Secretary of State Jean Rummenie of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature: "I am pleased that we are continuing the good cooperation with our eastern neighbors in the Eems-Dollard area. Due to the large amount of silt in the Eems-Dollard, the quality of nature in the estuary has deteriorated. By removing this silt from the water and reusing it to strengthen the dikes and raise low-lying agricultural land, we create a win-win situation. We improve nature, support agriculture, and increase our safety. All the more reason to continue our joint efforts on this.”
Refined Strategy
The refined ecological strategy for sediment management includes an action plan for developing a common understanding of the ecosystem, implementing cross-border projects, jointly seeking ecologically optimal distribution locations for dredged silt, and finding solutions to legal barriers in project execution, as well as establishing a comprehensive estuary monitoring program. For example, we will work on a project to restore the sandbank Hond-Paap so that it can grow with rising sea levels. The banks of the Wadden Sea are of great importance as birds seek food on these banks.
Minister Christian Meyer of the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Protection: "We want and must improve the water ecology of the estuary of the Eems and want to involve all relevant authorities and local stakeholders as effectively as possible. With the ecological strategy for sediment management, we are following an innovative and integrated approach together with our Dutch partners and the Waterway Manager, which has already yielded the first successes in practice and has garnered a wide range of stakeholders behind the objectives over the past years. We must continue together on this promising path based on the updated mission in the coming years.”
Achieved Results
Since 2019, much experience and knowledge have been gained, beautiful results achieved, and more parties involved. Important cross-border programs, such as the Action Program Natural Climate Protection, Eems-Dollard 2050, and SediEms have been developed. Various local pilot projects have also been carried out. Furthermore, the collaboration has led to more mutual understanding, coordination, and knowledge exchange. In addition, a large-scale measurement campaign has been jointly conducted, measuring various ecological variables. For example, consider the amount of silt or algae present in the water. A Dutch-German working group was also established in 2023 to demonstrate the effects of measures in the Eems-Dollard area through monitoring.
Reducing Suspended Silt as a Goal
The ecology of the estuary of the Eems is negatively affected by the high load of suspended sediment and the formation of thick layers of liquid silt. Germany and the Netherlands have therefore set the goal of reducing the concentrations of suspended sediment. The target vision for the ecological sediment strategy is primarily focused on improving ecology and water quality, optimizing necessary maintenance work, and enhancing the resilience of the estuary to climate change, such as the expected sea-level rise.
More Information
- An overview of projects that have been carried out since 2019 under the ecological strategy for sediment management can be found at: https://eemsdollard2050.nl and Projects on the German side for the implementation of the Ecological Strategy for Sediment Management • The Ems | De Eems