Just Fake It! Public Understanding of Ecological Restoration

Abstract

When you travel by train from Amsterdam to Lelystad, you do not expect to see many herds of wild animals in an open landscape. What you do see, however, are herds of Heck cattle and Konik horses, and huge herds of red deer! This is possible in the nature reserve of the Oostvaardersplassen. Some people even compare it to areas in Africa like the Serengeti (Vera 2009). The development of this area marked the beginning of an interesting switch in Dutch nature conservation policy from a defensive approach to the development of a new nature, more proactive approach. For more than one hundred years, people had tried to preserve the traditional agrarian cultural landscape, which had to be protected against industrialization, recreation and the expansion of cities. This resulted in the development of a preservationist movement, which tried to save nature by buying land. In the 1960s, in line with scientific progress in ecology, ecological engineers started to restore areas and ‘bring nature back’. Two major Dutch players were responsible for this switch: the National Forest Service and the Society of Nature Conservancy. The Oostvaardersplassen lakes area and the river delta area of the Millingerwaard are the first Dutch areas where large herbivores have been introduced into nature reserves.