The Netherlands' Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management (Rijkswaterstaat) and the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) have entered into a new multi-year agreement for the comprehensive monitoring of the Wadden Sea.
Rijkswaterstaat and NIOZ will be working on long-term data series to gain the best possible understanding of the Wadden Sea.
Through this partnership, Rijkswaterstaat will support a number of research programmes that have been collecting data on plankton, benthic life and fish for many years.
NIOZ said these data series will form an important basis, both now and in the future, for high-quality research, data-driven management and evidence-based policy for the Wadden Sea.
The data will be made available not only to the NIOZ and Rijkswaterstaat, but also to other public authorities, researchers, and the general public as part of the basic monitoring programme.
Rijkswaterstaat and the NIOZ will continue this collaboration for the next five years, up to and including 2030.
“Effective management of the Wadden Sea starts with good, reliable data,” said Mieke Langedijk, Director of Network Development at Rijkswaterstaat Northern Netherlands.
“The NIOZ has been building up this knowledge for many years. These working agreements will strengthen our collaboration. We are sharing knowledge more effectively, not only within Rijkswaterstaat, but with everyone committed to the Wadden Sea.”
