The start of the North Sea Nature Enhancement Program (PNN) has been published by the central government. The publication follows the recent announcement by Minister for Nature and Nitrogen Christianne van der Wal, during the celebration of the 5th anniversary of De Rijke Noordzee . With the PNN, the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality wants to build on the good work of De Rijke Noordzee over the past 5 years.
“We are now finally getting out of the starting blocks to continue working on more nature underwater and in and around the offshore wind farms. We have already reserved €150 million for this from the Climate Fund in 2022. The program will be a collaboration between the government and commercial parties, looking for new opportunities for more nature in our North Sea. And that is desperately needed, because nature in the North Sea is under increasing pressure.”
What is the PNN?
The aim of the PNN is to improve the nature of the North Sea. This requires practical experiments, but also the exchange of knowledge at an international level. The program funds several pilots and work in these areas.
The program is an addition to the already mandatory legal measures and agreements from the 2020 North Sea Agreement and the North Sea Program 2022-2027 . The basic principle here is that sustainable wind energy at sea can only be developed if there is room for it within the ecological limits.
In addition, there are additional measures for the recovery of species that are threatened by developments in the North Sea. Both under water and above water. The PNN is also working on options for restoring reefs and oyster beds.
The Rich North Sea
Due to intensive use, almost all natural reefs in the North Sea have disappeared. Employees of Nature & Environment and the North Sea Foundation wondered 5 years ago whether nature could be helped to become stronger by using wind turbines. The idea was that the foundations and stone walls around windmills seemed to provide an ideal environment for the construction of reefs and thus attract marine life.
Various pilots have been completed for this purpose. Including with Van Oord and Eneco for the establishment of artificial oyster reefs . An investigation into lobsters was started with Ørsted. And together with Vattenfall we looked at whether the inside of the monopoles could be suitable for the life of small animals. Much progress has been made in the past 5 years and it has been shown that marine life can indeed settle around wind turbines.
The PNN program will therefore start with a solid foundation from De Rijke Noordzee. Based on the realization that the rollout of protective nature is desperately needed given the enormous increase in wind turbines in the near future. And in collaboration with various parties from the wind energy sector, including NWEA, nature organizations, companies, scientific institutes and educational institutions.
A substantial contribution from the government can now be added to this.
Photo: @Richard Rood
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