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Present use of the Dutch sandy-soil landscape is not sustainable and not climate proof. Hence there is an urgent and widely supported need for a socio-environmental transformation. We propose that in future landscape systems, functions at each location should align with local soil suitability and water availabililty. This requires a paradigm shift from the present system, where landscapes are modified through e.g. water management and fertilization to serve desired functions. With our research team and consortium of experts and actors, we will design nature-based landscapes that are climate-resilient and valuable and we will identify pathways towards these desired landscapes.

There are less than 4000 wild tigers alive and their habitats are under pressure due to climate change and anthropogenic activities. The Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) and the Duars at the foot of the Nepalese, Indian and Bhutanese Himalayas are the most important conservation area of tigers. Here, tiger habitats are affected through changing hydrological conditions that lead to deteriorating grasslands upon which free roaming deer rely for grazing. However, the natural and anthropogenic influences on grassland dynamics in these landscapes are poorly understood. Therefore, the overarching objective of this project is to characterise the temporal dynamics of the grasslands in the 23 nature reserves present. Particularly, the hydrology and river morphodynamics as abiotic factors become addressed as well as the pressures behind these two. This is not only a scientific, ecohydrological novelty but also crucial in combining preservation of the tiger habitat with sustainable water resources management in the TAL, the Duars and upstream Himalayas. We study the historical grassland dynamics in the floodplain over centuries and quantify the influence of climate change and contemporary anthropogenic interventions in the water system. We also assess the interrelationships between river dynamics, groundwater, landcover and land-use, and grazing ungulates. We take a dual approach: fundamental, multi-disciplinary research will be performed at Bardia National Park and the associated Karnali River in Western Nepal as ideal study area; applied research will identify similarities and essential differences in the current hydrological and ecological conditions of the grasslands in the 23 nature reserves. Landscape stewardship approaches and strategies for sustainable water resources management and tiger habitat conservation are developed in co-creation with local communities and authorities. Concurrently, public awareness is raised at local to global scale to stimulate conservation of the tiger habitat and educational material is established for students, park rangers and others.

The SENSES project revolved around the use of so-called “climate services”; easily accessible tools to share scientific information about climate scenarios with other users (https://climatescenarios.org). Within the project there was a Dutch case study - the river basin of the Overijsselse Vecht. Based on a multi-scale vision (European, national, regional), researchers first (co-)produced desirable adaptation pathways together with stakeholders. These pathways were then tested against several possible scenarios and existing local initiatives. We concluded that the agricultural sector and a transition to circular agriculture with a new business model are essential for achieving climate adaptation and mitigation objectives.

Raised bogs contain high-resolution data on past climate, landscape change and human activity, which cannot be retrieved from other landscape contexts. However, detailed interdisciplinary studies with a long-term cultural and landscape-oriented perspective are rare. This hampers landscape reconstructions and the exploitation of the full scientific potential of these important repositories. The large majority of Dutch bogs (over 90 %) has already disappeared due to peat-cutting and reclamations, and the remainder is under major threat from climate change, agriculture, desiccation and pollution. As no proactive strategies have been designed for the sustainable management of bog-related cultural phenomena, this essential part of Dutch cultural heritage is at risk of being lost without having been identified properly. This Vidi-project analyses the long-term development of raised bogs in the "upland" parts of the Netherlands and adjacent parts of Belgium (Flanders) and Germany (Lower Saxony/Westphalia), with a main focus on cultural phenomena and human-land relations. This is done by means of interdisciplinary physical geographical, archaeological and historical geographical research at different spatial scale levels. Three prospective fieldwork campaigns in different parts of the research area provide additional high-quality data on bog development and cultural remains in the modern-day landscape. The research will produce detailed insights into the diverse trajectories that bog landscapes followed and how these patterns relate to human activity. As the research area is representative for larger parts of the Northwest European Plain, the results will be highly valuable for areas outside the Low Countries as well. Additionally, a proactive strategy is designed for the assessment and sustainable management of material culture elements in current and former bogs. This is done with the aid of constructive dialogues between scientists, numerous authorities, land management agencies and private owners, and by constructing mechanisms to integrate the interests of these different stakeholders.