Throwing the nitrogen map in the trash by the province of Drenthe is a good start, says LTO Noord chairman Dirk Bruins. “That the province wants to do it together is also good. What still worries me is that I have heard that the goal is standing.”
Yesterday, Deputy Henk Jumelet announced that it was putting aside the nitrogen map presented last month by Minister Van der Wal for Nitrogen and Nature. The province is of the opinion that the map is not a suitable starting point. “We are definitely going to get started. And we have been that for a long time. We have a nitrogen problem. We have to restore nature.”
According to LTO director Bruins, the government’s goal, a fifty percent reduction by 2030, is not realistic. “You actually saw that in the map. You saw that goals were set everywhere that sometimes went as much as seventy percent reduction. And that was still too little if you looked at the nature goals that were in it.” Bruins also criticizes the choice for so-called transition areas. “It is not feasible. Using only nitrogen as an indication for nature restoration is not correct.”
Bruins prefers to see whether the nature objectives are correct or whether they need to be adjusted. “And sometimes you have to dare to take other measures. Fortunately, the province does say that, sometimes you have to do something in water management, for example, and then the nature reserve can recover well and even handle more nitrogen.” LTO Noord would prefer a nature target analysis to be made. “Are the pictures always correct? The maps have been drawn up for decades and sometimes there is an ambition that makes you say: ‘That is actually not realistic’. People hardly dare to talk about that.”
Plans have to be made in the coming year. Does the province’s attitude help to calm things down a bit among the farmers? Bruins: “I hope that more provinces will do this. We have a good relationship with the province. I also hope that it will penetrate The Hague. Because eventually the government will keep the provinces to a certain goal.”
Bruins expects to be able to make agreements with the provinces. “But if the government says: we will go over it and implement it anyway. Then it is difficult. I hope that because of the attitude of Drenthe and hopefully other provinces, The Hague will think: we should have Johan Remkes, or someone else, with a different message.” send out to mediate.” Remkes was put forward by the cabinet last weekend to mediate in the nitrogen issue from mid-August.
The government plans have caused unrest among farmers for years. After the announcement of the recent nitrogen plans, the number of farmers’ protests has increased considerably. This week, especially distribution centers of supermarkets are blocked. Bruins: “I have always been critical of protests that it does not help to keep society behind us. I understand the protests very well, the hopelessness speaks of the future perspective.”
The LTO director calls on the farmers not to do crazy things. “Make sure that no strange things will happen from the emotion. I am seriously concerned, even if you see that shots were fired in Heerenveen last night. That could have gone terribly wrong. That worries me a lot at the moment.”