This is evident from the ‘National Bever approach’ that was established in The Hague. The damage caused by protected beavers in the Netherlands to, among other things, dikes, banks, quays and railway alds can amount to hundreds of millions of euros.
That is why in the coming years much more work will be made of taking preventive measures, such as placing sheet piling and mesh to prevent flooding and collapses. This is evident from the ‘National Bever approach’ that was established in The Hague.
The policy document shows that the large rodents, recognizable by the flat tail with scales, are impressive builders. For example, they prefer to dig meter -long tunnels at night in banks, quays and dikes. In one night they can even get to the core of a dike, causing stability to be endangered and subsidence and dike breaches are lurking.
Sagged railway line by Bevers
For example, a hole of no less than twenty meters long was found in Wamel and a railway line in Zwolle. To curb the danger of the beaver, ministries, the water boards, ProRail and Rijkswaterstaat have been agreed a national protocol, so that it is clear what the possibilities are and so that they can intervene faster if needed.
Although the beaver was extinct in our country, partly due to a fierce hunt for the fur animals, the population has risen explosively since the 1980s. More than 5000 adult beavers now live.
The idea is that bank adjustments, such as mesh or sheet piling, will stop the nagging fortress builders. These preventive measures cost around 30,000 euros per process, but according to the report are worthwhile. After all: the damage to the infrastructure can amount to more than 500 million euros if, for example, dikes break through, with all consequential damage that that entails.
Beaver is a protected species and may not be shot just like that
But that is not the only thing: the removal of willows is also one of the options to prevent beaver damage. After all, the rodents love the bark and the twigs of this soft wood, especially in colder months. Since the beaver is a protected animal species, it may not just be caught or killed.
The damage to the infrastructure by Bevers can amount to more than 500 million euros. © ANP / Marcel van den Bergh
However, it is possible to switch to the shooting of the rodents in extreme emergencies, but then other measures such as chasing or moving must first have been tried.
Drones and sensors in fight against Bever
In the Bever protocol, attention is now also paid to other measures, such as monitoring with drones and sensors for detecting engraving, although in many cases that will be more difficult: beavers work at night, making it difficult to ‘detect early’. The beavers also seem to start digging just under the water surface, so diagonally up into the dike.
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“Certainly in high water levels, this can lead to rapid saturation of the dike body and even collapse,” says a spokesperson for the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, who confirms that there is now an official Hague Bever policy.
“The national approach indicates how we want to deal with the beaver. Because they are protected, but at the same time they are perhaps the greatest danger to our water safety.”