Today nature area Vinkeveense Plassen (Vinkenveen Lakes), Utrecht is auctioning off 44 small islands, more specifically land strips in peat grounds where you can moor boats, called ‘legakkers’ in Dutch. Anyone who buys them is obliged to make sure they are well kept and do not wash away.

These small islands have been around since the last century. Their upkeep is expensive and selling them off to individuals seemed to be the best solution. However, nature organisations are very much against the sale, fearing that people will build houses on them and destroy the nature. But then again buying an island and then doing nothing with it isn’t a very attractive proposal and telling people what to do with their property is indeed quite shortsighted.

I wonder if people will buy more than one.

(Link: rtvutrecht.nl, Photo by Quistnix, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 1.0)