TenneT, provincial and local authorities agree to invest in nature and landscape

08-02-2010 Project for sustainable preservation of alder tree rows begins in Rouveen.

For representatives of the Overijssel provincial government, Transmission System Operator TenneT, the municipality of Staphorst and the Foundation for Landscape and Waterways Management in Overijssel (Stichting Groene en Blauwe Diensten Overijssel), the sawing of an alder tree branch in the village of Rouveen on 10 February will mark the start of a project aimed at restoring and preserving the characteristic alder tree rows in the municipality of Staphorst in the north of the Netherlands.

Investing in nature
During the coming period, the Overijssel provincial and local authorities and TenneT will jointly invest in nature and landscape projects in and around Staphorst, Dalfsen and Hardenberg. The first project to start concerns the landscape near Rouveen, an area characterised by rows of distinctive alder trees. The provincial government, TenneT and the Staphorst local authority are contributing a combined sum of € 1.5 million to a so-called ‘landscape fund’, from which landowners can receive remuneration for the planting, restoration and sustainable preservation of almost 50 km of alder tree rows along the A28 motorway. This will allow a unique landscape in the Netherlands to be preserved for future generations.

Compensation
At the end of 2007, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, TenneT and the provincial government agreed on a compensation scheme as a result of the decision to retain the high voltage power lines between Zwolle and Hoogeveen. TenneT is paying € 10 million in total to the Overijssel and Drenthe provincial authorities, € 4 million of which will be made available for the improvement of nature, landscape and cultural heritage sites in Overijssel, predominantly in and around the Reestdal area. A sum of € 6 million will be made available for use in Drenthe province.

Network of protected areas in Reestdal
In consultation with local authorities and the organisation for landscape preservation and development in Overijssel (Landschap Overijssel), TenneT and the provincial government have decided to use the fund to improve nature, landscape and cultural heritage sites at an accelerated pace. Most of the money has been earmarked for the development of a network of protected areas in the Reestdal area. To this end, the water balance in the area will be restored and two farms will be relocated. TenneT is also contributing to the construction of a wildlife crossing over the N377 provincial road near Balkbrug, and to the costs of renovating characteristic farms in the region. The latter activity will be undertaken as part of a project for the preservation of regional heritage run by Landschap Overijssel. The remaining amount will be devoted to sustainable landscape restoration and preservation in the municipalities of Staphorst, Dalfsen and Hardenberg. Local authorities are also contributing to the costs of landscape preservation, while the provincial government is doubling the amount donated by the municipalities and TenneT. 

National Fund for Rural Areas
The funds that the provincial authorities and other parties have set aside for landscape and waterways management in Overijssel will be deposited in special accounts with the Dutch National Fund for Rural Areas (Nationaal Groenfonds). For the period from 2007 to 2013, the Overijssel provincial authorities have earmarked a total of € 50 million for use in projects aimed at the restoration and preservation of landscape and waterways. The allocation of € 20 million out of this total has already been agreed between various local authorities and private-sector stakeholders in Overijssel.