Presentations

Abstract

Offshore wind farms (OWFs) are promising locations for nature enhancement. They offer hard substrate surfaces as well as less or no bottom disturbance. The Rich North Sea program aims to enhance nature in OWFs by creating reefs and increasing biodiversity. All the expertise gained in the last five years on how to get started with nature inclusive design (NID) is shared with our growing international community of pioneers. Via the Rich North Sea's Toolbox we are engaging with national and international partners in the field of science, government and industry. In the context of large-scale nature restoration, the Toolbox is an important platform to spread the knowledge gained in the Netherlands to other countries, primarily to inspire other North Sea countries but also outside of this scope to a broader public. This interaction works both ways. We inspire other parties on how to start with NID in OWFs, and our Dutch knowledge is further enriched with new (practical) knowledge from abroad. What we have built has never been done before on this scale and we want to further spread our influence and lessons learned regarding nature enhancement in the offshore energy transition. The Toolbox is an open access platform that can be used for many different purposes and provides information on different abstraction levels. It inspires and activates the offshore industry with best practices, it publishes the latest scientific knowledge on the effects of NID in OWFs and it connects likeminded professionals in creating more ecological friendly OWFs. It is filled with examples of products and projects, not only from our own program but from other pioneers as well.