Eneco and nature association Koninklijke Nederlandse Natuurvereniging (KNNV) are proud to announce a new partnership to improve biodiversity. The nature association will help Eneco in its efforts to improve biodiversity in areas where Eneco develops onshore projects. KNNV’s regional chapters and volunteers possess an unrivalled understanding of what plants and animals can be found in what areas, and what can be done to improve the biodiversity.
Besides goals for becoming CO2-neutral by 2035, Eneco’s One Planet Plan also presents goals for improving biodiversity. Starting this year, the energy company will add at least 10 percent to the biodiversity in areas near onshore projects in the Netherlands, such as solar and wind farms. These improvements are urgently needed, given how dramatically biodiversity has declined in recent decades.
Eneco has ecologists who oversee the biodiversity aspect of its projects, and uses a scientifically underpinned method to measure that biodiversity: the Biodiversity Metric, developed by IUCN and Arcadis.
Eneco’s ecologists work with partners such as KNNV to carry out baseline measurements to establish what plants and animals live in a particular area before construction begins. Together, they then draw up plans to improve biodiversity, for example by planting particular crops. Once the construction work is finished, they check whether the plans are having the desired impact, or whether they need to be adjusted.
KNNV will play an important role in this process by contributing its vast local knowledge of nature in the Netherlands. The nature association, which was formed in 1901, has 47 local chapters. The members of those chapters play an important part in promoting the understanding and protection of nature in the Netherlands.
The partnership between KNNV and Eneco came about when a chapter of the nature association presented its views to protest against the Maasvlakte 2 wind farm. KNNV chair Theo Briggeman explains, “We were caught in an almost impossible dilemma: in favour of sustainable energy to fight the climate crisis, but also concerned about damage to natural areas.” Eneco extended an invitation to discuss the situation, and after intensive negotiations an agreement was reached. “In the years since then, we’ve been working together more and more often to develop sustainable energy and protect nature. This has now resulted in a partnership at the national level.”
“The willingness of such a highly regarded nature association as KNNV to partner up with us highlights how seriously we take biodiversity,” adds Eneco ecologist Luc Hoogenstein. “We’ll be able to draw on the extensive knowledge of KNNV’s members, and we believe that this will help in finding solutions to improve the biodiversity around our projects. In a perfect world, this would be a standard requirement for obtaining a permit for any energy project, but we’ve decided not to wait.”