I want to briefly raise an issue very relevant to the topic of development and human rights.
The Dutch government has recently launched a new agricultural policy, whereby the provinces have to make plans to decrease the deposit of nitrogen in nature. This policy will have a devastating impact on the province of Fryslan, which could see its economic viability disappear.
The issue arises from the deliberate misinterpretation by the central government of the Natura 2000 habitat guidelines. These guidelines aim to preserve Europe’s biodiversity. However, the nature reserves in the Netherlands are mainly transitional and cannot be sustained without active human intervention. Without permanent human intervention most of the nature reserves will transition to a new biome, which will have in itself more biomass and greater biodiversity. Rapid climate change exacerbates this imbalance between nature conservation and park management.
The central government has singled out nitrogen deposits as a main culprit of the loss of biodiversity. However, nitrogen deposits do not harm nature, but instead put an additional strain on park management that can be resolved through innovation and an honest and holistic view of the situation.
A direct consequence of the nitrogen rules is that the economic revenue model of the province will be lost, since agriculture can no longer be economically viable. Fryslan will transition to an economic colonial dependency whereby potentially profitable business is forbidden. Individual compensation of farmers does not remedy this societal impact.
Any crisis can be resolved with an honest and holistic take on the situation. The best strategy is always to take human rights as the starting point and subsequently remove all bureaucratic and political hurdles that endanger those.
The nitrogen crisis can be resolved by investing in park management innovation, work towards climate adaptation of the Natura 2000 Parks and invest in agricultural innovation. This will safeguard sustainable development and promote human rights for the people in Fryslan.
Thank you,
Jeroen Zandberg
Global Diplomatic Council
1 September 2022
Human Rights Council, Europe and Central Asia seminar. The contribution of development to the enjoyment of all human rights.
Panel 1 reflections on the contribution of development to the enjoyment of human rights