Farmers’ organisations, provincial governments, local councils and water boards have drawn up a joint plan to tackle the nitrogen crisis because, they say, the national government’s current approach lacks the guarantees needed to restart the permit system.
The plan includes the possibility of forcing some farmers to swap their land – which until now has been taboo.
The proposal aims to reduce nitrogen emissions produced by farming by 42% to 46% compared with 2019 levels within the next decade. To achieve this, limits would be set for each farm for 2030 and 2035, and farmers risk losing a permit or rights if targets are missed.
A key part of the plan would be the introduction of compulsory measures around two to five zones where nitrogen deposition is most acute. “That could mean farmers are required to exchange their land for plots further away from sensitive nature areas,” Ina Adema chairwoman of the provincial government association IPO told broadcaster NOS.
“The cabinet had already floated this idea, but we are going one step further. If the permit system is still stuck in 2030, we want the option to impose binding measures around more zones.”
In return for supporting tougher rules, the organisations are calling on the national government to provide substantial backing. This includes better support for farmers leaving the sector via existing buyout schemes, investments in innovation, and taking on a major share of the associated costs.
The farmers’ groups say they are willing to accept stricter emission limits, but only if businesses are judged on their own nitrogen output rather than on the condition of their surroundings, which they cannot control alone.
Court case
Earlier this year, a court ruled that the Dutch state must take stronger action to prevent nitrogen deposits on vulnerable ecosystems. Judges ordered the state to cut nitrogen levels in at least 50% of the 162 Natura-2000 zones by 2030 or face a €10 million fine.
The caretaker government’s own plans to cut nitrogen-based pollution caused by farming have been heavily criticised by the Council of State, and no decision on how to tackle the problem is likely until after the election on October 29.
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