The NEW!Delta project balances improving the environment on the one hand and economic growth on the other. Against the background of the European Birds and habitats Directives, the NEW!Delta project seeks to foster the protection of the Natura 2000 sites as an integral part of economic port and estuary development. At the same time NEW!Delta provides opportunities for social, economic and maritime benefits. The project consists of 10 partners from 4 countries in North-West Europe (England, France, Belgium and The Netherlands), being port authorities, (regional) administrations and knowledge and research institutions. Lead partner is the Province of South Holland (NL). The NEW!Delta project will be implemented in the area from Haute-Normandie and the French coast to the neighboring Belgian and Dutch coasts up to the Provinces of South and North Holland and right across the West North Sea and the Channel, in the south UK coast.
The project is co financed by the European regional development fund Interreg IIIB - North West Europe & Alterra Landscape On the grounds of the Antwerp Port Authority, economic activities and nature co-exist in close proximity. To give both of these facets a chance of survival, also into the future, the Port Authority, in collaboration with stakeholders NGO, set itself the goal of establishing an ecological infrastructure. With this, a positive contribution is being made to port and nature objectives. Among the species found in and around the port is the natterjack toad (Bufo calamita), a species protected in the EU Habitat Directive. Against this backdrop, the NEW!Delta Project in the framework of the EU Interreg IIIB program offers excellent opportunities for sustainable conservation of the natterjack toad population on the left bank of the Scheldt. To bring this about, the LARCH expert system was used. The results led to a proposal for the measures needed and alternative spatial configurations to ensure the preservation of this protected species. |
