Environmental compensation for Maasvlakte 2
The Port of Rotterdam built the first phase of Maasvlakte 2 in the period 2008 – 2013. The new harbour covers 2.5% of the total Fore-Delta, a Natura 2000 area. According to the Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA), the construction and presence of the harbour both have an impact on the animal and plant species living in the environment.
Various measures have been taken to compensate for and mitigate the effects of the construction and presence of Maasvlakte 2 on the ecosystem and the natural habitat. A 25,000-hectare seabed protection area was created in the Foredelta (10 times the size of the surface area of the new harbour) incorporating a resting area for birds. Furthermore, a new dune area was created near 's-Gravezande (Spanjaardsduin) in 2009 to compensate for the increasing level of nitrogen deposition after Maasvlakte II has been put into operation. A range of measures have also been put in place to compensate for and mitigate the effects of construction of the harbour.
Three monitoring and evaluation plans (MEPs) were drawn up and implemented to monitor the effectiveness of these measures. An interim evaluation of the MEPs took place in 2013.
The final report is available below. The basic data used for these reports can be found under the "open data" tab.