The conference programme runs over four days and consists of invited papers, plenary oral presentations, a series of parallel thematic workshops, excursions and a poster session. Emphasis is on a maximal contact between participants and on the interchange of practical information, by including two half-a-day excursions, two blocks of three (parallel) thematic workshops and by avoiding parallel oral sessions. There are two types of oral presentations: (1) plenary oral presentations of 20’ each; (2) short ‘provocative’ presentations of ca. 5’ each as an introduction to the thematic workshops. Both types of orals will be fully acknowledged in the proceedings and guarantee a full response of the audience.

There will be seven topics, most of them shaped into a plenary oral session and a thematic workshop:

(1) Coastal Conservation Policies: acquisition of target areas & inventory of initiatives at a European level;
(2) Technical aspects of nature restoration activities & management planning;
(3) Role of scientific research in the planning and the monitoring phase;
(4) Tourism/recreation and nature development/restoration;
(5) Nature restoration/development in harbours;
(6) Shore-line management;
(7) Hydrology and management of dunes & estuaries.

Programme
 

Monday 19 September 2005

Registration - poster set-up: 16.00-18.00

Welcome reception: 18.00
   

Tuesday 20 September 2005

Registration – poster set-up – coffee: 08.30-09.30

Welcome and Introduction
chair: Jan Mees

09.30-10.00

Welcome by:
- the first alderman and acting mayor of Koksijde, Jan Loones
- the governor of the province of West Flanders, Paul Breyne
- the Flemish minister for the Environment, Kris Peeters

10.00-10.10

Practical information (organizing committee)

10.10-10.20 

Thematic overview (scientific committee)

10.20-10.40  

EU biodiversity policy context for the conservation of estuaries and dunes (Micheal O'Briain)

10.40-11.00

LIFE-Nature along European coasts (Frank Vassen)

11.00-11.20  

The Flemish coast: life is beautiful! (Jean-Louis Herrier and Hannah Van Nieuwenhuyse)

Coffee: 11.20-11.50 (+ press-conference)

Coastal Conservation Policies  
Plenary session 1: chair: Roland Paskoff

11.50-12.10   

The conservation of sand dunes in the Atlantic Biogeographical Region: the contribution of the LIFE programme (John Houston)

12.10-12.30 

Sand dune inventory of Europe (James Patrick Doody)

12.30-12.50  

Purchase of dunes: the first step towards nature restoration along the Flemish coast (Herrier Jean-Louis, Ilse Killemaes and Caren Noels)

12.50-13.10  

The French policy experience of purchasing coastal areas (Etienne Dubaille)

Short presentation:
Developing a European coastal dune management network (P. Rooney)

Lunch: 13.10-14.20

Technical aspects of nature restoration activities and management planning 
Plenary session 2: chair: Fred van der Vegte )

14.20-14.40   

Sledgehammers, cranes and bulldozers: restoring dunes and marshes

by removing buildings and soil (Herrier Jean-Louis, Hannah Van Nieuwenhuyse, Christophe Deboeuf, Stijn Deruyter and Marc Leten)

14.40-15.00 

Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) in the western Wadden Sea:

monitoring, habitat suitability model, transplantations and communication (Bos Arthur R., Norbert Dankers, Art H. Groeneweg,D. Carin R. Hermus, Zwanette Jager, Dick J. de Jong, Thea Smit, Jaap de Vlas, Marco van Wieringen and Marieke M. van Katwijk) 

15.00-15.20  

Invasive scrub and trees in the coastal dunes of Flanders (Belgium): an overview of management goals, actions and results (Leten Marc, Hannah Van Nieuwenhuyse and Jean-Louis Herrier) 

15.20-15.40

Restoration of dune mobility in The Netherlands (Arens Bas, Luc Geelen, Rienk Slings and Hans Wondergem)

15.40-16.00 

Remote sensing of coastal vegetation in The Netherlands and Belgium (Provoost Sam, Mark van Til, Bart Deronde and Andries Knotters)

Short presentation:
MOTIIVE– Marine Overlays on Topography for annex II Valuation and Exploitation (Roger Longhorn)

Coffee: 16.00-16.30

Role of scientific research in the planning and the monitoring phase  
Plenary session 3: chair: Patrick Meire

16.30-16.50  

Potentials of airborne hyperspectral remote sensing for vegetation mapping of spatially heterogeneous dynamic dunes, a case study along the Belgian coastline (Bertels Luc, Bart Deronde, Pieter Kempeneers, Sam Provoost and Evy Tortelboom)

16.50-17.10

The importance of seed bank knowledge for the restoration of coastal plant communities – a case study of salt marshes and dune slacks at the Belgian coast (Bossuyt Beatrijs, Els Stichelmans and Maurice Hoffmann)

17.10-17.30 

Release from native root herbivores and biotic resistance by soil pathogens in a new habitat both affect the alien Ammophila arenaria in South Africa (Knevel Irma C., Wim H. van der Putten and Roy A. Lubke)

17.30-17.50  

From measuring to planning: an integrated study of the Schelde Estuary (Meire Patrick, Stefan Vandamme, Tom Maris, Tom Cox, Eric Struyf)

17.50-18.10

Large herbivores in coastal dune management: do grazers do what they are supposed to do? (Hoffmann Maurice, Eric Cosyns and Indra Lamoot)
   

Wednesday 21 September 2005

Registration & information – coffee: 8.30-9.00

Parallel thematic workshop sessions: 9.00-12.30 (coffee: 11.00-11.30)

Workshop ‘Technical aspects’ – chair: Jean-Louis Herrier

Introductory statements:
 

§ Dynamic dune management in practice – remobilization of coastal dunes in the National Park Zuid-Kennemerland in the Netherlands (Leon Terlouw and Rienk Slings)

§ Multi-technique survey of fine sediment transport and deposition in a managed estuary: the Authie Estuary, northern France (Marion Claire, Edward Anthony and Alain Trentesaux)

§ Development of a decision support system for LIFE-Nature and similar projects: from trial-and-error to knowledge based nature management (Brouwer Emiel, Gert-Jan van Duinen, Marijn Nijssen and Hans Esselink) 

Managing the Flemish dunes: from eco-gardening to mechanical disturbances created by bulldozers (Lemoine Guillaume and Laurent Faucon)

Workshop ‘Role of scientific research’ – chair: Maurice Hoffmann

Introductory statements:
 

§ Are coastal dune management actions for biodiversity restoration and conservation underpinned by internationally published scientific research? (Dries Bonte and Maurice Hoffmann) 

Donkeys as mobile links for plant seed dispersal in coastal dune ecosystems (Couvreur Martine, Eric Cosyns, Indra Lamoot, Kris Verheyen, Maurice Hoffmann and Martin Hermy)

Integrated monitoring of nature restoration along ecotones, the example of the Yser estuary (Maurice Hoffmann et al.)

Monitoring Bryophytes and lichens dynamics in sand dunes: example on the French Atlantic coast (Françoise Rozé and Raphaël Jun)

 

 

Workshop ‘Hydrology and management of dunes and estuaries’ – chair: Piet Veel

Introductory statements:
 

§ The role of hydrogeological research in the realization of a combined pumping and deep infiltration system at the excavation ‘Duinenabdij’ (Louwyck Andy, Alexander Vandenbohede and Luc Lebbe)

§ Sustainable groundwater management of a dune aquifer by re-use of wastewater effluent in Flanders, Belgium (Van Houtte Emmanuel, Johan Verbauwhede and Rika Driessens)

§ The importance of groundwater and other ecohydrological impacts in the management of salt marsh plant communities (Laurence Boorman and John Hazelden)

Supporting dune management by quantitative estimation of evapotranspiration (Samson Roeland, Sam Provoost, Lies Willaert and Raoul Lemeur)

Excursion (with packed lunch): 13.00-18.00

Poster session + Snacks bar: 18.00-19.30
   

Thursday 22 September 2005

Registration & information – coffee: 8.30-9.00

Reporting Thematic Workshops 21 September: 9.00-9.20

Tourism/recreation & nature development/restoration  
Plenary session 4: chair: Kazimierz Rabski

09.20-09.40  

Investments as a lever for sustainable equilibrium between ecology and recreation at the Belgian coast (Bart Slabbinck)

09.40-10.00 

Preserving the beach deposits (high-water driftlines) and the embryo dunes on the coastline of the North Department (France)

(Guillaume Lemoine and Laurent Faucon)

Nature restoration/development in harbours 
Plenary session 5: chair: Frank Neumann

10.00-10.20  

Harbouring nature: port development and dynamic birds provide clues for conservation (Stienen Eric W.M., Wouter Courtens, Marc Van De Walle, Jeroen Van Waeyenberge and Eckhart Kuijken) 

10.20-10.40   

International legal possibilities and obligations for nature conservation in ports (An Cliquet)

Coffee: 10.40-11.10

Shoreline management
Plenary session 6: chair: Pat Doody

11.10-11.30 

Shoreline management – conservation, management or restoration? (Pat Doody)

11.30-11.50  

EUROSION: Coastal erosion measures, knowledge and results acquired through 60 studies (Hugo Niesing)

11.50-12.10  

Windows in the dunes – the creation of sea inlets in the nature reserve de Westhoek in De Panne (Verwaest Toon, Peter De Wolf, Jean-Louis Herrier and Marc Leten)

12.10-12.30 

Coastal dune evolution on a shoreline subject to strong human pressure: the Dunkirk area, northern France (Ruz Marie-Hélène, Edward J. Anthony and Laurent Faucon)

12.30-12.50 

The UK LIFE project on shoreline management: ‘Living with the Sea’ (Stephen Worrall)

Excursion (with packed lunch): 13.00-18.00

Conference dinner (Bruges): 20.00

 

Friday 23 September 2005

Registration & information – coffee: 8.30-9.00

Parallel thematic workshop sessions: 09.00-12.30 (coffee: 11.30-12.10)

Workshop ‘Tourism/recreation and nature restoration’ – chair: Haim Tsoar

Introductory statements:
 

§ The Abbey of the Dunes (Koksijde) and Noordduinen: the environmental link restored (Van de Steene Siska, Carole Ampe, Klaas De Smet and Wim Pauwels)

§ The opening to the French public of ‘natural’ sites of coastal dunes: the choice between ‘over-visiting’ and ‘over-protection’ of a shared natural heritage (Catherine Meur-Férec and Jean Favennec)

Ecological aspects of vegetation removal from the coastal sand dunes of Israel (Tsoar Haim, Moshe Shachak and Dan G. Blumberg) 

Workshop ‘Nature restoration/development in harbours’ – chair: Jaap Graveland

Introductory statements:
 

§ Management Plans in perspective of article 6.1 of the Habitats Directive: a common interest binding fishers, ecologists, hunters, port planners and recreationists (Frank Neumann)

§ Maintenance of the favourable conservation status in two Special Protection Areas in co-habitation with development of the Antwerp harbour (Spanoghe Geert, Ralf Gyselings, Erika Van den Bergh and Ludo Hemelaer)

Tidal wetland restoration at Ketenisse polder (Schelde Estuary, Belgium): developments in the first year (Erika Van den Bergh, Bart Vandevoorde, Ingrid Verbessem, Geert Spanoghe, Marie Lionard, Koenraad Muylaert, Nico De Regge, Jan Soors, Wim De Belder, Frederic Piesschaert and Patrick Meire)

 

§ Nature restoration in the harbour of Rotterdam, The Netherlands (Zindler, Maartje; Storm, C.; Van der Velden, J.A.)

Workshop ‘Shoreline management’ – chair: Helena Granja

Introductory statements:
 

§ Morphological evolution and management proposals in the Authie Estuary, northern France (Christine Dobroniak)

§ Coastal dunes and their management (Algimantas M. Olsauskas  and R. Urboniene)

§ Restoration of intertidal habitats by the managed realignment of coastal defences, UK (Angus Garbutt)

§ How may beach nourishment affect the sandy beach ecosystem? The case of Belgian beaches (Speybroeck Jeroen, Dries Bonte, Wouter Courtens, Tom Gheskiere, Patrick Grootaert, Jean-Pierre Maelfait, Mieke Mathys, Sam Provoost, Koen Sabbe, Eric Stienen, Marc Van De Walle, Vera Van Lancker, Wouter Van Landuyt, Edward Vercruysse, Magda Vincx and Steven Degraer)

Sustainable estuary management for the 21st century (Roger K.A. Morris)

Plenary reporting workshops 23 September: 12.10-12.30

Final conclusions: 12.30-12.40