Water as Leverage - Wadden Sea Region

Water as Leverage for Climate Adaptation: Wadden Sea Region
Texel
Context
Living between fresh
and salt water
It is every islander’s greatest
resource: fresh water. Every drop
of rain water that falls from the
sky must be collected, stored and
used. So too on Texel, where the
landscape is an embodiment of
various fresh-salt gradients. It
produces unique biotopes, such
as De Muy, Bleekersvallei and
Bollekamer, specific agricultural
landscapes, such as the saline
grasslands in the South and the
reclaimed arable fields of Eierland,
and pioneering villages such
as De Cocksdorp. Pumping up
ground water is prohibited to not
increase salinity and until the early
1990s, Texel even had its own
water factory, where yearly around
700.000 litres of sea water could
be converted into drinking water.
The population growth caused
such an increase in water demand
that the water factory could no
longer meet it, so the necessary
drinking water guarantees were
translated into two pipelines
between Den Helder and the
island. This infrastructural
relationship with the mainland
requires substantial maintenance
and constant reinvestment.
dune areas. The dunes serve as
a natural protection against the
rising sea level. Sand suppletion
of the coast is therefore crucial to
maintain the water safety.
The peculiar landscape makes
Texel a preferred tourist
destination and has a positive
impact on the resilience of
agricultural activities. The nature
has a positive impact on the
regional economy, allowing many
businesses, entrepreneurs and
employees to earn an income.
However, since more and more
“mainlanders” are buying
(vacation) homes, it is becoming
increasingly difficult for young
people on Texel to buy a home
which puts the quality of life under
pressure.
The island consists of a high
diversity of nature. It contains
wetlands, mud flats and salt
marshes with unique vegetation,
deciduous forests and pine forests
such as ‘de Dennen’, and large
6
Texel