Farmers in turmoil: resistance to new nature conservation plans in Drenthe!

On Tuesday evening, dozens of farmers gathered in the provincial house in Assen in order to express their distrust of the Drentsee Nature Conservation Representative Egbert van Dijk (BBB). The meeting was the reason for the planned adjustments to the management plans for the two Natura 2000 areas Fochteloërveen and Holingerveld. Van Dijk assured that the update of the plans would not have any negative effects on agricultural businesses in the area. Nevertheless, he admitted that a guarantee of the absence of effects could not be given, especially with regard to national nitrogen policy.

In the proposed concept management plans, an adaptation of the exemption for existing uses is dealt with. In the future, this approval obligation could be subject. An official said that the exception would only be described differently without something changing in the event of an unchanged Situation. Furthermore, the provinces of Drenthe and Friesland have plans to irrigate the Fochteloërveen buffer zones in certain areas to prevent future drought. These plans met with resistance among the farmers who first asked to wait for the effects of the current management measures before new measures are taken. Van Dijk pointed out that the expansion of certain types of targets in the nature reserves also offer opportunities for society.

reactions and concerns

The farmers expressed concerns that an increase in water level in the nature reserve could also have negative consequences for the surrounding areas. A farmer who works directly on the Fochteloërveen emphasized that she urgently needs 25 hectares of land. Van Dijk also assured that a waterway that should run between the nature reserve and the operation had no negative effects on agriculture. He emphasized that he would endeavor to avoid negative effects on agriculture and to ensure compensation in the event of negative effects.

At the same time, it was reported that the nitrogen jeer lag in the Natura 2000 areas had dropped by about 20 percent since 2005, which from various political measures and the reduction of emissions from abroad. However, the adjustments will not be sufficient to reach the defined Dutch targets of 40 percent by 2025 and 50 percent by 2030 by 2030, such as rivm reported. The current situation shows that 28 percent of the area of ​​the Natura 2000 areas lies below the critical deposito value limit, whereby new scientific knowledge also underlines the need to re-evaluate the critical values.