Overview
The river Maas (Meuse) is a transboundary river with multiple forms of human infrastructure (e.g., dams and weirs) along its course on Dutch territory, and that has been historically highly polluted by industry. Recent campaigns and initiatives have been developed to try to restore part of its natural landscape and river health, including the Grensmaas/Border Meuse rewilding project. This project is the result of concerted work by different actors, including nature organizations (Ark Nederland, Natuurmonumenten), Rijkswaterstaat and local/regional Water Boards, and gravel extraction companies. Scientists and academics have also been actively involved to monitor the development of this “rewilded” nature area.
Research summary
PhD researcher: Carlota Houart
From a multispecies justice perspective, river rewilding projects such as the Grensmaas/Border Meuse initiative raise a series of compelling, important, and challenging questions. For example: who are the main decision-makers in rewilding projects, and what subjects (human and non-human) are they representing, including and/or excluding in their decision-making? Which species are chosen for a particular river rewilding project, and why some and not others? Are there contestations among different (human) actors, and why do they arise? A case study such as the Grensmaas rewilding initiative, which PhD researcher Carlota Houart is researching, provides fertile ground for an ongoing reflection on matters of multispecies (in)justice, namely in the context of “domesticated” rivers that are subject to human decision-making over (human and other-than-human) lives and actors.