Case study 7
Enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem services in Dutch waters, Netherlands
Location
Dutch waters, Netherlands.
Local Context
Water has always played a big role in the history of the Netherlands. The country lies within the delta of three large European rivers. All the Netherlands is drained into the North Sea. Roughly 18,5% of the countries surface consists out of water (including the ocean). But the biodiversity and ecological health of this water is under pressure. Mainly from different forms of pollution and environmental degradation e.g. plastics, wastewater, and harmful chemicals. Luckily, The Netherlands has an increasing vibrant citizen science community focused on environmental sensing, aiming to protect its natural areas and resources.
Planned Actions
To enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services, Waag Futurelab and Evisights will examine how to implement collaborative data practices. Citizens will be empowered with tools and skills to record and value biodiversity & pollution data, to work together with local and EU officials in environmental monitoring for compliance. This initiative will utilise Waag’s Making Sense methodology and existing citizen science tools to support community-driven biodiversity & pollution data collection and analysis, complemented by the Waarneming.nl biodiversity visualisation tool and Waag’s Urban Ecology Field Atlas. Furthermore, EVISIGHTS will work on a 5-step process to utilise evidence into policy change.
Expected Impacts
The initiative aims to increase citizen engagement in biodiversity monitoring, contributing to the European Green Deal’s goal of biodiversity & ecosystem protection. The capacity for citizen science will be built to record changes in local biodiversity and ecology. While also developing an easy method for citizens to analyse this data, and inform policymakers, fostering a collaborative approach to conservation.
