The goal of the project Building for Nature is to investigate materials that stimulate natural values for the construction of dikes and foreshores, while maintaining the hydraulic engineering functions. These materials can at the same time enhance joint usage, like diving, fishing and cultivation of oysters and mussels. The Dutch coast, especially the coast in the Southwest Delta, offers a vast potential with several hundred kilometers dikes and enforced foreshores that create a 'rocky coast' with interesting and divers ecological communities, like algae, shellfish and foraging birds. Water managers don't have sufficient knowledge of materials that exploit this potential. Furthermore, the scientific knowledge is developing rapidly of which materials and which forms will deliver the highest natural values. The RAAK-PRO project is aiming to execute applied research and thereby develop new knowledge and expertise about Building for Nature: new processes of design and construction for dikes and foreshores, which create added value for nature and joint use, besides safety.
Besides the development of knowledge the project aims for an quality improvement of the education department at the HZ University of Applied Sciences. Students from in different years will have the opportunity to start a research project with in framework of this project. This will give the students the opportunity to learn more about ecological development on dykes, stakeholder involvement and the technical aspect of the used materials and designs.
Sharing knowledge and network development are also important goals of this project. This is improved by the organization of two symposia, the distribution of newsletters, publication of results in magazines and at this website (Figure 1.). You can find more information in the (Dutch) project plan (Anon. 2012) and the (Dutch) adittional project plan (Boersema et al 2015).
Referenties
- RAAK-PRO projectvoorstel BfN innovatie van dijken en vooroevers, Anon., HZ University of Applied Sciences, 1 november 2012.
- Aanvullend projectplan Building for Nature (RAAK-PRO), Innovatie van dijken en vooroevers, Boersema, M.P., T. van Heuvel, T.Oijen and A. van den Brink, HZ University of Applied Sciences, 3 december 2015.
Zie ook
- Building with Nature; from concepts to practice
- Building for Nature project
- Conceptual framework for Building with Living Nature. Historical perspectives on the Building with Living Nature concept.
- Wadden Sea Plan 2010
- 2nd newsletter - final.pdf
- Establishing vegetated foreshores to increase dike safety along lake shores
- Oesterdam sand nourishment - ecological and morphological development of a local sand nourishment
- The colonization by seaweed and fauna of different revetment types at Sint-Annaland, Tholen; RAAK-PRO Building for Nature final report
- On the relationship between dike revetments and ecology: lessons learned for design and follow-up monitoring for asphalt covered locations
- A flood disaster in retrospect. Examing evacuation strategies by comparing the 1953 Dutch flood scenario with the present day situation
