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The first step is an analysis per nature area. By temporarily reducing the amount of allowed crude protein in cattle feed, the government hoped to create room to give a "green light" for home construction to help combat a severe housing shortage (which also would generate nitrogen emissions). By making use of our websites, you agree to the use of cookies. playCan you trust US polls? Both the recovery of nature and adjustments to agriculture require tailored solutions.’, After completing her studies in the agricultural sciences, Tia Hermans worked for several different departments within Wageningen University & Research. news regarding the nitrogen and PFAS problem in the Netherlands in 2019. All rights reserved. In the Netherlands, a lot of manure management processes are being used to reduce nitrogen emissions . Hope Hicks was aboard the presidential helicopter with Mr Trump on Wednesday. Nature is severely affected by acidification and eutrophication that results from nitrogen deposits on the ground. Three people were arrested, according to public broadcaster NOS. Read about our approach to external linking. Netherlands agriculture minister Carola Schouten had announced the scheme last May to temporarily limit the use of proteins in dairy feed beginning Sept. 1 until the end of 2020 in order to attain a reduction of 0.2 kilotons of nitrogen emissions, FAS reported, which was intended to "create space" for the construction of 75,000 new homes.
The Netherlands has to address the excess deposition of nitrogen, as well (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, 2015a, Wereld Natuur Fonds, 2015.Nitrogen emissions in the Netherlands have about halved since the mid 1980s (CBS, PBL, Wageningen UR, 2014).Still, at many locations, deposition levels are way above the critical load for nitrogen … The Dutch government has set a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions next year by 25% of 1990 levels. For dairy farmers who do not manage to adjust the rations successfully, there is a high risk of suboptimal milk production and, in connection with this, fatigue of the dairy cows, Jorritsma added. Both the recovery of nature and adjustments to agriculture require tailored solutions.”, The Wageningen nitrogen team has designed a step-by-step plan (see below, in Dutch) that shows to what extent the local measures will reduce nitrogen emissions and restore nature. Beyond this muddy protest site, police were poised to block any attempt to drive closer to the seat of power. Informa Markets, a trading division of Informa PLC. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2016.11.006. Wageningen experts in the fields of nature and agriculture have developed a roadmap to determine, per region, what actions are needed. Should these steps prove insufficient, the nitrogen emissions must be lowered, or the goals set for nature should be re-analysed. The maximum speed on national and provincial roads needs to be lowered as soon as possible in order to reduce nitrogen emissions and restore nature in the Netherlands, according to advice from the Remkes commission to the government. The aim of the PAS is to ensure that conservation objectives can be achieved, while further economic development is facilitated around Natura 2000 areas within strict environmental limits.

This approach should lead to local and national solutions for nature and agriculture. Following that, the third step considers the quality of nature. Last week an advisory committee said drastic measures were needed, both in farming and on Dutch roads.

In this way, the PAS connects economy and ecology.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. There were 1,136km (700 miles) of jams at the morning peak, it said. Reduce Dutch livestock by half to lower nitrogen emissions: D66 Coalition party D66 wants to reduce the number of livestock in the Netherlands by half. This then results in acidification, making it impossible for many plant and animal species to survive in the affected areas. Copyright © 2020. The Dutch top court, the Council of State, ruled in May that Dutch rules for granting building and farming permits breached EU law on protecting nature from nitrogen oxide emissions such as ammonia and nitrous oxide, prompting a halt in thousands of projects including new roads, housing blocks and airports. Certain cookies can only be set with your permission. .css-8h1dth-Link{font-family:ReithSans,Helvetica,Arial,freesans,sans-serif;font-weight:700;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:#FFFFFF;}.css-8h1dth-Link:hover,.css-8h1dth-Link:focus{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}Read about our approach to external linking. Furthermore, additional research is needed, for example, on the nitrogen emissions of circular farming. Now, she coordinates policy-oriented research that Wageningen carries out for the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. Since then, the Dutch government has cut nitrogen emissions. Registered in England and Wales. EU warns Turkey of sanctions over 'provocations', China’s robot taxis. Your email address will not be published. But you could easily link it to health, recreational value and well-being.’ Photo credits: Nina Smits. But you could easily link it to health, recreational value and well-being.’. Video, The voice of Johnson and Trump on Spitting Image, Avoiding war in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. We're getting blamed and badly represented in the media, everyone is blaming us for climate change but planes are worse than farmers and no-one is talking about them," Vincent, a 17-year-old dairy farmer told me. She heads a task force of Wageningen nature and agriculture experts and economists that studied possible alternative solutions for the nitrogen problem. Nature is under threat from the high levels of nitrogen in the Netherlands. ‘In The Hague, I feel that we are really able to contribute our expertise. The quality of nature in the Netherlands has decreased due to nitrogen … Lines and paragraphs break automatically. This will reduce nitrogen emissions, and create more room to build new houses, D66 parliamentarian Tjeerd de Groot said to RTL Nieuws. Tia Hermans, senior researcher of agriculture and nature. The nitrogen crisis caught the government completely off-guard: the entire judicial system for nitrogen permits, known as the Programmatic Approach Nitrogen (PAS – Programmatische Aanpak Stikstof) has been swept right of the table. VideoCan you trust US polls? Netherlands; nitrogen; About Hans Wetzels 23 Articles Hans Wetzels (1982) is a Cultural Scientist and freelance journalist from the Netherlands and living in Berlin. Hermans: ‘This allows you to see how you can solve this problem at a regional level. The government has decided to cut speed limits and farmers have rallied in the streets to protest against reducing livestock numbers. Our estimate is that it is a huge challenge for the farmers to make a suitable ration for all animals and lactation stages. However, the programme has not yet been in force long enough to observe actual results in the field. Huddled inside their cab, young couple Geert-Jan and Danielle feared for the future. Every farmer felt the same frustration, that their industry was being targeted by a government scrambling to hit its climate goals. The Remkes Committee’s report, which was published on 8 June, shows that the agricultural sector must take more significant strides in reducing nitrogen emissions. Pollution: Netherlands tractor protest over emissions snarls up roads, The voice of Johnson and Trump on Spitting Image. We make use of various types of cookies. Emissions of nitrogen oxides and ammonia have been halved since 1990. Number 8860726. "We feel as if we're being put in the dunces' corner by city types who come and tell us how things should be in the countryside," one of the protest organisers, Mark van den Oever, told the Trouw website, adding that farmers shouldn't be blamed for the whole nitrogen issue. To continue click once at a link on the site. Hermans: ‘Much can be won by not just focusing on nitrogen values, but by looking at the situation as a whole. FAS noted in its report that the ministry decided not to pursue the feed measure due to a recent period of drought in the Netherlands. VideoAvoiding war in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, Subway bread rolls not bread, Irish court rules, Gavin the paddleboarding seal becomes local celebrity. It supports substantiated conversation and decisions based on facts.’.

After months of debate and negotiation, Schouten decided to scrap the proposal in late August. Hermans and her colleagues feel the sense of urgency to lower the nitrogen emissions because nature in the Netherlands is not doing well.

To reach the right decisions, a broader perspective is required, and public costs and gains must be included. Also, research from Wageningen University indicated that the feed measure would not have successfully reduced nitrogen emissions as more protein would be need to be added to dairy cow rations in order to make up for lower protein levels in grass and ensure animal health. Multiple sectors, amongst which agriculture, contribute to nitrogen emissions and must take measures. Farming groups believe measurement of carbon dioxide and nitrogen is inaccurate and the debate over emissions has been hijacked by city-based climate change protesters. FEED ADDITIVE FOCUS: Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B9, Senate elections hold fate of future democracy, Cargill, Virent collaborate on bio-based fuels, chemicals, USDA updates National Poultry Improvement Plan.

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I think going forward in the future we should also think about using a legume-rhizobia based approach to increase soil fertility and reduce carbon footprint. Still, the roadmap often provides much freedom of choice, she underlines. Unpublished agriculture ministry documents indicate that not only big infrastructure projects, but local issues such as expanding pig farms, are being hit by the nitrogen problems, the paper said. These are small text files that are stored on your computer, tablet or phone. Possible measures also include measures for nature, such as enlarging nature reserves and optimising the connection between different nature reserves. Beyond The Hague, tractors snarled up motorways and main roads across the country. If the government wants to avoid the farmers' wrath, it must ensure that lucrative businesses such as motor-racing, airports and multinationals are subject to equal scrutiny.

‘Farmers required to reduce their nitrogen emissions can choose whether to invest in technical solutions, such as low-emission barns or perhaps choose to adopt a nature-inclusive farming method, more extensive farming or perhaps even to move the farm.’ Some measures are eligible for subsidies. Nitrogen is released from the ammonia (NH3) that results from manure and urine interacting. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. In May 2019, the Netherlands’ Council of State (the country’s highest administrative court) ruled that the current ‘Integrated Approach to Nitrogen’ (PAS in Dutch) for reducing excess nitrogen in vulnerable Natura 2000 areas is in breach of EU law. As the tractors headed home the main infrastructure agency warned of major disruption for the evening rush hour too. The system was set up as one of the obligations under the European Habitats Directive.