ABSTRACT
Polder landscapes occur in most reclaimed estuaries and low-lying coastal and inland areas of the world. In Europe, the most characteristic and widespread polder landscapes occur in The Netherlands, a nation that was largely carved from the estuaries of three great European Rivers, the Rhine, Meuse and Schelde, from medieval times on. Their origin and management give them a number of specific attributes: dense waterway and field patterns, dyke systems, windmills, pumping stations, open wetland sceneries and, under low-intensity farming, a variety of saline, brackish and freshwater habitats rich in aquatic and wetland species and especially important to breeding and migrating wildfowl. Their alluvial substrates make them, however, potentially very productive, and consequently large areas have been converted to more intensive crop and livestock farming. The resulting lowered water tables, enrichment and losses of habitats have caused a decline of characteristic biodiversities and wetland sceneries. This tension between the developmental possibilities of agriculture and values pertaining to nature and landscape is typical of the peatland polder areas. Their location close to urban centres also introduces all kinds of (sub)urban stresses. Reconciling agricultural and environmental objectives is difficult, but progress has been made in The Netherlands, both technically and in planning procedures based on the broad commitment of different groups of regional actors.
