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Dieren en planten

Water en land

Mens en Milieu

Nature policy   Nature Protection Act   
Closed areas of the Wadden Sea , Ecomare

Nature Protection Act

The Netherlands have a large variety of nature areas. Many of these terrains are vulnerable or are being threatened and therefore need a lot of protection. One of the ways to protect these areas is with the Nature Protection Act. With this law, the government can designate nature areas as a protected nature reserve. This offers the possibility for limited regulations with respect to activities such as recreation and fisheries. Just about all of the Wadden Sea is a protected nature monument and some areas of the Wadden Sea have the highest protective status.

  • The NP Act in the North Sea

    Because the Nature Protection Act was renewed in 2005, the European Bird and Habitat Directive have been embedden in the national legislation. This means that protected regions in the North Sea now can now be officially designated under the Directive. The expectation is that the Doggersbank, the Cleaverbank, the Frisian Front and parts of the coastal sea will be accepted in an indicative decision in 2008.

  • The NP Act in the wadden region

    Since 1 December 1993, eighty-five percent of the Wadden Sea falls under the Nature Protection Act. In 1981 125,000 hectare, primarily mud flats which were important for foraging areas for birds and rest areas for seals, had already been placed under the operation of the Act. At the end of 1993, the assistant secretary Gabor, from the Dept. for Nature Management, designated another 80,000 hectare as a protected State Monument. The Wadden Sea is now the largest protected area in the Netherlands. A large number of activities will only be permitted when exemption is given. This concerns fishermen, 'wadlopers' (tidal flat hikers), sport and advertisement planes. It is now also possible to close off sections of the nature monument. The only areas of the Wadden Sea which do not fall under the Nature Protection Act are the access channels, the large tidal inlets and the military grounds, Vliehors and Noordsvaarder.