The Border Meuse Nature Development Project Where water meets gravel meets nature …

Abstract

Today’s Border Meuse is an unnatural narrow river in a monotonous landscape with agricultural land use up to the very margins of the river; major floods are always disastrous. Our vision is that of a broader river in a diversified landscape with lots of possibilities for nature development. The river will contain more water: floods will no longer be catastrophic.

This vision will become reality through the border Meuse nature development project. At the heart of the project is a unique combination of gravel extraction and nature development. Through limited and shallow extraction the gravel industry creates possibilities for the river allowing it to develop into a more natural gravel river.

Fifteen hundred hectares of “new nature” will thus be created in a densely populated area. So it is essential that the local residents should be moved into not merely accepting but rather enjoying the new situation.

To achieve this goal a major information campaign is being carried out.

Out in the field adults as well as children learn to appreciate the “new nature” and to marvel at its richness. For most of them it is a real wilderness experience.

Riverine nature itself provides many high points:

• • From the first year after extraction people witness a real outburst of flowers, insects and other wildlife.

• • Introduced large herbivores (Galloway cattle and Konik horses) assume the role of their wild counterparts. They give a real touch of wilderness to the new river landscape. They also enable the development of a very diverse woodland vegetation.

Once understood and accepted this “new nature” provides moments of pure joy.