News item | 16-01-2024 | 08:00
As of today, January 16, it is possible to respond to the draft of the National Rural Area Program (NPLG) and the associated environmental impact report (planMER). Via the website www.platformparticipatie.nl/NPLG Anyone who wants to can submit an opinion.
Why is the National Rural Area Program necessary?
Dutch nature is in bad shape in many places. Many species of plants and animals are having a hard time. It is also not yet possible to get the water clean enough. The consequences of climate change are also visible. Everyone notices that it is getting warmer and drier and sometimes much wetter. In coastal areas, the groundwater is becoming saltier, which is bad for agriculture and nature.
To keep the Dutch soil healthy in the future and to enable social developments, adjustments are necessary in the areas of nature, water, climate and nitrogen emissions. This requires a new balance between what the natural systems can support and what we as a society can ask of these systems.
What is the National Rural Area Programme?
In the National Rural Area Program, government and local parties work together on measures for a rural area where the water quality is good and where plants and animals can survive. And where agriculture has an important place, but fits within the limits of what water and soil can support. Full attention is paid to broad prosperity: a rural area, where you can live, work, do business and recreate in a pleasant, healthy and safe way.
The goals and frameworks for these measures are established in the NPLG. All sectors, such as agriculture, industry and construction, have a role to play in reducing nitrogen. The water and climate goals of the NPLG mainly require agricultural and nature measures.
Coherence with other programs
The NPLG is part of the new Spatial Policy Memorandum, the outlines of which were recently announced by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. The NPLG also has similarities with the Nitrogen Reduction and Nature Improvement Program and the Nature Program, which focuses on nature restoration in a broad sense. The NPLG also has similarities with the Climate Agreement and the Clean Air Agreement.
What does the SEA plan contain?
The measures taken by the NPLG have consequences for the environment. The government is drawing up a plan EIA to map out the consequences for the environment. The SEA is a report in which the consequences of the policy for the environment are made clear by describing the environmental effects of the structuring choices.
Submit opinion
From January 16, 2024 to February 26, 2024, it is possible to respond to the approach and principles of the draft program by submitting a view. This can be done via the website www.platformparticipatie.nl/NPLG. Here you will also find all practical information about submitting a view.
Webinar on the National Rural Area Programme
If you would like to know more about the NPLG, you can follow a webinar on Thursday, January 25, 2024. You can through this link register for this.