Pampus (Amsterdam) - On the artificial island of Pampus in the IJmeer lake to the east of Amsterdam, more than 200 boats took part in a demonstration on Saturday against plans for urban development in the lake.

Twenty organisations, including Friends of the Earth Netherlands and the Royal Water Sports Association jointly signed a 'Pampus Pamphlet' in protest at plans to build around 10,000 homes on artificial islands in the east of the IJmeer. They also oppose the construction of a bridge or tunnel between Amsterdam and the new town of Almere, which lies on polder land reclaimed in the late 1960s.

The suburbs of Amsterdam are already expanding into the western side of the lake, with the recent construction of the new neighbourhood of IJburg.
 
Environmentalists fear the ecological consequences of further urban expansion across the water, particularly for water birds. Water sports enthusiasts are concerned that the development will cut off the Ijmeer from the IJsselmeer lake, the former inland sea which was closed off from the North Sea by a 30-kilometre dike in 1932.
 
The protest took place in the waters around the artificial island of Pampus, a 19th-century fort which is part of the Defence Line of Amsterdam, a UNESCO world heritage site.

Radio Netherlands / Expatica