Protected areas in the Netherlands, 2022

Area of land, land and inland water, and coastal and marine waters protected under Natura 2000, MSFD and the national ecological network

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the EU Biodiversity Strategy (EBS) both set a target for protected area status of 30% of land and inland water and 30% of coastal and marine waters. It is not clear what a fair contribution by the Netherlands to this international target would be. In 2022, 26% of the land and inland water area of the Netherlands (including the IJsselmeer lake) was protected for nature. It should be noted here that the national ecological network (NEN) has not yet been fully realised.

Protected Natura 2000 sites cover 26% of the Dutch coastal and marine waters (including the Wadden Sea); adding the protected areas under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) to this brings the total to 31%. This is well above the international target of 30% protected area by 2030.

The proportion of the national territory that is protected for nature is calculated as a percentage of the surface area of land and inland water on the land use map of the Netherlands 2017. According to this map, 14% of the Netherlands is covered by forest and natural areas. However, as this percentage excludes natural grasslands and natural waters it is incomplete. The coastal and marine waters on the land use map of the Netherlands 2017 are supplemented by a map of the Dutch continental shelf.

Area of Natura 2000 sites 

Natura 2000 is a European network of protected sites, 162 of which are in the Netherlands. The Dutch Natura 2000 sites currently cover more than 2 million hectares of which 86% is open water, including the coastal water sites Brown Bank (Bruine Bank), Cleaver Bank (Klaverbank), Frisian Front (Friese Front) and Dogger Bank. The terrestrial Natura 2000 area is about 309,000 hectares. Together with the inland waters, such as rivers and lakes, including the IJsselmeer lake, the total area is 570,000 hectares. Almost all the terrestrial Natura 2000 area lies within the NEN.

Protected areas under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive

The MSFD protected areas contribute towards the objective of the MSFD, which is to achieve a good environmental status of the EU’s marine waters. There are currently three MSFD areas in the Dutch North Sea: Central Oyster Grounds (Centrale Oestergronden), Borkum Stones (Borkumse Stenen) and Frisian Front (Friese Front). These MSFD areas cover almost 480,000 hectares. A third of this area is also protected under Natura 2000.

Area of the national ecological network

The NEN was introduced in the 1990 Nature Policy Plan by the then Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries. The aim of the NEN is to halt the decline in the area of natural and semi-natural habitat and the loss of biodiversity, and to restore nature and biodiversity through the creation of a coherent network of protected areas. This is being achieved by increasing the size of protected areas and linking them together by acquiring adjacent agricultural land and agricultural enclaves, followed by their conversion to new nature and conservation management. The provinces are responsible for realising the terrestrial ecological network and ensuring it is legally protected under planning law.

The area of the NEN that has been delineated and protected under the planning legislation is approximately 774,000 hectares. However, the NEN as delineated on the map has not been fully realised. According to the eighth progress report on nature, in 2021 a total of approximately 703,000 hectares were under conservation management and therefore realised. The minimum area of nature within the NEN on 1 January 2028 is expected to be approximately 738,000 hectares (IPO & LNV 2022). Not all of the land within the current boundaries of the NEN will actually be converted to nature; a small area is still formally a search area for new nature and a further small area will be subject to agri-environment management or other forms of nature-inclusive farming. Areas under agri-environment management and nature-inclusive farming are not included within the category of protected area.

Protection regimes in Natura 2000 sites, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the national ecological network

The Natura 2000 sites are protected under the Nature Conservation Act, that since 1 January 2024 has been incorporated into the Environmental Act. It is prohibited, without a permit from the provincial executive, to carry out a project that is not directly related to or necessary for the management of a Natura 2000 site, but which, either separately or in combination with other plans or projects, could have significant consequences for a Natura 2000 site (Article 2.7 of the Nature Conservation Act). To determine the consequences of the project, an appropriate assessment must be made, taking account of the conservation objectives for the site. If the outcome of the assessment is that an impact cannot be ruled out, a permit may be issued only if there are no alternatives, there are imperative reasons of overriding public interest, and compensatory measures are taken. The conservation objectives are included in the designation orders for the Natura 2000 sites. Detailed measures for achieving the conservation objectives for each site are included in the Natura 2000 management plans. The overall aim is to achieve the national favourable conservation status for all the protected species and habitats in the directives.

The areas protected under the MSFD complement the Natura 2000 network with protected areas in the coastal and marine waters. Article 13(4) of the MSFD states that member states must take spatial protection measures to create a network of marine protected areas. The MSFD areas are ecologically valuable areas designated to protect the integrity of the seabed.

The Dutch government has designated the NEN in the General Planning Rules Decree (Besluit algemene regels ruimtelijke ordening or Barro). Under Article 2.10.2 of the Barro, the provinces must designate and delineate the NEN in their territories in provincial regulations. Under Article 2.10.3 of the Barro, these regulations must set out the essential features and values of these areas. All the provinces have by now formally delineated the NEN areas in their territories and made appropriate provisions in their physical environment plans, structural visions and planning regulations. Under Article 2.10.4 of the Barro, a ‘no, unless’ protection regime applies to the NEN. Under this protection regime, no approval may be given for activities that lead to significant degradation of these essential features and values or to a significant reduction in the area of coherence between areas, unless there is an overriding public interest, there are no realistic alternatives and the negative impacts are mitigated and/or compensated. Since January 1, 2024, the NEN is protected by the Environmental Act.

Almost all terrestrial Natura 2000 sites are part of the NEN and are therefore protected under the planning legislation. A small part of these Natura 2000 sites (over 22,000 hectares) lies outside the NEN. These are mainly agricultural areas, such as Arkhemheen, Polder Zeevang, the floodplains of the Rhine distributaries, Oude land van Strijen, and parts of the Wieden. These areas are subject to a more limited protection regime than the Natura 2000 sites within the NEN. In Natura 2000 sites outside the NEN, the ‘essential features and values’ of these areas are not protected by the ‘no, unless’ regime. Moreover, the acquisition of land is restricted to the NEN, which means that meadow bird reserves in these Natura 2000 sites, for example, cannot be expanded outside the NEN.

International objectives for protected areas

Biodiversity conservation is an important goal not only of the CBD but also of the EU Birds and Habitats Directives, the MSFD and the EBS. The Netherlands has international commitments to meeting the goals of these conventions and directives.

The goal of the Biodiversity Strategy for land and inland water and for coastal and marine waters is to ensure that 30% of these areas are protected by 2030. Protected areas are geographically delineated. The natural values and conservation objectives to be protected in these areas, the measures to be taken to protect them and the monitoring programmes and mechanisms for evaluating progress are described in management plans. There is also a long-term commitment to protecting these areas. The Natura 2000 sites and the NEN meet these criteria. It should be noted that the protected area percentage refers to the protection regime and does not necessarily reflect the ecological quality of these areas.

At least one third of this 30% protected area (i.e. 10% of the land area) in the EU must be strictly protected. Strictly protected areas are fully and legally protected areas where natural processes are left essentially undisturbed from human pressures and threats from within or outside the areas. The Netherlands has few strictly protected areas. Possible examples of such areas are the eastern part of the West Frisian Islands, Rottumeroog and Rottumerplaat, and the surrounding sea area, and the southeast of the Veluwe region (forest and heath).