WETFUTURES

The JPI-CH project "Wetland Futures in Contested Environments: an inter- and transdisciplinary approach to wetland heritage in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Ireland" (WETFUTURES) centres on the incredible richness and diversity of material and immaterial cultural heritage associated with Northwest European wetland environments. These dynamic areas are undergoing rapid change from climatic, demographic, economic and political influences, but there are no tailor-made or proactive studies to identify the impacts of change on their wide range of heritage values. Additionally, various stakeholders have different interests in these landscapes which are often difficult to reconcile.

The WETFUTURES project is a collaboration between Wageningen University & Research, the University of Bradford (United Kingdom) and University College Cork (Ireland) and addresses these challenges and explores the ways in which wetland heritage can contribute to contemporary social challenges.

Within the Dutch part of the project three very different case-study areas are researched that reflect the diversity and the variety of challenges regarding wetland heritage: the fenlands of the western-Netherlands, world-heritage Schokland, and the Wadden-Sea region.