Naturalis director Maaike van de Kamp-Romijn: “We’re yet to discover half the species in the North Sea.”

The North Sea is one of our most important economic regions. But strangely enough, we know very little about what lives in and around it. Due to climate change, Maaike van de Kamp-Romijn, deputy general director of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center Netherlands, says it is becoming increasingly urgent to monitor biodiversity – and therefore manage it better.

Naturalis wants to be able to monitor Dutch biodiversity at any time of the day. According to Van de Kamp-Romijn, if Noordzeker is granted permission to build the wind farm, it will provide a unique opportunity to map and monitor biodiversity in a very different way.

"We know there are about 1,200 species living in and around the North Sea. But our expectation is that this could be double, if not triple."

Building a wind farm creates opportunities for biodiversity. For starters, wind turbines provide 'hard substrate', on which species, including new species, can settle. At the same time, wind power generation means large parts of the North Sea remain undisturbed. As a result, 'soft substrate' provides an opportunity for species to return or settle.

Noordzeker and Naturalis Biodiversity Center have joined forces to make sure wind energy is as good for nature as it is for people.