Poort naar de Peel: opgaven en oplossingen voor een overgangsgebied in transitie

The area between Ospeldijk and the Groote Peel is a microcosm of the rural developments in the rural areas of the Netherlands and can therefore serve as a pilot area for the transition of transitional areas around Natura 2000. At the national level, intensification of agriculture in transitional areas, through the use of heavy machinery, fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, lowering of the water table, and groundwater extractions, has had negative effects on nature, water, climate adaptation, and livability. Therefore, various policy changes are coming to the Dutch countryside, including the Nitrogen Reduction and Nature Improvement Program, the National Rural Area Program (NPLG), and the Environmental Law. Since land in the countryside is mainly owned by farmers, it is vital for the transition that they are motivated to involve nature more in their operations. In the current study, an attempt was made to answer the following questions: what are the (policy) challenges in the area, how do current landowners view the (future) use of the area, and what follow-up steps could be taken to achieve a more nature-inclusive layout of the area? To this end, the challenges in the area were first identified based on policy documents and vision documents from various levels of government. Then the visions of the landowners were mapped out by conducting interviews. Possible solutions to the challenges were then proposed. A concept design was made, taking into account the challenges from policy and environmental visions, but not the landowners’ visions. More discussions are needed for this. The challenges that emerge from the policy documents and visions of the government focus on the central themes of nature and biodiversity, climate adaptation, sustainable agriculture and economic vitality, sustainable energy, water quality, and livability, public health, recreation, and tourism. The visions of the various levels of government, including the NPLG, emphasize the importance of creating coupling opportunities, where developments in the countryside contribute to more than one of the challenges. Most landowners have a vision of agriculture focused on delivering quality products and high yields. Respondents see the area as an agricultural landscape, but they also see strong signals that nature is being integrated into the area. Farmers who practice agricultural nature management have positive experiences with their collaboration partners, but are annoyed by the messy appearance of the nature-inclusive plots. Changes are welcome, provided that the usefulness is clear and the earning capacity is not endangered. The continuously changing policy without clear perspective is a source of annoyance. They are open to exchanging or renting land, but prefer not to sell. To achieve a more nature-inclusive design of the project area, it is important to start from the motivation of farmers and landowners. Farmers have a strong passion for their profession and their production, so it is important to make their performance in terms of biodiversity and sustainability visible, so that they can communicate their craftsmanship to each other. The grasslands in the project area are already used in a relatively extensive way. A low-threshold way to extensify is therefore to see if these livestock farms would like to expand their practice. To continue arable farming in the area, practices will have to be adapted. Think of alternative crops that are resistant to drought, the application of flower-rich field margins or the principles of Farmers for Nature. In the elaboration of the conceptual design, it has been chosen to maintain groundbased agriculture, especially grassland for dairy farming, as the main function. In addition, space is provided for innovative concepts such as agroforestry, nature-inclusive solar parks and nature-inclusive housing, efforts are being made to introduce landscape elements and there is room for new nature. The recommendations for the planning area focus on improving the dialogue between landowners and government agencies, making performance visible, and starting a pilot program with Farmers for Nature in the area. If farmers do not see the benefit of involving more nature in their practice, exchange, lease or sale of plots to farmers who do want to involve nature should be facilitated. The conceptual design plan needs to be further developed to take into account the visions and ideas of the landowners and the support from the community for the various components of the plans.