Mission statement

Mission

The Society for Dune Conservation is a national organization for nature conservation. It aims to strengthen the interests of the nature of the Dutch coast and the interests of nature lovers. The Society for Dune Conservation tries to reinforce nature along the coast by means of campaign, consultation and juristic procedures. Advice is sent on a regular basis to the government and managers on ways to improve coastal protection or on designing new areas. Furthermore, information is given in terms of values and threats of the coastal areas, the beach and the North Sea.

Activities

The main activities of the Society for Dune Conservation are:

• Active participation in the restoration of nature in dune areas,
• Ground acquisition or participation with farmers in former soil water collection areas for dune restoration,
• Enhancing the network of bicycle paths as well as creating ecological corridors for flora and fauna,
• Design of new nature conservation areas,
• Campaign against the soil water extraction in the dunes,
• Participation in the collaboration “Laat de kust met rust” (Leave the Coast alone), a co-operative body aiming at protecting the Dutch coast,
• Campaign against hunting in nature areas.

Memorandum “Ruimte voor de kust” (Space for the coast)

The Society for Dune Conservation is highly concerned about the unlimited development of large scale plans to build over the North Sea coast. The objections against these activities are summed up in the memorandum “Ruimte voor de kust”:

• The dune area will become isolated from the sea due to the construction of building locations resulting in ecological changes,
• The ecology of the North Sea bottom will be seriously disturbed by sand extraction. Large constructions such as airports create a big risk for migratory and sea birds,
• Change of coastal landscape: recreation areas are lost,
• Increase in infrastructure through the dune causes loss of habitat and fragmentation,
• Extensive sand extraction and recreation of islands will disturb the sand balance and sand flows unpredictably. This can lead to coastal erosion at other places, endangering safety and nature conservation areas.

With this memorandum, the Society for Dune Conservation makes a proposition to include the Dutch coastal zone integrally in the Pan-European Ecological Network. In order to accomplish this, SDB stresses the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries to inlcude the dune areas, beach and the borders of the North Sea in the Nature Conservation Law.