Marker Wadden and the financial barriers to nature restoration
Expert(s) |
Lieke Hüsken
The Marker Wadden, a man-made archipelago in the Markermeer lake, was constructed with local sediment and designed to restore ecological functions and open up leisure activities. The project is one of a kind, not only because of the innovative design but particularly because of how the financing was arranged.
In practice, financial barriers get in the way of Nature-based Solutions (NbS). Things were no different with the Marker Wadden; nevertheless, the islands were built eventually. A new scientific publication by Lieke Hüsken, an economist working for Deltares, took the Marker Wadden as an example to derive new insights into the financing of large-scale nature restoration projects. In the article “Overcoming financial barriers to ecological restoration – The case of the Marker Wadden”, researchers from Delft University of Technology and Deltares, among others, analyse in depth why the Marker Wadden project did manage to secure funding.
Hüsken: “This was due in part to combining funds from different parties and particularly to the smart use of policy instruments. There are therefore valuable lessons here for NbS projects in the Netherlands and internationally.”
The key findings from the study
The researchers’ analysis ultimately produced a number of key findings, including a number of possible strategies for funding NbS projects.
- Twelve strategies were identified that helped overcome financial barriers. It is striking that nearly half of those strategies were seen in the pre-investment phase (2006-2012), well before actual implementation. In this way, the right conditions were established to allow the project to go ahead.
- Public-private co-financing was the backbone of the project. In addition to contributions from ministries and provincial authorities, a philanthropic donation from the National Postcode Lottery played a key role.
- Revenue from leisure activities (such as overnight stays and visitor facilities) contributes to partial cost recovery, even though it does not cover all operating costs.
- The role of regulations (such as Natura 2000 and the Water Framework Directive) was essential: without ecological restoration, economic development in the region would have been limited.
- Innovation as a driver: the innovative nature of the project – building with sediment – attracted not only public funds but also private parties seeking to enhance their image and knowledge development.
- Trade-offs were identified: dependence on private and philanthropic funds raised questions about democratic legitimacy, equity and transparency in decision-making.
The whole article can be read on Sciencedirect Ecological Engineering.
