Report CaRe-Lands Conference 25th of June 2014

Cross-border steps provide wonderful results
The European INTERREG 2 Seas Cluster project,
CaRe-Lands, focuses on reducing CO2 in protected nature
and landscape areas. The following partners collaborate in
this: Grenspark De Zoom - Kalmthoutse Heide, province of
West Vlaanderen and Vlaamse Landmaatschappij in Belgium,
Kent Downs (Kent County Council) and the Royal Society for
the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in the United Kingdom and in
addition, the Grevelingen Nature and Recreation Board and
the Biesbosch National Park in the Netherlands. Today the
conference's participants are receiving a feedback on Phase 1
of the CaRe-Lands projects and the results that were achieved.
This international conference has brought
together representatives from 4 countries:
Belgium, United Kingdom, France and the
Netherlands. The conference was
organised by the Grevelingen Nature and
Recreation Board in collaboration with
CaRe-Lands partners. It was financed by
the European Regional Development
Fund (ERDF) as part of the INTERREG 2
Seas programme.
Chairperson of the day, Helga van Leur
"You achieve the most with
passion"
Chairperson of the day, Helga van Leur, opened the
conference. There are good reasons for appointing her
chairperson for the day. She does her work as a weather
presenter and meteorologist with sheer passion for climate and
sustainability; with concern for people's conduct. "What should
the world look like in 2050?", she asked the people in the
conference hall. "Do you worry about this? I do quite a bit. As a
meteorologist and scientist, I see that the earth is changing.
This is happening very quickly, faster than ever. Our planet
can take a lot. But right now, we are using more of the earth's
raw materials than the earth can provide.
How can we ensure that this planet will still be able to meet the needs of our children and
grandchildren? With this background in mind, this conference will deal with projects in the area of
sustainability. About reducing CO2 in valuable nature areas and about looking for innovative and
renewable energy sources. We must find a balance between the three Ps: Planet, People, Profit. I
would like to add a fourth and fifth P. The P of Place, the local aspect. And the P of Passion, because
with passion you can achieve the most! The valuable nature areas that we will discuss today bring
together food production, recreation and people. Nature areas provide energy and they are essential
for the storage of CO2. Today we will discuss the need to reduce CO2 emission, but also the options,
challenges and opportunities. It is an interactive day for inspiration. Today we will speak to each other
about how we can help each other in investing in our future.”
Carla Schönknecht
”With innovative power we
jointly make the difference”
"This area has been closed off from the sea and the
rivers following the disastrous flood in 1953. That is
how Lake Grevelingen was created. Closing off this
body of water resulted in safety, beautiful nature and
an attractive recreational area. Grevelingen is the
largest salt-water lake in Western Europe and is one
of the loveliest and cleanest lakes of its type.
Carla Schönknecht, Deputy of
the province of Zeeland for
recreation & tourism, water &
nature and harbours, welcomed
the participants to the
conference in the Grevelingen.
She did so on behalf of De
Grevelingen Nature and
Recreation Board, the provinces
of Zuid-Holland and Zeeland,
Unique area
Grevelingen was designated as a Natura2000 area - and for good reasons. Because of its unusual
location and circumstances, it has become the habitat of rare plants and animals, including many
breeding sea birds. This area is also very popular for recreational activities. You can go diving, surfing,
take walks, sunbathe or just enjoy yourself on a terrace. Lake Grevelingen is also well-known
internationally as a water sport area. This is evident for example by the fact that in 2013, the freestyle
world championship in windsurfing was held here and in 2015, the world championship in underwater
photography will take place here. But Lake Grevelingen is not only about its nice features. Because of
still-standing water, its water quality is deteriorating. We cannot permit this to continue because this is
detrimental to the ecological value of Grevelingen, Its ecological value is in turn important for ecology
and the economy. Nature which is less impressive or unique means fewer people that come for
recreational activities and less spending; therefore less income and less employment. This is a tide
that must be reversed.
Combined strength provides far more dynamics
The good news is that two provinces, two municipalities, nature organisations, water and land
administrators, recreation and energy entrepreneurs have combined their forces and have presented
their ideas for the future of Grevelingen. In the project Perception of Grevelingen, they show that
nature-based recreation, ecology and energy generation go hand in hand and can reinforce each
other. This way, the regional economy gets a substantial impulse and alternative employment is
created, which can compensate for loss of jobs in agriculture and fishing. In addition, more nature
makes this area attractive for recreation; surprising options are created by combining sustainable
energy projects and facilities for recreational users. The project that stands out the most in reversing
the tide is making an opening in the Brouwers Dam. This will have a positive effect on the water quality
and will ensure more dynamics. Very shortly, an important decision will be made: the minister will
decide whether the tides will return to Grevelingen. I foresee a positive and important decision for this
area.
Learning from one another
Sustainability is a foremost basic principle in many developments in the coming period. A start was
made in building an 'eco-hotel', which will be sustainable in construction and use and in harmony with
its natural surroundings. There are plans for a sustainable yacht harbour - Brouwerseiland. There is a
60m long ship that was sunken as an object for divers; a synthetic reef was also sunken. In 2015, the
Grevelingen Inspiration Centre will open. And with our partners in CaRe-Lands, we are working on
CO2 reduction and sustainable energy. This is a European ambition and the ambition of Grevelingen.
To raise the awareness throughout Europe, to learn from each other, to create contacts and exchange
ideas for reducing CO2 and for developing possibilities for sustainable energy; this is all possible
nowadays. I wish you an inspiring conference!”
Emmanuel Nadaud
”The 2 Seas Programme will continue
through to 2020!”
Emmanuel Nadaud informed
the participants about the state
of affairs of the projects of the
INTERREG IVA 2 Seas
programme. How can we
combine our strengths and
develop a cross-border
approach for a sustainable
environment?
"As a Frenchman I can easily cross borders
without being checked, but there are still
boundaries that exist. We want to bridge these
boundaries by means of cooperation among
countries. That is why we created the crossborder programmes. Everywhere in Europe
where we find boundaries, there are crossborder programmes."
Emmanuel told us about three types of collaborations:
Cross-border collaboration (€ 5.6 billion - 53 programmes) in which the aim is to remove boundaries
that constitute an obstacle for social-economic development.
Transnational collaboration (€ 1.8 billion - 13 programmes) with the aim of improving territorial
integration in the Union.
Inter-regional collaboration (€ 0.4 billion - 1 programme) with the aim of improving the
effectiveness of instruments for policy and regional development.
“The question why we implement these cross-border programmes can be answered very simply.
There are 185 million people living in the EU and 37% of them live in border areas. The most
important goals of cross-border cooperation are reducing the negative effects of boundaries such as
administrative, legal and physical barriers, and tackling joint problems together. The INTERREG IVA 2
Seas Programme is one of the 53 cross-border programmes that are also financed by the European
Regional Development Fund. This programme has a total budget of 155 billion Euro for a period of
seven years with the priority of stimulating economic development, creating a sustainable environment
and improving the quality of life.”
The programme includes 198 projects in which 554 project partners cooperate in 86 approved projects
that deal with various topics. By 2020 therefore, there will be many partners and people involved in
this! And that is good news; we can continue the 2 Seas programme through to 2020. All the member
states have agreed unanimously on one major objective:
To develop the competitive capacities and sustainable potential of the programme's maritime and nonmaritime assets by stimulating cross-border partnerships that are capable of delivering local and
tangible results by 2020.
On November 20-21, 2014, the INTERREG VA 2 Seas Programme will start in
Lille. The most essential priorities are:
1. Stimulating economic development
2. Creating a sustainable environment
3. Improving the quality of life
4. Mutual priorities with the FCE programme
Siemco Louwerse
”Wonderful results”
That is how Siemco Louwerse, programme
manager of Projects & Innovation at the
Grevelingen Nature and Recreation Board,
introduced the employees who presented the
results of these components.
"Today, we can report on wonderful
results from cooperation among the
partners. Our compliments to the
many people in this hall who have
worked on the projects. A number of
these people will be giving a picture of
the four components of the 2 Seas
Project: Natura People, Balance,
MULTIFOR and Step.”
Natura People by Helen Barnard (RSPB)
We want to use this project to get people involved in the Natura 2000 areas so that local
economies are engaged in nature and people can visit these nature areas. We have four locations
that quite resemble each other: Minsmere in the United Kingdom, Zwin in Belgium, Waterdunen
(water dunes) and Lake Grevelingen in the Netherlands. These areas have comparable features.
Furthermore, the migration of birds makes a transnational approach imperative.
Our project lists the three following objectives:
1. To ensure the long-term protection of the natural environment.
2. To demonstrate Natura 2000's economic value for the local community.
3. To involve more people in the Natura 2000 areas.
Examples of how people can be connected with nature:
• Grevelingen: new paths for mountain bikes, an observation tower and a concept for an energy
garden for children to learn about sustainable energy in a playful way.
• Waterdunen: a bird-counting station
• Minsmere: a family-friendly nature discovery zone
• Zwin: a new home for storks
Balance by Caroline Simoens (Flemish Land Agency)
Balance stands for finding a balance between nature and recreation. Six European partners
cooperate with Balance. We work on three topics.
1. Ensuring the realisation and maintenance of sustainable habitats
2. Improving accessibility
• Physically, in the form of paths and infrastructure.
• Mentally, in the form of involvement and education.
3. Studying, stimulating and emphasising the positive effects of the investments.
We have learned that it is vital to work with local entrepreneurs. This is because we have
discovered a magical triangle that works for all four areas: a view, a loo and a brew is what makes
people happy.
MULTIFOR by Catherine Brady (Kent County Council)
MULTIFOR wants to shatter borders and barriers. MULTIFOR is a multi-functional forest in which
eight partners cooperate, four in the United Kingdom and four in France. We run nine main
activities that cover the various functions of a forest. These include ecosystems, species, biodiversity, climate change and management. We examine the various functions of a forest, the
connections, and public access to the forests.
Since this is a protected area, we are also interested in renewable sources, such as sun and wood.
There are many forests in this area, but not much demand for wood. We want to create a link
between our raw materials and the demand for sustainable energy. With this approach, we also
hope to improve our forested areas. This is a successful project that has already led to additional
development of wood as fuel in Kent. We hope to reach a turning point that generates commercial
interest. So that we can then build a mega-power plant for using wood as fuel.
The logical steps that will follow are:
• Continuing to cooperate with our European partners;
• Develop the demand for wood linked to good management;
• Set up a pilot of mutual projects for heating with biomass;
• Cooperate with the private biomass sector. If more interest develops for wood as fuel, it will be
managed better and we will not need to import wood from Scandinavia.
STEP by Marianne den Braven (Biesbosch National Park)
STEP stands for Sustainable Tourism in Estuary Parks. The goal of the STEP project is to develop
sustainable tourism in the three comparable nature areas that are part of the project: The Broads
in the United Kingdom, the Kruibeke polders in Flanders and the Biesbosch in the Netherlands.
We can now see results of our collaboration. Entrepreneurs around the Biesbosch are turning into
ambassadors of the area. By now, there is a boat sailing on solar energy, which transports cyclists
and pedestrians from one place to another. Walking and cycling paths have been laid out in the
Broads as well as possibilities for outdoor activities. The Kruibeke polders have seen the
expansion of flora and fauna and eco-tourism is being developed in a sustainable manner. All
these results have come about because of cooperation and the exchange of ideas. We visit each
other's areas in order to learn from one another. We want to develop sustainable tourism even
further. The three areas continue to inspire and reinforce each other. That way, in the future, more
people will be able to experience what nature has to offer in these areas.
"There has been so much hard work, so much that has been learned and inspired from one another's
area and work methods." That was the conclusion of Siemco Louwerse's lecture. He summed up the
mutual conclusions of the projects in five subjects:
1. It is important to engage stakeholders directly in the projects.
Use local knowledge. Guest house owners in the area are the ambassadors of the area and the
people who know what are the local possibilities. Create a network among the entrepreneurs.
2. Economic aspects:
Developing nature costs money but it also generates money. Companies and visitors increasingly
understand that they too must contribute. That is what you have to sacrifice for it.
3. Managing the visitors
Develop new possibilities for attracting new target groups. Use the social media for this purpose.
Young people tend to ignore information that comes from the government and from official
organisations. If it comes from the social media of other young people, then they are interested.
Try to conceive new ideas for the visitors centre.
4. Suspense between nature and other functions.
Zoning is also important. It is helpful to utilise the support of the local population.
5. Cross-border cooperation
Always keep in mind why we are doing this. This should not remain on paper; contact each other.
‘Meet face to face!’ Go examine each other's projects. Exchanging knowledge and experience
leads to solid projects and brings pleasure to your work.
In conclusion, Louwerse indicated that in the next phase the partners foresee opportunities and want
to take mutual steps in the area of biomass, energy-effective use of buildings and sustainable
transport. The local tourist industry shall be involved in this,
whereby big and small ideas are welcome. "We have to reach out
to each other in order to achieve the goals for 2020. I therefore
hope that Europe will continue to support us in the future."
Jacqueline Cramer
"Sustainability is for everyone"
This is the viewpoint of Jacqueline Cramer, director of the
Utrecht Sustainability Institute and professor of
sustainable innovation at the University of Utrecht.
"Sustainable regional development is the future. How can
we deal with raw materials and water as effectively as
possible? How do we keep the loop of recycling closed?"
According to Cramer, we can only achieve sustainability, if we integrate all the processes. That is why
in all cases, we need the following:
o
o
o
To move from fossil to sustainable energy systems and energy saving
To move from linear to circular economy
To evolve into a bio-based economy
To make this all less abstract, Cramer bases her outlook on: "Think global, act local"
"Sustainability demands global consensus and local approach. Talking about this is not enough; it will
only work if we do things. And whatever you do, do it on a local level. To achieve sustainability, you
need innovation in a broad sense, not only technologically, but also in how we organise matters and
provide economic value. Only then we can take great leaps in sustainability. You can achieve more on
a systematic level than people can achieve in their own company or within a small inner chain. There
are already many stand-alone innovations that have been developed. What we have to figure out is
how we can unify these stand-alone innovations on a systematic level. If we could apply these on a
larger scale, then we can make better progress. An approach on a systematic level requires a different
type of organising and alternative financing. The question is not whether this is technically feasible.
You have to bring everyone aboard. The integral area development here in Lake Grevelingen is an
example of such systematic innovation. Jointly, you examine how you can mould nature, energy and
economic developments in the region into a single whole entity. That way, you lash everything
together and jointly get on with renewing.
Systematic innovation is something that you do with everyone. It does not work if each party is looking
for maximum profit. These types of projects come about only if you think jointly about balancing the
costs. For that purpose, you can use new financial arrangements, such as:
• Revolving funds: you invest with borrowed money at low interest rates and you recover the costs
by saving on energy.
• ESCOs: Energy Service Companies that take the worries off your hands by arranging for financing
and maintenance.
• Crowd funding.
• Cooperative financing.
• Paying for eco-system services; restoring nature areas and water is a benefit that you can express
in money.
• Share and barter economy.
• Sell a service instead of a product.
According to Cramer, in addition to financing, also organising and role-division between parties is
important. We will not succeed by just working side by side. Many projects fail without good leadership
and management.
Important for the role-division among the parties:
1. The business sector must demonstrate guts and collaborate in clusters and chains.
2. Governments must demonstrate vision, remove obstacles, guarantee a level playing field,
implement a sustainable purchase policy, stimulate innovation, and regulate via legislations,
standards, taxes, etc.
3. The financial sector and lawyers must provide support in setting up new arrangements.
In conclusion, Cramer calls for engaging the private citizen: "This will not succeed without the private
citizens and consumers. We will not make the world sustainable without engaging them. Sustainability
has always been far too professionalised. It has always been up to scientists to solve these problems.
That does not contribute to support, understanding and involvement among private citizens. We have
to give private citizens the opportunity to do whatever they can. Initiatives by private citizens is the
mainstay of renewal. Citizens are creatures of habit. They look at what the neighbour is doing and they
get enthusiastic if people in their neighbourhood are doing it as well. So, for example - make sure that
they can collectively buy solar panels. Reward people with a 'party' if they do something together. Use
the Internet to inter-connect private citizens. My conclusion is that cooperating on a sustainable
regional development has a future."
Helga van Leur, chairperson for the day:
Until 2010, you were the minister for the environment. If you would have been a minister today,
would you have been able to achieve more because nowadays people have changed their
opinion? "In the area of climate and energy - yes. There is more pressure now. The topic of
Sustainability is more real, also among the private citizens. Individuals must be given choices; the
shelves have to be stocked with good products."
Dick Verheijen, Biesbosch Park Board:
You spoke of paying for eco-system services. That sounds like we have to convince people.
Why don't we impose it via a tax instead of investing all the energy in convincing people, who
are ultimately non-committal. "We do actually do that. It is a type of tax that you can subsequently
use for investing. Before you can do that however, you must have support for this tax. Convincing is
necessary in order to create that support."
Wiljan van Laarhoven, Promint Project Management consultancy firm:
You spoke about systems and parties that are involved. I see a problem with governments.
When we implement innovations, we tend to run against limiting regulations. How do we solve
this problem? "For that purpose we have the Crisis and Recovery Act. This act stimulates the
implementation of innovative and sustainable projects. This act can set aside regulations for
innovation. Do use this option more often!"
Will Day (independent sustainability consultant)
"CO2 reduction by nature"
We have only one earth, yet we do not
behave accordingly. In running our
economy, we show little understanding of
"It is important to understand that we are
its impact on people and the bio-sphere.
not doing this because nature is beautiful,
Who actually controls the world
but because it is vital. We have to do
economy? No one, and that is why we
something to fight non-sustainability. This
pay the price. We have a fundamental
is demanded by the scale, the precarious
issue in the area of demand & supply.
position
and severity of the current
The demand is greater than what nature
situation
of our planet.
can produce in a sustainable way. August
20th is Earth Overshoot Day. That means
that, starting on August 21st, we will use
more than one earth in raw materials. If a
company sets its budget too early, then
management is queried about this. Yet, we never pose such questions with regard to the earth. We do
not understand and do not assess well the impact of our activities.
Developments are happening faster all the time
Since 1950, developments continue at an increasingly faster pace. I am talking about the rise in the
average temperature of the earth's surface, the population growth, and the increase in the number of
vehicles. In the next 15 years, we will produce a lot more. Food production is closely tied to and
depends on water and the energy needed for growing the food. What they have in common is the
impact on the land. Land as a supportive supplier.
Water is becoming scarce while more food is necessary. Fresh water is of crucial importance. 98% of
the earth's water is salty. We need fresh water and 70% of fresh water is in ice. In a few years, certain
places on earth will not be liveable because of lack of water. People will migrate from dry regions to
wet regions. The total water consumption is increasing, mainly due to agriculture. Therefore, if we
want to produce more food, we will use more water.
In the next 35 years, the earth's population will increase by 2.5 billion people. The population is now
7.2 billion people and in 2050 it will be 9.7 billion. Will referred to the vision of Jason Clay, Senior Vice
President of WWF, who clarified what this means: 'To meet the demand of a growing population, we
will need to produce more food in the next 40 years than we have produced in the past 8,000 years.'
Food production demands a great deal of energy. What happens to the price of food when the price of
fossil fuel increases? An end to cheap energy also means an end to cheap food. Therefore, the
demand and use of biofuel is also increasing. Land is essential for CO2; lifestyles are a threat. The
land produces approximately one third of the CO2 and uses a great deal of it. That should make us
realise that we should use land in other ways. If the temperature rises by 3, 4, or 5 degrees, than
agriculture is no longer possible. We know how much oil and gas reserves we have in the ground. But
who decides whether these reserves should be taken from the ground? There are very important
decisions that have to be made in order to take steps. Private individuals do not trust international
companies and governments. In addition, our lifestyle poses threats. Furthermore, all these people
need houses and water, they produce waste and they want to drive their cars. Can we afford all this?
Can this be carried out in a sustainable manner?
There are immense gaps between the rich and the poor. Cities are growing by 200,000 residents per
day; water and sanitary facilities for these numbers are not taken into account. That makes it difficult
for politicians to make decisions. Yet, we must try to retain our nature. For the sake of nature, but also
because nature contributes to health, social advantages, well-being, water intake, CO2 and biodiversity.
Searching for a balance
We have to look for a balance. We must learn to accept that the balance between water, CO2, land
and food must be a part of a wider debate. Everyone has a role in this. Governments play an important
role as issuers of permits, planners and protectors of nature reserves. Commercial agriculture must
reflect on how they can cultivate all this food. How will we deal with raw materials? How do we
guarantee that we retain the growing and flourishing local economy. NGOs and society have a role in
lobbying and in helping clients and consumers. Actually, this is not so much about sustainability, but
about common sense. On the economic, social and environmental levels, we must not work out of little
boxes, but rather together. After all, we are all working on the same thing. 'Sustainable development is
currently the most important issue of our planet. Economic, political, environmental and social bodies
are all united in this debate'. Commercial and political entities must look further than the short-term.
We must:
• Make the world economy CO2 free. Now and fast.
• Recognise the value of nature and appreciate what nature gives us: health, water, food, fibre, fuel.
• Protect our threatened bio-diversity. And realise that this is in our interest as well as in the interest
of the species that are threatened by our activities.
• Recognise the need for successful local economies.
• Make decisions regarding planning that are based on better information. Where do these
decisions originate from.
• Help legislators and private citizens understand why land use and long-term are important.
• Above all: we must work together!
In concluding the morning programme, alderman Arend-Jan van der Vlugt of Goeree-Overflakkee
received the recommendations of the CaRe-Lands cluster project on behalf of Wim van de Camp,
Dutch member of the European Parliament. The recommendations:
1. Create an ambassadors course for companies to connect them with the location in which they
operate.
2. Create local chains for sustainable use of biomass.
3. Invest in an integral route network for experiencing and protecting nature.
4. Develop new concepts for visiting centres that attract people to discover these areas.
5. Create a scheme for nature conservation, taking visitors into account.
Upon receiving the recommendations, Van der Vlugt explained: "In additional to the well-known 3 Ps,
we also need to have 3 Vs: vision, professionalism (Vakmanschap) and trust (Vertrouwen). Vision for
the future. We have currently gathered additional
knowledge about how we can solve this. This
knowledge will help us further. Professional approach
to the techniques. And without trust, we will get
nowhere. All the countries in Europe must come
together. There are no borders when it comes to water
quality, air quality and sustainability. It is wonderful to
see that this has happened within the projects that we
discussed today. In recent years, so much has been
done in the area around Grevelingen. In that particular
case, the economy, ecology and money flows went
hand in hand. We have to continue in this."
"Never give up and continue together to work on the future!"
The afternoon programme of the conference was devoted to
inspiration sessions: "Great Plans and Results for Inspiring Others"
Two parallel discussions were held in which speakers provided captivating accounts about various
CaRe-Lands themes:
•
Matthijs Zeelenberg about sustainable overnight recreation: "Living can be much nicer and more
sustainable".
•
Ben Spiering about the future tide station in Grevelingen: "The tide station can become an icon".
•
Bert Kranendonk about the Grevelingen Inspiration Centre: "Very soon, you will be able to
experience something new here each day".
•
Steve Charter about the Pines Calyx Sustainable Conference and Events Venue: "A cradle-tocradle building".
•
Cristine Broux about the new sustainable Zwin Centre: "Inspiration is the basis".
•
Sally Mills about converting biomass into bio-energy: "Good for nature and the environment".
Chairperson of the day, Helga van Leur in closing the conference:
"Without headwind, you simply fall down!"
Chairperson Helga van Leur closed the conference by asking participants in the audience what they
have learned today. This elicited the following reactions:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
"This concerns awareness among people that for once we must do something."
"The need to work without borders and to work in partnerships."
"Work together and innovate!"
"There is enormous ambition in this field. The issue at hand is how we can connect the projects to
each other in order to also really do things together."
"Much is being done to solve problems. This is encouraging."
"There is plenty of room for good projects in the future. There are enough topics and issues that
can be tackled by the participants in this event."
"National input in a systematic manner remains an important factor. For this we have to address
governments and achieve changes."
"There are answers. We have to talk with each other in order to make sure that we share these
answers."
Helga:
“Stay in contact with one another and learn from each other. Do not be afraid of headwinds. An
ancient Chinese proverb says: with headwind you fly, without headwind you fall down!"