The consequences of using pesticides in lily cultivation for protected nature reserves must be better investigated, according to the Council of State.
Based on what is now known “it cannot be excluded that these resources have negative consequences on Natura 2000 areas,” the highest administrative court ruled. As long as there is no further investigation, in such cases, lily growers must apply for a nature permit for lily cultivation that is assessed by the province.
The Council of State comes to this ruling in a lawsuit on lily breeding in the vicinity of the Holtingerveld nature reserve. Milieudefensie had asked the province to take measures against the lily grower. Anxiety arose among local residents about the use of plant protection products. The Northern Netherlands District Court equalized Milieudefensie in 2021. The province fought this ruling at the Council of State in June last year.
According to the province, a distance of 250 meters to the nature reserve is sufficient to prevent unwanted nature effects. However, the Council of State sees no scientific basis for this. The Council points to investigations of the RIVM and Measuring = knowing, which show that agricultural poison was found at greater distances of fields in nature reserves. According to the Council of State, therefore, possible harmful effects of lily cultivation cannot be excluded.
The provincial government finds the harmfulness and safety of pesticides a matter of the Commission for the admission of the plant protection products and biocides (CTGB). That body has allowed the resources. The cultivation of lilies would be no different than growing carrots or potatoes. So there is no reason to assess lily cultivation differently, according to the province.
The Council of State does not agree with that. The CTGB assesses whether a means is safe for humans, animals and the environment, but this is a different assessment than it is required, according to the judge.
After the court already agreed with the environmental organization, the province gave the grower a warning. According to the Council of State, that is sufficient at the moment. The lily grower has the time to show that there are no harmful effects for the surrounding nature reserves. If that does not work, the grower must still apply for a nature permit from the province. At that time, the province must investigate whether there are effects of pesticides on Natura 2000.
“In fact, the use of pesticides without a permit is a violation of nature legislation. The government is now up to the move and will have to work to draw up procedures that should lead to being able to grant a permit,” said Henk Baptist, lawyer at Natuurbelangeniging Measing = know.
The result for growers: applying for a permit is a time -consuming procedure. Local residents or other stakeholders can object to the permit and fight it out at the court.
LTO Nederland calls the ruling of the Council of State ‘impracticable’. “How substantiates an entrepreneur that everyone can be excluded, theoretical risk?”, Said the Netherlands and horticulture organization.
Measuring = knowing therefore provides new lawsuits. “In the enforcement process, the province can offer the user of pesticides the opportunity to demonstrate that his use has no harmful effect. Due to the lack of scientific research, however, no one can currently demonstrate that pesticides are safe for Natura 2000 areas. Lily growers cannot do this type of complicated investigation. This is a delay in the enforcement process. National level policy will come, “says Henk Baptist of Measuring = knowing.
The province of Drenthe does not want to respond to the ruling yet. “We are considering the pronunciation and what that means exactly for lily growing in Drenthe. We strive to outline a clear line as quickly as possible for the use of crop protection products in lily growing,” said agricultural Deputy Gert-Jan Schuinder.
Schuinder also says that “the province will be committed to conducting research at national level into the effects of plant protection products in Natura 2000 areas in lily growing.”
Two other lawsuits have been conducted on the use of pesticides by lily growers. The court also agreed in those cases with the statement that a permit is required if the cultivation takes place near protected nature.