Each year the Netherlands spends more than 60 euros per head of the population on nature and the landscape. Total funding amounts to about one billion euros per year. Eighty per cent comes from the public sector. Most of this, almost 615 million euros, is provided by central government.

Mainly a public sector task

Most of the money (about 285 million euros) is spent on habitat and landscape management. Apart from research and overhead costs, the money is spent mainly on the acquisition of land and landscape works in nature reserves and conservation areas (almost 280 million euros). Two-thirds of central government funding is spent on the National Ecological Network (NEN).

Under the new Rural Areas Investment Budget the provincial and municipal councils and the water boards will in future be responsible for meeting central government policy objectives for the rural areas via integrated regional development programmes. The positive aspect of this is that it permits a variety of regional approaches to achieving the conservation objectives. A drawback is that while central government has relinquished its opportunities for intervening in the implementation of policy, it has itself set the objectives to be achieved and is accountable for meeting relevant international obligations.

If the Rural Areas Investment Budget is introduced in 2007, a considerable proportion of the budget for nature policy will be transferred to the regional and local authorities and the provinces will have a much more important role to play. Discussions about the Rural Areas Investment Budget are dominated by the conflict of interest between the need for flexibility and the accountability of the government for achieving the stated objectives.

The benefits of nature reserves and conservation areas are measured not only in terms of biodiversity, but also recreational enjoyment and health.

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