KIMA

Marker Wadden

A new group of islands is emerging from the Markermeer lake: Marker Wadden. The islands are being made from excess mud supplemented with sand and clay. All three materials are being taken from the Markermeer lake. The aim is to create a nature and leisure area where plants, animals, birds and fish will feel at home and where people can enjoy nature.

Restoration of the ecosystem

The Marker Wadden archipelago is being built to tackle the deterioration of the ecosystem in the Markermeer lake. The bed is covered with a thick blanket of mud that disrupts the life of plants, fish, crustaceans and shellfish. Marker Wadden will produce a win-win situation: mud from the bed of the Markermeer will be reused in natural islands, improving water quality and the underwater habitat, and creating a new nature and leisure area.

Unique project

Marker Wadden is a unique nature restoration project. Never before has excess mud been used on a large scale to build natural islands and restore the ecosystem. The unique nature of the project offers an excellent opportunity to develop knowledge.

Research

KIMA has been built around three research themes:

• Valuable ecosystem
• Building with mud and sand
• Adaptive Governance

Applying knowledge

The knowledge can be applied in other areas with a similar mud problem. In the Netherlands and abroad, there are other large waters that suffer from a mud surplus and ecosystem degradation.

Living Lab

Marker Wadden is a Living Lab where researchers are working on practical experiments. All those who wish to conduct research here are welcome. The parties involved in the Living Lab encourage the exchange of knowledge in collaboration in order to create synergy between the various research projects and disciplines