One hundred years ago, a long dike was constructed in the North of the Netherlands to protect large tracts of land from flooding.  This barrier dike transformed the Zuiderzee (South Sea) into a freshwater lake known as the Ijsselmeer (Ijssel Lake), and continues to separate the fresh Ijssel Lake from the salt water of the Wadden Sea. Sluices in the barrier dike only allow freshwater to drain into the salty sea water, but do not allow salt water to penetrate into the freshwater lake. This means that at present fish cannot migrate from the sea into the lake or vice versa.

The Wadden Sea region is a highly appreciated nature area and various parties are concerned with the connection between the Ijssel Lake and the Wadden Sea. Different levels of government (municipality, province and national government) and commercial fishing companies are highly interested in investigating solutions that would restore the connection between the two water bodies while maintaining the safety standard of the barrier.

Description of one Building with Nature Solution

The materials below provide you with a description of one Building with Nature solution to Case 3. This solution has already been implemented in the Netherlands.

3. Click here to access the official website of the project

4. Official information on the project

The interactive PDF in THIS LINK provides official information on the project. Because this information is written in Dutch, below this text we provide you with an English translation.