|“Onbekend maakt onbemind” [Unfamiliar makes unloved], is a typical Dutch saying that refers to unfamiliarity with a place, with food or some-thing else, leading to a lack of emotional connec-tion, support and/or care. With this in mind, nine nature organisations in the Netherlands want to increase awareness on the special nature values of World Heritage Site the Wadden Sea area among a broad public, with the overall aim to enlarge support for nature and bird protection. Their campaign is part of a larger multi-faceted project called “Wij & Wadvogels” [“We and Wadden birds”], which is running from 2019 to 2026. The project is unique as it does not only focus on physical measurements to improve the natural habitat of birds (restoration and expan-sion of resting, foraging and breeding places for birds); it also includes the social valuation of na-ture, with the focus on birds. The project aims to offer new sustainable forms of bird recreation which should result in increasing support for na-ture and birds (Vogelbescherming, 2018). This aim underlines the importance of gaining more insight into which aspects contribute to a higher support for nature and bird protection most. In this paper, we investigate indicators which predict support for bird protection among visitors to the Wadden Sea area. These indicators will be part of a monitoring system which moni-tors the effectiveness of activities of the project from 2021 to 2026. Due to the corona crisis, the actual monitoring could not start yet, as the type of visitors was expected to differ significantly from a normal year. Especially the relatively high number of first time visitors was notable. On the other hand, this gave us more opportunities to investigate differences between visitors.
Onbekend maakt onbemind (Usielewi hufanya usipendwe) ni msemo wa kawaida wa Uholanzi unaohusu kutokujua mahali, chakula au kitu kingine, na kusababisha ukosefu wa uhusiano wa kihisia, msaada na au huduma. Kwa kuzingatia hili, mashirika tisa ya asili nchini Uholanzi yanataka kuongeza ufahamu juu ya thamani maalum ya asili ya eneo la Urithi wa Ulimwengu wa Bahari ya Wadden kati ya umma, na lengo la jumla la kupanua msaada kwa ajili ya uhifadhi wa asili na ndege. Kampeni hiyo ni sehemu ya mradi mkubwa wa "Wij & Waddenvogels" ambao unaanza mwaka 2019 na utaendelea hadi 2026. Mradi huu ni wa kipekee kwa sababu haukazia tu vipimo vya kimwili ili kuboresha mazingira ya asili ya ndege (kurudisha na kupanua maeneo ya kupumzika, kutafuta chakula na kuzaliana kwa ndege); pia inajumuisha thamani ya kijamii ya asili, na kuzingatia ndege. Mradi huo unakusudia kutoa aina mpya endelevu za burudani ya ndege ambayo inapaswa kusababisha kuongezeka kwa msaada kwa asili na ndege (Vogelbescherming, 2018). Lengo hili linaonyesha umuhimu wa kupata ufahamu zaidi juu ya mambo ambayo yanachangia msaada mkubwa kwa ajili ya asili na ulinzi wa ndege zaidi. Katika karatasi hii, sisi kuchunguza viashiria ambayo kutabiri msaada kwa ajili ya ulinzi wa ndege miongoni mwa wageni kwa eneo la Bahari ya Wadden. "Hizi ni viashiria vya mfumo wa ufuatiliaji ambao unasimamia ufanisi wa shughuli za mradi huo kuanzia 2021 hadi 2026.""" Kwa sababu ya mgogoro wa corona, ufuatiliaji halisi hauwezi kuanza bado, kwani aina ya wageni ilitarajiwa kutofautiana sana na mwaka wa kawaida. Hasa idadi kubwa ya wageni wa kwanza ilikuwa ya kuvutia. Kwa upande mwingine, hilo lilitupa fursa zaidi za kuchunguza tofauti kati ya wageni.