Biodiversity-CHM.NL - Priorities in the policy programme 2008 - 2011

Trade chains and Biodiversity

2012-02-07T14:20:04Z

The government of the Netherlands wishes sustainability to be a factor in Dutch trade with other countries. This means that social, economic and ecological aspects will also be considered in the policy decisions of government bodies, companies and non-governmental organisations. What happens in the Netherlands has an impact far beyond our country's national borders.We leave a large ‘ecological footprint' in other countries. Mining, energy production, tourism, the financial sector,wood, agricultural raw materials (soya, palm oil, fish meal and biomass) and peat production are particularly important in this respect.

The Dutch government's aim is to cease shifting our burden on biodiversity to other countries in a manner that is unsustainable. In the long term, all raw materials from natural resources or from nature that we use in the Netherlands - whether we obtain them in the Netherlands or abroad - must be produced sustainably. The ecological factor is one of the elements of sustainability. By treating biodiversity and ecosystems as important factors in the process of making trade chains sustainable, the policy programme ‘Biodiversity works: for nature, for people, forever' adds value to this sustainable development. The impact on biodiversity of other activities, such as tourism, investment and mining, must also be made more sustainable. Voluntary agreements, the formulation of criteria, and payment for ecosystem services will play a major role in these sectors. These aspects are discussed under ‘Payment for Biodiversity'. This section concentrates on wood, agricultural chains and peat, since these chains have a direct impact on biodiversity and because they make use of biodiversity .

To ensure that progress towards achieving the long-term objective of sustainable market and product chains over the next four years, the government of the Netherlands will work towards the following results with respect to wood, soya, palm oil, biomass and peat during the following period:

No later than 2011, the government will conclude agreements with the business community on the transition required to manage biodiversity sustainably in the wood, palm oil, soya and peat production economic chains. These agreements will be based on recommendations to be made by the ‘Biodiversity and natural resources' task force.
From 2010 on, the central government will purchase only wood that has been produced sustainably. The Dutch government will also strive to ensure that at least 50% of the wood on the Dutch market is produced sustainably by 2011. This target is based on the current share of sustainable wood on the Dutch market and the potential to promote the use of sustainable wood with the business community's own instruments and initiatives.
The production of biomass and biofuels will be more sustainable, both in the Netherlands and abroad. The government of the Netherlands has already entered into a commitment stating that biofuels will account for at least 10% of Dutch energy consumption by 2020 (in line with the European target).We intend to be on course to meet that target in 2011. The use of biomass and biofuels can help reduce CO2 emissions, but it is also important that their production has no negative social, economic and ecological consequences. The Dutch government will specifically explore opportunities for developing countries in the rapidly growing international markets for sustainably-produced biomass and biofuels. Furthermore, the latest scientific insights will be reflected in the biomass policy, with a critical review of sustainability criteria in light of the related European debate.
The import of palm oil and soya as food, animal feed and biomass crops will be sustainable.
Small producers outside the European Union will be integrated into sustainable chains, including the soya, palm oil, wood and biomass chains.
Sustainability criteria will be developed and embedded in an international context, particularly in the WTO and the EU (Common Agricultural Policy). Proposals will be made to introduce certification of sustainably produced palm oil and soya as food, animal feed and biomass crops with the aim of promoting sustainable production.

Payment for biodiversity and ecosystem services

2012-02-07T14:20:04Z

One of the underlying reasons for the loss of biodiversity is that biodiversity is a public good. It is frequently accessible to everyone and it is free. As a result, there is a widespread failure to recognise the significance and value of ecosystem services and a lack of adequate financing mechanisms for them. The social costs are not passed on in the price of goods produced at the expense of biodiversity. This frequently leads to excessive use of resources and a failure to invest in sustaining the capacity of ecosystems to continue providing goods and services (‘Tragedy of the Commons'). An additional factor in developing countries is that the very poorest tend to be most dependent on natural resources but lack the capacity to invest in sustainable management of those resources. Making biodiversity a more explicit consideration in economic and monetary decisions is a way of combating poverty directly.

There are various approaches that can help eliminate the economic mechanisms leading to biodiversity loss:

Better regulation of the fair distribution of biodiversity benefits and of access to natural resources while safeguarding property and user rights.
Clear pricing of products and services provided by ecosystems. Markets for biodiversity and related goods and services will create opportunities for more sustainable management. The opportunities are considerable, for example in relation to international agreements on measures to mitigate the effects of climate change by preventing deforestation and degradation of moorlands.
The prescription of requirements for (any remaining) unsustainable use of biodiversity, for example through compensation.

The government of the Netherlands will develop activities along these lines. However, it cannot do this alone and depends on international collaboration and cooperation with non-governmental organisations. Together with its partners, the Dutch government will investigate what organisational and governance structure, as well as formal and informal agreements are needed at national and international level to successfully implement forms of payment for biodiversity and how they can be put in place. The government will make greater use of market-driven instruments for the preservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. The coalition agreement states that the government wishes to achieve its ambitious targets in pillar three, a sustainable living environment, largely through financial incentives and disincentives to encourage environmentally friendly behaviour. The policy programme ‘Working together, living together' also states that unsustainable use of biodiversity must be compensated. For this reason, specific attention will be devoted to developing and implementing instruments to compensate for the loss of biodiversity.

Biodiversity Works

2012-02-07T14:20:04Z

The policy programme provides powerful boost to efforts to address one of the central challenges in the EU Communication on Biodiversity: the preservation and active, sustainable use of ecosystem services. Biodiversity and the related ecosystem services are essential natural resources for many economic sectors, including agriculture and fisheries. The sustainable use of these resources and hence their preservation depends on integrating biodiversity into the business operations of companies in these sectors. Preserving these natural resources and using them optimally are vital for sustainable economic development. Although ecosystems have a certain resilience, persistent damage can lead to a sudden dramatic decline in their capacity to provide various services. It is then uncertain whether they will recover, and recovery will be expensive. The sensible course of action, therefore, is to attempt to preserve ecosystems by not burdening them unnecessarily. In the Netherlands, the potential of ecosystems is often not exploited to the full. Recent social cost-benefit analyses have shown that it pays to invest in the landscape in such a way that sustainable use is made of ecosystem services. Their sustainable use is hence a cornerstone of Dutch policy on biodiversity and sustainability.

The Dutch government's aim is to preserve resilient and healthy ecosystems outside the protected areas to the extent required to guarantee their capacity to provide services. In the first place, this will require improving the knowledge and awareness of the functions of ecosystems in our economy, and organising projects to demonstrate the added value of caring for and using ecosystem services. Doing so will prompt innovation in the sustainable use of ecosystem services and contribute to sustainable economic development .

Like the aims it has set for ‘Payment for Biodiversity' and ‘Trade chains and Biodiversity', the government of the Netherlands wishes - no later than 2011 - to reach agreements with the business community on how to integrate ecosystem services into national land use, based on the advice provided by the ‘Biodiversity and natural resources' task force. The government will look for striking examples in the years ahead, in consultation with actors in civil society, and take action on a number of fronts.

Ecological networks

2011-10-14T16:08:57Z

Among the most serious threats to biodiversity are the loss and fragmentation of habitats of species.We want to counter this threat by creating worldwide ecological networks. Global agreements have been reached on this topic, for example in the working programme of the Convention on Biological Diversity. It has also been agreed that a network known as Natura 2000 will be created in Europe. The principal network in the Netherlands is the National Ecological Network (Ecologische Hoofdstructuur/EHS). The EHS comprises not only most of the Natura 2000 areas in the Netherlands, but also the majority of the country's land-based biodiversity (species). Ecological networks in the Netherlands and elsewhere are designed to ensure that the current and future generations can continue to enjoy nature areas and that we can continue to benefit from the goods and services that biodiversity provides.

Ecological networks must not be enclosed enclaves within a larger area. That will neither help achieving the objectives for biodiversity nor other social goals. That is particularly true in the developing countries, where sustainable protected networks help alleviate poverty; after all in such countries, a region's natural resources form the basis of local and regional economies. Sustainable eco-regional development is a spatial concept designed to integrate economic development and the preservation of biodiversity in areas that are part of the same ecosystem while also guaranteeing the sustainable supply of ecosystem services to other areas. The key challenge is to combine the protection of important and vulnerable global biodiversity with sustainable economic development. Climate change reinforces the need for this, since robust ecological networks ensure the lives of many plants and animals and guarantee the permanent availability of natural resources. The corridors within and between protected areas in ecological networks must be capable of accommodating future shifts.

Marine Biodiversity and fisheries chains

2012-02-07T14:20:04Z

The threat to marine biodiversity is increasingly regarded as an urgent problem. Seas and oceans are inhabited by a rich variety of life-forms. A very large part of the world's marine biodiversity is to be found in the sea, but unlike land-based biodiversity, the regime to protect it is very limited. Marine biodiversity encompasses fish, shellfish and crustaceans, a vital global source of protein for humans and a source of income for fisheries. Many other marine organisms are also important to humans, for example because of their aesthetic or pharmaceutical value. In fact, new forms of marine life are constantly being discovered. However, the pressure on marine biodiversity is steadily increasing due to overfishing, discards and disturbance of the sea bed by fishing vessels, but also owing to pollution, disturbances and climate change caused by many other human activities.

One of the visible effects is a decline in fish catches. On the high seas, in the Exclusive Economic Zones and in coastal areas, fishermen in both developed and developing countries face declining catches as a result of unsustainable management. In coastal areas in particular, there is a very strong correlation between the exploitation of marine resources, the protection of vulnerable areas and local economic and social development. This means that the protection of such areas as mangroves and coral reefs, deltas and estuaries is important for the preservation of biodiversity, fish stocks and local economic activity. The policy framework for the protection and sustainable use of marine biodiversity has not yet been given a statutory basis in the Netherlands through the extension of the effect of the Nature Protection Act beyond the Dutch territorial waters. Compared with the land, the number of marine areas designated as protected and managed are few. There is international recognition that this needs to change, and the Dutch government wants the Netherlands to make an active contribution in this regard.

The added value of the policy programme with respect to marine biodiversity lies in the greater coherence that can be achieved through closer cooperation between ministries and actors in society in policy areas where there are often conflicting interests (fishery policy, fishery conventions, exploitation of marine resources, protection of the marine ecosystem, market access for fishery products, poverty alleviation, costal development). The measures to be taken are based on the principle that international efforts should be consistent and coherent with relevant regional and European policy (and vice versa) and with the Dutch government's efforts within the Kingdom

New coalitions for biodiversity

2012-02-07T14:20:04Z

The government of the Netherlands is only one of a large number of actors in a field as broad and complex as biodiversity (conservation, sustainable use and fair distribution). Cooperation between the government, the business community, non-governmental organisations, research institutions and members of the public is therefore absolutely essential if the objectives are to be achieved. There are already many actors involved in efforts to conserve biodiversity. The government of the Netherlands is delighted with this and will stimulate and facilitate initiatives wherever necessary. By creating new partnerships, it wishes to spur on creative new ideas and so increase the effectiveness of measures focusing on the preservation, sustainable use and fair distribution of biodiversity. This is one of the key challenges of this policy programme.

In specific terms, the Dutch government will help to facilitate such partnerships by supporting the public dialogue and by clustering authorities and civil society actors around specific themes. The ‘Biodiversiteit door en voor burgers' [Biodiversity for and by citizens] project in the ‘Hoeksche Waard' is a good example of such a dialogue. The government's aim is to bring together the parties and create a useful public sector, one which brings together and inspires parties that want to try to promote the preservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. The Dutch government feels that its primary task is to facilitate the necessary social transition - a transition that will only be sustainable if the producers and consumers of natural resources agree on the prudent use of our biodiversity and reduce the Netherlands' ecological footprint abroad.

A ‘Biodiversity and natural resources' task force will be set up, on the joint initiative of business leaders, to shape the public debate. The task force will be charged with guiding the transition to the preservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and with providing the government with concrete and feasible suggestions and measures. These suggestions and measures will guarantee the preservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the longer term. The business community must play an active role in this, particularly those economic sectors in the Netherlands that derive considerable benefits from global biodiversity while, at the same time, imposing a burden on it. Representatives of non-governmental organisations will also be invited to join the task force.

Knowledge for biodiversity

2012-02-07T14:20:04Z

Developing and generating specific support for national and international biodiversity policy requires us to use existing knowledge and generate new knowledge about biodiversity. Knowledge in this context refers to a fundamental knowledge of biodiversity as a complex biological phenomenon and its social significance, as well as to the applied knowledge needed to improve policy on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Most of the research into biodiversity in the Netherlands is carried out by universities, the institutes set up by Wageningen University and Research Centre (WUR, including Alterra and IMARES), the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, institutes of taxonomy (e.g. Naturalis National Museum of Natural History and the National Herbarium), and institutes set up by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) (e.g. Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO) and the Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ)).

The Dutch government's policy with respect to biodiversity research will concentrate on three priority areas:

1 An adequate knowledge infrastructure;
2 Improvement in the dissemination and use of accumulated knowledge;
3 Research to support this policy and applied research.

The knowledge infrastructure in the field of biodiversity must match the needs of practitioners and help the Netherlands to secure a prominent international role in the field of biodiversity policy, biodiversity research and poverty alleviation.

Communication on biodiversity

2012-02-07T14:20:04Z

Biodiversity is more than our biological heritage. Biodiversity performs vital functions and is valuable to our society in important ways. This applies equally to biodiversity that is less immediately visible, for example in soil, in water or in other countries. Loss of biodiversity reduces our quality of life, economic conditions and future options. Little is known about the functions and values of biodiversity, and much of it is hidden from view. As a result there is a lack of adequate support for the biodiversity policy and for a change of behaviour among governments, companies and consumers.

The government therefore wants to increase public awareness of biodiversity and make its functions and values more evident. To achieve this, it will launch a powerful communication, education and consciousness-raising campaign. A uniform, government-wide key message on biodiversity32 has been developed and a project started to develop a more effective government-wide communication policy on biodiversity (Combio). This project will also produce analyses of other non-governmental organisations that communicate about biodiversity and make recommendations for improving joint communication by the various ministries. The changes will involve improving the communication infrastructure, for example coordinating any messages being communicated, integrating website information about biodiversity, and tailoring communication to different target groups.