Oostvaardersplassen

Oostvaardersplassen
Konik ponies in the Oostvaardersplassen
Geographical map of the Oostvaardersplassen
LocationFlevoland, the Netherlands
Nearest cityLelystad
Coordinates52°27′N 5°22′E / 52.450°N 5.367°E / 52.450; 5.367
Area56 km2 (22 sq mi)
Designated2 June 1989
Reference no.427[1]

The Oostvaardersplassen (Dutch pronunciation: [oːstˈfaːrdərsˌplɑsə(n)]) is a nature reserve in the Netherlands, managed by the Staatsbosbeheer (state forestry service). Covering about 56 square kilometres (22 sq mi) in the province of Flevoland, it is an experiment[2][3][4] in rewilding.[5] It is in a polder created in 1968; by 1989, its ecological interest had resulted in its being declared a Ramsar wetland.[6] It became part of Nieuw Land National Park when that was established in 2018.

  1. ^ "Oostvaardersplassen". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Archived from the original on 24 May 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. ^ "Experiments with the wilds at the Oostvaardersplassen (University of Oxford)" (PDF). www.geog.ox.ac.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-12-05. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  3. ^ "Where Dutch Nature Planning Went Wrong | Dutch Language Blog". blogs.transparent.com. 22 May 2018. Archived from the original on 2019-03-30. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  4. ^ "Experiment Oostvaardersplassen mislukt" [Oostvaardersplassen experiment has failed]. www.volkskrant.nl (paywall) (in Dutch). 6 September 2005. Archived from the original on 2018-12-15. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  5. ^ Oostvaardersplassen is discussed, for example, in George Monbiot's book Feral: searching for enchantment on the frontiers of rewilding (2013). While being in favour of rewilding, Monbiot has doubts about this site's lack of tree cover and of predators.
  6. ^ "NL066 Oostvaardersplassen". BirdLife. Archived from the original on April 11, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2012.