News item | 26-02-2024 | 5:10 PM
On Monday, February 26, 2024, Minister for Nature Christianne van der Wal spoke during the 5th anniversary of The Rich North Sea announced in Amsterdam that the North Sea Nature Enhancement Program (PNN) is now starting. De Rijke Noordzee works together with offshore wind developers, companies, nature organizations and scientific knowledge institutions to combine wind farms in the North Sea with increasing and strengthening underwater biodiversity. With the PNN, the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV) wants to further build on the many good work that the Rich North Sea has already done in the past 5 years.
Minister Christianne van der Wal: “I am pleased that with the North Sea Nature Enhancement Program we can finally get out of the starting blocks to continue working on more nature underwater and in and around the offshore wind farms. We have already reserved €150 million for this from the climate fund in 2022. The program will be a public-private partnership looking for new opportunities for more nature in our North Sea. And that is desperately needed, because nature in the North Sea is under increasing pressure. We would very much like to keep the people and existing organization of De Rijke Noordzee involved in this. It is very important that together we maintain and further expand the energy to achieve not only our climate goals, but also our nature goals.”
In the 2020 North Sea Agreement and the North Sea policy program 2022-2027, it was already agreed with the Ministries of Infrastructure and Water Management and Economic Affairs and Climate to develop more sustainable wind energy if there is room for this within the ecological limits. The North Sea Nature Enhancement Program (PNN) has been set up to improve the nature of the North Sea in addition to the already mandatory legal measures to prevent damage to nature.
Nature restoration and strengthening
PNN measures are aimed at the recovery of species that are in danger. This not only concerns underwater animal species such as fish, marine mammals, sharks and rays, but also birds and bats. Work will also be done on options for restoring underwater and seabed nature such as reefs and oyster beds.
The program aims to achieve a healthy, resilient and nature-rich North Sea with room for natural processes and sustainable use. This also requires practice-oriented experimentation and the exchange of knowledge on an international scale. The PNN will finance various pilots and related activities.