Nature today | What are the promising actions for biodiversity within the Dutch infrastructure?

Together with Green nets and Naturalis is city work on the development of infrastructure measures, in order to contribute to the large-scale restoration of biodiversity in the Netherlands. Groene Netten is a partnership between eight major infrastructure managers in the Netherlands: Alliander, Enexis, Gasunie, KPN, ProRail, Rijkswaterstaat, Stedin and Tennet. Together, these parts manage a land and water area of ​​almost a thousand square kilometres. Green Nets creates an ecological main infrastructure by jointly using this area for biodiversity. This creates an area larger than the Veluwe in which nature has more space.

Impact on biodiversity

Stedin has compiled a list of possible infrastructure measures for design, construction, area adjustments, infrastructure and (nature) management, in order to get an overview of actions that have a real impact on biodiversity. Naturalis subsequently obtained an expert opinion. Around 40 (urban) ecologists and biologists have supplemented this list of measures, for example by adding new measures and estimating the impact on important parts of Dutch biodiversity for each measure.

All impactful actions were then specified in a poster. The poster shows all proposed infrastructure measures, plus there is a table with important do’s and don’ts for implementation, additional information and average biodiversity scores. The list is widely applicable to Stedin, Groene Netten and many other organisations. “The overview consists of fifty concrete nature-inclusive actions that we as organizations can implement on and around our infrastructure. Thanks to the many contributions provided by ecologists and biologists, the poster urges to accelerate the transition to future-proof infrastructure,” says Daan Helming, Project Manager Ecological Main Infrastructure of Green Nets.

do more good

In Stedin’s new sustainability strategy, the subject of biodiversity will be one of the four most important topics. “Because national and global biodiversity is under great pressure,” says sustainability manager Dirk Bijl de Vroe de Stedin. In addition, the theme offers opportunities. “The energy transition, the agricultural transition, housing issues and ongoing urbanization are putting increasing pressure on available land. All of these transitions take place in the same physical space,” continues Bijl de Vroe.

By integrating biodiversity into its strategy, Stedin can facilitate the energy transition while working to green and enhance the diversity of flora and fauna. “We can make a positive difference by installing measures such as green roofs and facades, applying ecological green management and replacing stone with greenery. In collaboration with all the organizations of the Green Nets coalition, there is even talk of more than a thousand square kilometers of greening. It is no longer a question of “doing less harm”, but of “doing more good”.

More information

Text: naturalis & City
Photos: Kars Veling; Green nets