Dutch farmers, aided by federal subsidies, now stake out canals for wildlife, using willow branches instead of old cars and washing machines.
Farmers and residents are becoming aware of the agricultural threats pervading these verdant fields: pesticide runoff, increased development, fragmented wildlife habitat, and intensive crop growing, which leaves little room or fodder for wild animals.
Ferdinand Ex of Amsterdam’s Environmental Planning Department says, “In Waterland, farmers are in charge of the nature reserves and get paid by the government for protecting the area and wildlife.”
Says M. De Gier, a biodynamic farmer, “We’ve developed a program where animals, people and nature are the three tenets of protection. 450 farmers of the 600 in Waterland are members, and each gets a task, depending on what they can do. One example is a farmer flooding part of his land to make a pond for birds during migration stopovers. The lapwing has been helped tremendously by this.” Most of the farms consist of low-cropped grasses for dairy grazing; they are no orchards or bird-friendly crops.
70 percent of endangered redshank birds and 80 percent black-tailed godwits breed in the Netherlands. Farmers search for the birds breeding in their fields, and mark the nests with a stick. They rig tractors with chains to scare away rabbits and ducks hiding in the fields during plowing time and build heavy wire cages over some nests, so cows don’t step on them when grazing. Many farmers also create big strips of natural flowers and grains in between crops, as small habitat and feeding patches.
“Volunteers and farmers work together to gather data on the improvements,” adds De Gier. “They also create small wetlands by staking off parts of the canals to gather water.
Popular Dutch crops, including potatoes, flowers and sugar beets, use vast quantities of pesticides. Piet Boogert, general manager of the hotel chain, Golden Tulip (which recently launched a line of organic foods for hotel guests), says this is changing. “The number of organic farms are increasing rapidly in Holland,” he says. “Farmers used to throw leftover pesticides into ditches, which tainted the ground and water. Now there’s a waiting line to be certified as organic.”
Contact:
Vereniging Agrarisch Natuurbeheer Waterland
Tel: (011)0299-430298
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