Boats are back on the quay in the Drimmelen marina. In that municipality, this sailing season, which officially ended on Friday, was experimented with the Biesbosch Vaantje. This is a voluntary boat tax, with which boat owners and recreationists help pay for maintenance in the nature reserve. The municipality is satisfied with the results of the pilot. “We not only saw a beautiful pennant fluttering on the water, but a real impact was also made.”
Jettys and beaches in the Biesbosch have deteriorated considerably in recent years. Their maintenance is no longer in the hands of Staatsbosbeheer. Last sailing season, from the beginning of April to the end of October, the municipality of Drimmelen therefore held a pilot with the Biesbosch Vaantje.
With this voluntary boat tax, boat owners and recreationists finance the maintenance and management of jetties and mooring sites, canoe sites, beaches, waste bins and toilet facilities in the freshwater tidal area.
With the start of the pilot, the municipality of Drimmelen expected to raise 125,000 euros annually with the Biesbosch Vaantje. Even though she calls it a ‘successful pilot’, that amount was not achieved last sailing season.
Only 55,000 euros was raised, not even half of the expected amount. Four hundred private boat owners bought the pennant for 50 euros, which raised 20,000 euros. The remaining 35,000 euros was raised through entrepreneurs in the Biesbosch, such as boat rental and tour companies.
This disappointing result may be due to the varying opinions that the introduction of the voluntary boat tax evokes among boat owners. “I am quite prepared to pay for maintenance, but at the same time it is a question mark whether that will actually happen,” one of them said to Omroep Brabant at the start of the sailing season.
The money is indeed spent on maintenance in the nature reserve, the municipality of Drimmelen emphasizes. The first project on which the income from the Biesbosch Vaantje will be spent is the restoration of the jetty at the Benedenste Jannezand. It is in poor condition and was therefore partially demolished last spring.
The costs for repairing the scaffolding amount to 113,000 euros. And that is more than double what was raised from the sale of the Biesbosch Vaantje. That is why another 50,000 euros will be made available from the National Parks policy program and the municipality of Drimmelen will contribute 20,000 euros. More than 4,000 euros have been raised through crowdfunding by the Buitenfonds. The Biesbosch Streekfonds also makes a financial contribution to cover the full costs of repairing the jetty. Work will start soon.
But much more maintenance is needed in the Biesbosch. “It remains important that boat owners continue to purchase the vane,” says chairman Adriaan Schuller of the Biesbosch Vaantje foundation. That is why the municipality of Drimmelen will continue the voluntary boating tax next sailing season.
In addition, the municipality of Drimmelen and the foundation hope that the municipalities of Altena, Geertruidenberg and Dordrecht will also join in. They have not yet made a decision about this, but indicate that they are happy with the results from the pilot of the municipality of Drimmelen. “We ultimately want to expand it,” says foundation board member Maarten Voskuil. “So that we can tackle not only Drimmelen, but the entire Biesbosch.”
