First Congress on the Marker Wadden Project

The Marker Wadden, an archipelago of nature islands in the Markermeer lake, is one of the largest nature projects in Western Europe.

The contractors are using sand, silt and clay to create new islands and, in the process, open up opportunities for knowledge development and innovation.

The Marker Wadden Knowledge and Innovation Program (KIMA) organised its first congress on 7 March.

At the congress, Rijkswaterstaat, EcoShape, the Dutch Society for the Preservation of Nature (Natuurmonumenten) and Deltares shared the first results from the past year and confirmed their alliance in a memorandum of understanding.

Learning from nature development and building with silt and sand

From the outset, the aim was to use the Marker Wadden to learn as much as possible on and around the islands about the development of natural values, improving water quality and building with silt and sand.

The Marker Wadden knowledge and innovation program (KIMA) is an alliance bringing together NGOs, research institutes, the business sector and government, and it is part of the National Water and Climate Knowledge and Innovation Program (NKWK), which unites research institutes, business and government so they can work together on pilot projects, current issues and long-term developments for a climate-resilient and water-robust delta.

The memorandum of understanding signed on 7 March regulates the formal aspects of the alliance, knowledge sharing and knowledge dissemination. It is the basis, and an incentive, for the research and funding needed for the ongoing development of the knowledge program.

Newcomers will be able to use the data from the monitoring program and facilities, and engage with three research themes: building with silt and sand, valuable ecosystems and adaptive governance.

Marker Wadden

The Marker Wadden is a whole new group of islands in the Markermeer lake. It is an initiative of Natuurmonumenten, which is responsible for the operational side together with Rijkswaterstaat. Boskalis started works on the construction of the islands in 2016. The overall construction of the five islands and the silt channel are expected to be completed by mid-2018 and the completion of the first phase is planned for 1 January 2021.