Nature restoration in The Netherlands

At a glance

Through our partnership with Stukje Natuur, we help to support tree-planting on sites around the Netherlands. The project works with local landowners such as farmers, to help plant trees on their land – including as part of reforestation and restoration efforts on degraded land, or afforestation (planting new trees where previously there were none) within existing forests. In doing so, they involve children, adults and businesses to create awareness about climate change. Together with our community, Regreener will contribute to this goal by supporting tree-planting projects in the Netherlands.

Carbon impact

Planting trees plays an important role in the fight against climate change. Trees can capture large amounts of CO2 through photosynthesis and use that carbon dioxide to grow their trunks, branches, roots and leaves. As a result, trees function as active "carbon sinks". While it may be tempting to plant many fast-growing trees to capture a lot of carbon in a short period of time, it is better to plant a mix of species that grow constantly to ensure that there is constant carbon sequestration. Reducing CO2 by planting trees can also reduce the negative impacts of climate change, such as heat waves, drought, forest loss, desertification, erosion, and floods.

The Netherlands has 363,800 hectares of woodland, about 11% of total land surface. Since 1990, effectively no new woodlands have been added in this densely populated country. Compared to the rest of the EU, the Netherlands has (after Malta) the lowest forest cover of all EU member states. Also, in terms of biodiversity, the Netherlands is in an alarming state. About 15% of the native plant- and animal species that were present in the 1900s in the country, remain. This versus a European average of 40%.

This reforestation project focuses on two types of planting methods. The first method focuses on afforestation (i.e. creating new forests) of previously agricultural (grass) land. The second method targets open spots in the forest. Open spots often emerge because (often pine) trees die off. The open spots are reforested with new-, more climate resilient species, thereby often boosting the forests’ biodiversity.

Co-benefits

The co-benefits of Dutch reforestation projects are, in comparison to other project geographies, low. Besides directly increasing biodiversity through a greater mix of species, the new trees also have indirect effect by creating or enhancing habitats. One other important co-benefit of tree planting in the Netherlands lies in better water management.

StukjeNatuur

This project is run by StukjeNatuur. StukjeNatuur is a non-profit organization that aims to plant 10 million climate robust trees for nature development in the Netherlands with donations from individuals and businesses. Founded in 2022, the organization works with FSC Netherlands and the Union of Forest Groups to find the most suitable locations, to increase biodiversity and to make the Netherlands greener.