23 May 2024

Natuur in de stad: de Arnhemse aanpak

Natuur in de stad is van groot belang voor onder andere biodiversiteit, waterretentie, hittestressbestrijding, sociale cohesie en om mensen in beweging te krijgen. Kortom, natuur is belangrijk voor een prettig leefklimaat. Hoe krijg je dat voor elkaar? De gemeente Arnhem heeft met de wijkgroenagenda-aanpak daarvoor een goede aanzet gegeven. Eerst kijken waartoe de wijkbewoners zelf […]

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Red Alert: wild mammals make up only a few percent of the world’s mammals!

One of the most compelling figures I saw over the last few years is the one where the total weight of all mammals on earth, so all elephants, whales, rhinos, deer, cats, dogs, cows, pigs, humans, and the rest are compared to the weight of the separate categories. The outcome (see https://ourworldindata.org/wild-mammals-birds-biomass): Livestock make up

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Wet landscapes for sustainable futures

You can often find me in wet, muddy and beautiful ecosystems: wetlands! I work in peatlands, fresh and salt marshes, mangroves, seagrass meadows and bivalve reefs. Such wetlands are home to unique biodiversity. Here, species are adapted to wet, sometimes acidic, salty or dynamic environments. Importantly, wetlands are often dominated by ecosystem engineers: species that

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Our Nature: A Legacy at Risk

I have dedicated most of my working life to the protection, management and restoration of nature. More than 40 years ago, triggered by the Berne Convention, we began to gain traction through national legislation that allowed sites to be designated to protect fragile habitats and species. It was around that time that I began working

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