A river at Europe’s heart gives a climate solution to riled farmers

Noisy machinery, gravel dredging — and ultimately wildflowers and birdsong. This project merges profit with rewilding

Galloway cattle graze at the edge of the Meuse river at the River Park Meuse Valley restoration project in the Valley of the Meuse on the Belgium-Netherlands border. Pictures: Ksenia Kuleshova/Bloomberg

As the river Meuse winds its way from France toward Netherlands, it cuts through an eastern Belgian province of Limburg where hunks of metallic machinery noisily dredge up 900 tonnes of gravel per hour. The gravel from the ancient river bed then travels on a mile-long rubber belt to be piled into vast mounds which are transported for making cement and other materials in one of the wealthiest corners of Europe.

Dredging machinery at the Steengoed Projecten cvba gravel extraction plant in the River Park Meuse Valley restoration project in Limburg, Belgium