desert areas. Oosterschelde is by far the largest of these, covering 36,000 hectares. With its arm of water separated from the sea by a dam, it hosts a rich marine life, which is a delight for divers.
But it is perhaps the national park De Hoge Veluwe
, in the province of Gelderland, which offers the most lunar landscape. It can be reached in just over an hour from Amsterdam! There, in the middle of the thick vegetation, there are 50 km of sand that stretches as far as the eye can see. This desert is the result of a drought coupled with a storm that took place a little over a century ago.At the northern end of the country is one of the most important birding areas in the world: the Wadden Islands. The landscape, punctuated by about fifty islands shared with Denmark, changes completely with the tides. Only five of the islands are Dutch: Texel, Vlieland, Terschelling, Schiermonnikoog and Ameland
. Although it is not a protected area, it is difficult to talk about Dutch nature without mentioning the Keukenhof, the largest flower park in the world. There are 7 million flower bulbs for 800 varieties of tulips, which come into bloom every spring, the only time the park is open.Innovation in the face of the plastic problem
With a territory that needs to be completely reshaped to accommodate populations, the Dutch have shown ingenuity. While the Dutch are already religiously sorting waste, citizen initiatives and start-up innovations are multiplying to face the waste challenge. Let's talk about the Waste Sharks, aquatic drones capable of collecting up to 500 kilos of waste in port areas.
Opposite the Waste Sharks shark, there is also the Plastic Whale. The company has been offering cruises on recycled plastic boats for the past eight years, inviting customers to go fishing for plastic waste along the way. The waste has recently been upcycled
by the company Vepa, to become high-end furniture. The company has managed to catch 60,000 plastic bottles. Given its success, it is even thinking of exporting to India or Indonesia. Let's also talk about the Recycled Park, a floating garden in the middle of Rotterdam, entirely made of plastic recovered from the water. The island is even capable of recovering waste floating in the Meuse, before it reaches the sea. The idea is to put waste to good use, making it sustainable, as is the case with the PlasticRoad, the bicycle path entirely designed from plastic waste (the equivalent of 218,000 cups), inaugurated in Zwolle in 2017, a world first!Bad air pollution students
The country is the sixth largest producer of greenhouse gases in the European Union. It must be said that it ranks fifteenth among the most densely populated countries, ahead of India! In large cities such as Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Utrecht or The Hague, air pollution reaches dizzying levels, exceeding the standards set by the European Union. One of the reasons why the Netherlands has such a high level of air pollution is because of its colossal livestock population. With 100 million cows, chickens and pigs, it is the largest exporter of meat in the EU. But intensive livestock farming means nitrogen, which not only pollutes the air, but also the waterways and the soil. The damage is so great that entire hectares are decimated. The report is chilling: two thirds of Natura 2000 areas exceed the critical threshold of nitrogen input. This is the case of the Otterlo forest, where 70% of the trees have succumbed to nitrogen-induced soil acidification. But the Netherlands intends to reverse the trend by reducing its livestock by 30%. The government has already committed 25 billion euros to achieve this goal, which aims to halve nitrogen emissions by 2035. These objectives are opposed by farmers who are leading the fight, with actions of fist because they believe that they are not listened by the government and demand greater compensation for this environmentalist turn of the authorities.
The ecology of the tulip
It's not the most sustainable thing to be the world's florist. It is the tulip, in particular, that the Netherlands produces: a crop that is more pesticide-intensive than any other in the country. Ironically, though, past the tulips and a few other species, the Netherlands imports most of its flowers. In fact, they come mainly from Kenya, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Colombia and Costa Rica. These countries, in addition to having a mild climate that allows for less energy-intensive cultivation, have significantly cheaper labor than the Netherlands, which makes them extremely competitive. So why is the Netherlands still the largest exporter of flowers in the world? It turns out that imported flowers are immediately re-exported. In fact, 9 out of every 10 foreign flowers passed through FloraHolland, the flower auction giant. This energy-intensive process may soon even apply to the famous tulips that adorn every postcard in the country. There are already concerns that mild winters, due to global warming, will prevent the bulbous plant from flowering. Being the world's florist unfortunately implies many setbacks: water pumped in large quantities, overexploited soils, exposure to pesticides..
A historic trial
When you are one of the countries most at risk from rising sea levels, you would expect drastic measures against climate change. At least that is what the Dutch are demanding, represented here by the Urgenda association and its 886 plaintiffs, so much so that they took the state to court for climate inaction. Five years and two appeals later, the verdict is in: the Court of Appeal in The Hague condemned the state in 2018 for climate inaction. The non-binding decision orders them to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020 compared to 1990 levels. The mission was narrowly successful: by the deadline, the Netherlands had reduced greenhouse gases by 25.5%. The Netherlands achieved this target by reducing emissions from coal-fired power plants by 80%, although it should not be forgotten that the Covid-19 crisis, which brought the country to a standstill for a few months, provided a small boost.
