Inleiding op Themanummer Natuurcompensatie

The current issue of the RAVON magazine is devoted to the problems around compensating for loss or degradation of habitat and mitigation of the effects of human activity, especially building projects. The situation in the Netherlands is described in the foreword. Compensation for loss of habitat is obligatory by law. However, the way in which it is carried out and the measures taken to ensure the success of the translocation, are far from adequate. This had led to an internet application being created by the Dutch species protection agency (www.soortenbescherming.nl) to facilitate the communication between volunteers of the NGOs concerned with nature conservation. This application will be launched at a symposium entitled ‘Van waarneming naar natuurbescherming’ (From observation to nature conservation) that will take place in Utrecht on October 1st 2011.