Commission in Zeeland weighs proposals to return land to nature

MIDDELBURG – A commission chaired by former Philips top man Prof. F.A. Maljers has nominated a part of the Braakmanpolder, near the Dow Chemical plant, as the area to be turned over to nature. According to environmental regulations and concepts, the controversial channeling of the Western Scheldt to accommodate larger size maritime traffic bound for the Belgian inland port of Antwerp, must return some cultivated soil to nature as a form of compensation. Earlier attempts to find a solution had been bogged down by strenuous opposition. The commission called for alternatives proposals and received over fifty submissions. Such proposals do not sit well with many in Zeeland, which frequently experienced devastating floods and would rather reclaim land from the sea than release it.