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Marker Wadden
Marker Wadden Location in the Markermeer
Location	Municipality of Lelystad , Flevoland , Netherlands
Coordinates	52°35′N 5°23′E  /  52.583°N 5.383°E  / 52.583; 5.383

The Marker Wadden is an artificial archipelago under development in the Markermeer , a lake in the Netherlands . The first island was inaugurated on 24 September 2016. ^[1] It is a nature reserve alternative to the much bigger proposed Markerwaard polder that was begun in 1941, but paused following World War II and finally canceled in 2003.

Project [ edit ]

The project was proposed in 2012 by the Vereniging Natuurmonumenten . ^{[2] [3] [4]} The Dutch government, BirdLife Netherlands , ANWB , and VNO-NCW are partners in its development. ^{[ citation needed ]}

Work on the first phase, which is mainly focused on the construction of the first island, started in April 2016, ^[5] with Boskalis Westminster being awarded the contract. ^[6]

The main aims of the project are to create breeding grounds, islands, and coast line as well as to improve the water ecology of the Markermeer. The project creates a wetland comparable with the Wadden Sea ?hence the name of the project?yet without tides . This is because the Markermeer is not connected to the sea and is in a fresh water environment. The nature reserve is accessible to tourists. ^[7] There is a ferry service from the city of Lelystad , itself a city built on reclaimed IJsselmeer land.

On 11 May 2016, the first new island was completed, Natuurmonumenten called this a "milestone". In March 2017, it was announced that four other islands should be completed before 2020. ^[8]

Flora and fauna [ edit ]

The islands have been colonized by large numbers of breeding birds. A colony of 200 breeding pairs of pied avocet has made the islands their home, as has a large colony of common tern . Little terns also breed on the islands. Northern shoveler , gadwall , garganey , Mediterranean gull , spoonbill , long-tailed duck and numerous other species of birds have been seen on and around the islands.

Participants [ edit ]

Contributions: Dutch government €19,000,000 . ^[1]

Controversy [ edit ]

The ecologist Wouter van Dieren  [ nl ] claimed he first had the idea in 1996 and talks about " plagiarism ". ^[9]

Events [ edit ]

In March 2024 Marker Wadden was the focus of a 50-strong scientific ecological conference investigating aspects of water ecology and coastal science organised by the Netherlands Centre for Coastal Research . ^[10]

References [ edit ]

External links [ edit ]

• Marker Wadden , Natuurmonumenten