Order of the Golden Ark

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Order of the Golden Ark
Kingdom of the Netherlands Commander of the Order of the Golden Ark badge of order
Type	Order of Merit
Country	the  Netherlands
Awarded for	Significant contributions to nature conservation
Grand Master	King Willem-Alexander
Grades	Commander (Dutch Commandeur) Officer (Dutch Officier) Knight (Dutch Ridder)
Precedence
Next (higher)	Teutonic Order, Bailiwick of Utrecht
Next (lower)	Cross for the Four Day Marches Awards of Dutch NGO's
Ribbon of the order

The Most Excellent Order of the Golden Ark (Dutch: Orde van de Gouden Ark) is a Dutch order of merit established in 1971 by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. It is awarded to people for major contributions to nature conservation.^[1] Although not awarded by the government of the Netherlands, it is considered by the government as a recognized chivalrous order.^[2] Since its inception, over 300 people have been recognised by the award. Now that Prince Bernhard has died, the future of the order is uncertain.