On this day, 17 September 1995, the first international conference on Habitat fragmentation, infrastructure and the role of ecological engineering opened in Maastricht – The Hague, the Netherlands. Promoted by Rijkswaterstaat, the Dutch administration for infrastructure, the event gathered experts and professionals from many countries across Europe and beyond.
This pioneering conference provided:
- a state-of-the-art overview of habitat fragmentation caused by infrastructure;
- insights into measures to reduce ecological impacts;
- an integrated approach from policy objectives to planning, design and management;
- and international perspectives, including experiences from the USA.
More importantly, during the meeting the idea emerged to create a permanent platform for experts and collaboration on these issues. This vision led to the foundation of IENE in 1996 under the leadership of Hans Bekker from Rijkswater, who was the IENE Chair.
📷 𝐸𝑥𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑝 𝑖𝑛 𝑀𝑎𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐ℎ𝑡, 𝑁𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠, 1995 (© 𝐻𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑑𝑒 𝑉𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠)