Reconstruction of the Gelderse Vallei

Accelerate the development of the National Ecological Network (EHS)

The development of the National Ecological Network (EHS) in the Gelderse Vallei is not proceeding as rapidly as wished: at the current pace of land purchases the EHS will not be completed in the Province of Gelderland by 2018. The students carried out a literature study and interviewed stakeholders and experts to identify the reason for the slow progress. Their advice for the acceleration of the development of the EHS was to acquire more flexible land, seek new sources of financing (such as the compensation fund, integral area funds and landscape auctions), deploy more area estate agents with an expanded mandate from the Province, arrange for the SVGV’s land bank to issue more exchange land, select the badger as the nature conservation mascot (the current red deer mascot generates resistance amongst arable farmers) and arrange for the incorporation of the EHS in municipal zoning plans.

Corridors

Students have drawn up perception reports for the layout of the Robust Ecological Corridor Zone (REVZ) in three subareas which include a country estate zone. The country estates examined in the study have a variety of types of landscape and nature values. These can, when laid out in a suitable manner, serve as stepping stones for animal species that migrate from one key area (the Utrechtse Heuvelrug) to the other key area (the Veluwe). Corridors about 100 metres wide are required between the key areas and the stepping stones, whereby each animal species will require a slightly different layout. A sophisticated layout of these corridors can render them suitable for different target species, such as the pine marten and badger. The students did not perceive any opportunities for the migration of ‘wet’ species such as the bog gentian, Cirsium dissectum and Alcon blue via the corridors in the area examined in the study.

Land acquisition

The students built on their perception of the layout of the country estate zone by reviewing whether there were any areas of a potential ecological interest in the zone and examining the agricultural situation, the situation in the land market and the targets for the plan area. Their advice, in addition to the formation of a land bank and the appointment of area estate agents with an expanded mandate, included the recommendation that arable farmers should also be offered an opportunity to make more use of a range of subsidy schemes to enable them to expand or relocate their operations.

Layout

Perceptions of layouts were drawn up and detailed for a number of subareas. The study of the ‘de Klomp’ ecological corridor in Ede reviewed an optimum layout for the combination of the Great Crested Newt and Purple-edged Copper target species with an intensively used recreation park. The proposed measures were comprised of green, climate-neutral buildings, the infrastructure (a car park to the west to avoid traffic in the area, the planting (indigenous, fruit-bearing) and the layout of the lake with a segregation of recreants and nature.

The students’ advice for the Barneveldse Beek area recommended the exchange of specific plots of land to create a migration corridor. They also proposed that the landscape should be made more appealing to recreants and of greater economic interest for the production of high-grade regional products by enhancing the country estate character of the region with alternating grain fields and wet grasslands that discharge into the Barneveldse Beek with a broadened watercourse. The client used these ideas in a brochure launching the land in the market.

Slow advice

Gerard van Santen, SVGV’s Director, is extremely satisfied with this form of deployment of students in reconstruction studies: “The students’ fresh, unrefined perspective also keeps us on our toes.” Although the advice and scenarios cannot always be adopted immediately, students can nevertheless enhance area processes. Their advice increases the number of potential solutions, or their ideas can be integrated in other plans. Consequently, students can be deployed for the provision of what is referred to as ‘slow advice’.

The students were enthusiastic about practical education on this large scale (in twenty subprojects). They experienced how the client became accustomed to cooperating with students and even adopted their advice. The lecturers noted that students could play a role in all phases of the area process (area formation, land acquisition and layout). However, the lecturers will need to improve their supervision of the projects to ensure that the students can build on each other’s work and do not continually need to begin with an analysis.

Links

• Gelderse Vallei Provincie Gelderland (in Dutch)
  
• Policy map of reconstruction of Gelderse Vallei and Utrecht Oost