Further decline in landscape quality and loss of historic features
During the last century major changes in the rural landscape were due mainly to the modernization of agricultural  techniques and practices. Nowadays this role has been largely taken over by the construction of new housing areas and business parks. This new development has led to a further deterioration of landscape quality, an example being the loss of historic patterns and cultural features in the landscape.

Landscape policy delivers variable results.
Dutch landscape policy contains two tracks. The first track is a restrictive policy for the conservation of landscape quality; the second is geared to development. An example of the conservation strategy is the national policy that has been pursued for more than forty years to prevent the cities in the Randstad from growing together. This policy has been successful in preserving open landscapes in various areas, such as the Gagelpolder near Utrecht and the Bloemendalerpolder near Amsterdam. The development-oriented policy track features prominently in the policy document ‘Nature for People, People for Nature’, published in 2000 by the then Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries. This policy seeks to raise the quality of Dutch landscapes. Many of the actions being pursued under this development-oriented policy are still in the planning stage. They include landscape development plans as well as plans for conserving and restoring valuable features and characteristics in a development and design-oriented way.

Initiatives in National Landscapes are promising but risky
The national landscape policy contained in the National Spatial Strategy and Agenda for a Living Countryside policy documents is focused on twenty National Landscapes. The government defines a number of core qualities found in these National Landscapes. Core qualities such as ‘openness’, ‘landforms’ and ‘field patterns, parcelization and watercourses’ require a policy geared primarily to conservation and the incorporation of such features into existing and future land uses. The strategy for other core qualities will require a stronger element of restoration, renewal and management. 

The government has delegated much of the responsibility for filling in the details of these policies to the provincial councils. Time will tell whether the development oriented policies will be successful in preserving and enhancing the core qualities of the National Landscapes, and whether the provincial councils have been able to put the policy into effect as required. Their role includes the application of policy tools provided for by the revised Spatial Planning Act, which is currently before Parliament, to ensure that these core qualities are afforded protection in local land use plans. 

Implementation of the Randstad Green Structure faltering 
Central government has been working on the creation of the Randstad Green Structure for more than twenty years. The green recreational areas already in place attract many visitors, but progress with developing new areas has faltered in recent years. The main reasons for this are the lack of a clearly defined planning regime and, partly
as a consequence of this, the rapidly rising land values.

Figure 1 The towns and cities in the province of Zuid-Holland still face an acute shortage of green recreational areas.

The government intends to transfer responsibility for green open space around the cities to the provincial councils. However, the role to be played by the provinces and the statutory powers and instruments to be put at their disposal have not yet been clearly defined. Property developers have taken advantage of this transitional period to acquire considerable land holdings in strategic areas of the buffer zones around the cities. In parts of the Randstad new housing developments are expanding at a rapid rate, outstripping the creation of green recreational and nature areas. This can be seen near Zoetermeer, for example, where the planned Bentwoud recreational area has failed to materialize.

Green projects in the Randstad need firm direction
Currently a plethora of organizations and groups are involved in green projects in the Randstad and a multitude of plans are produced for each project. Despite considerable consultation and discussion, the roles and intentions of the various parties involved remain unclear. In future, firm direction, better coordination and effective cooperation,
particularly with property developers, will be needed to speed up the development and realization of green projects near the cities. The major impediments to this are amending land use designations in local plans, acquiring land and financing public-private projects. The provincial councils are clearly in the best position to coordinate and direct this process, given that they have access to the necessary funds via the Rural Areas Investment Budget. The challenge now facing the provinces is to develop a vision for the landscape policy that provides a basis for landscape conservation in some areas and the realization of green space in combination with urban development in other areas.