Nature compensation entails the creation of ‘new nature’ or the restoration of nature, to compensate for nature and biodiversity losses elsewhere. The expansion of the port of Zeebrugge, Belgium, led to the destruction of valuable and protected nature areas, which provided a range of ecosystem services. Ecosystem services are benefits for humans delivered by the natural environment. The area of Kwetshage - Meetkerkse Moeren was designated as a nature compensation area. However, how successful is this nature compensation? Is the so-called success interpreted as success by all stakeholders? This thesis assesses how effective this nature compensation initiative has been, by perception of different stakeholders. Interviews were executed with stakeholders, structured as in an Ecosystem Service Assessment using the ESRIA tool as a reference (Landsberg et al.). Both social and ecological effectiveness of the nature compensation project are taken into account. In order to execute the ESRIA structured interviews, multiple stakeholders of the case were involved and provided input through comprehensive questioning. Secondly, the ecological effectiveness (‘success’) of the nature compensation project was evaluated by identifying two indicator species (the Avocet and the Marsh Harrier) and gathering data on their abundance. This was executed mainly by processing secondary data (monitoring reports and waarnemingen.be). The results of the interviews showed that different stakeholders value different elements in this nature compensation project. The most commonly discussed part was the influence of the project on the agricultural sector. Other important ecosystem services were recreation possibilities, historical land use, water management, carbon sequestration and ecological value. For the second part of this thesis, the ecological effectiveness, it can be concluded that there is no increase in the abundance of Marsh Harrier and the Avocet. In general, more research is needed to make a final conclusion on the effectiveness of the nature compensation project. Additional and continuous monitoring over a longer period and for multiple species is recommended.
- Master Environmental Sciences
Defining and measuring the success of nature compensation: A CASE STUDY OF THE KWETSHAGE – MEETKERKSE MOEREN PROJECT (FLANDERS, BELGIUM)
Degrande, S. (Author). 18 Jun 2024
Student thesis: Master's Thesis