The Netherlands is a small, densely populated country located in Western Europe, with three island territories in the Caribbean. The Netherlands is geographically a very low and flat country, with about 26% of its area and 21% of its population located below sea level, and only about 50% of its land exceeding one metre above sea level. Most of the areas below sea level are man-made, caused by peat extraction or achieved through land reclamation. Nearly 17% of the country's land area is reclaimed from the sea and from lakes. It is anticipated that global warming in the 21st century will result in a rise in sea level. The politically neutral Delta Commission has formulated an action plan to cope with a sea level rise of 1.10 m and a simultaneous land height decline of 10 cm. The plan encompasses the reinforcement of the existing coastal defenses like dikes and dunes with 1.30 m of additional flood protection. The Netherlands has 20 national parks and hundreds of other nature reserves that include lakes, heathland, woods, dunes and other habitats. Most of these are owned by Staatsbosbeheer, the national department for forestry and nature conservation, and Natuurmonumenten ('Natures monuments'), a private organisation that buys, protects and manages nature reserves. The Dutch part of the Wadden Sea in the north, with its tidal flats and wetlands, is rich in biological diversity and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Nature Site in 2009. The territory of the Netherlands belongs to the ecoregion of Atlantic mixed forests. In 1871, the last old original natural woods were cut down, and most woods today are planted monocultures of trees like Scots pine and trees that are not native to the Netherlands. (Wikipedia)