Following the success of the nature film “The New Wilderness”, a new film about nature in the Netherlands by the same filmmakers had its premiere on 21 September. At the symposium prior to the screening of “Holland: Nature in the Delta”, the Delta Programme Commissioner and the Director of the Dutch World Wide Fund for Nature discussed the link between nature and water. ‘The past shows us what can happen, but safety can also be advanced through the natural environment and spatial development. Wherever possible, in the Delta Programme we are restoring the balance between safety and the natural world. Through hundreds of measures, we are trying to make the delta more resilient and robust so that it can withstand climate extremes.’
During the symposium, Minister Schultz van Haegen of I&M spoke about awareness of water and nature. ‘The surface of water reflects like a mirror, often making it difficult to see what is going on beneath the surface. And more and more is happening there. In the 1970s, the water in many parts of the Netherlands was black and dirty. However, thanks to environmental legislation and innovations the situation has been dramatically improved. We see all kinds of fish species returning once again after a lengthy absence. I hope that this film will make people more aware of how they should treat water and the natural world.”
Still from the nature film “The New Wilderness”. Source: YouTube.
The rest of the afternoon included discussions about “Bringing in the Dutch” and creatively linking nature and water. In an article, the Netherlands’ most famous forester, Arjan Postma, had high praise for the film’s leading actors: the white-tailed eagle, the stickleback, the scarce large blue (butterfly) and the hare – “the cheetah of the polder. “