The Dutch bird protection society is taking junior agriculture minister Henk Bleeker to court over his decision not to flood the Hedwige polder in Zeeland, according to press reports.

Flooding the Hedwige polder is part of a signed agreement between the Netherlands and Belgium to compensate for damage caused to nature by the deepening of the Westerschelde estuary.
The estuary is one of the last and the most natural estuaries in western Europe and a rich environment for coastal birds such as plovers.
The bird protection society is bringing its case on the basis that a ratified international agreement becomes part of the Dutch constitution and must be adhered to.
On Friday, Bleeker announced he had found an alternative for flooding in the Schorer and Welzinge polders to the east of Flushing.