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Legitimacy of environmental management and policies is an important topic in environmental research. Based on the notion of ‘regimes of justification’, we aim to analyse the dynamics in argumentations used to legitimize and de-legitimize Dutch nature conservation practices. Contrary to prior studies, we demonstrate how actors in two locations where environmental disputes arose showed little willingness to switch between arguments in order to reach a compromise. Instead, some actors constructed incompatibilities between arguments in order to delegitimize competing actors. Especially in the visioning phase, institutional actors emphasized technical efficiency, planning and global environmentalism, and arguments related to emotional accounts, inspiration and locality were de-legitimized. In the discussion, we argue that it is not the formal or informal inclusion of the actors in the process, but the construction of the legitimacy of their arguments that determines the inclusiveness and outcome of the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participatory planning is becoming increasingly integral to governance. Numerous planning innovations are developed which aim to increase democratic legitimacy and improve decision making. This paper critically reflects on a typical Dutch innovation: the area committee. Based on two individual case studies, we investigate whether area committees realise democratic legitimacy in existing planning practices. Analytically, we focus on four democratic goods: inclusiveness, popular control, considered judgement and transparency. Based on the interdependencies between area committees and government structures we discuss the potential and dilemmas for the area committee to contribute to the democratic legitimacy of environmental policy and rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental policy is characterised by complexity, in causes and effects, resulting in various combinations of policy instruments. However, evaluating these policy instrument mixes and assessing their effectiveness is difficult because of a lack of methodological approaches. This paper therefore proposes a methodology which comprises: (a) describing the underlying policy theory; (b) describing the policy instruments; (c) analysing goal attainment; and (d) evaluating effectiveness, focusing on coverage of points of intervention, steering power of policy instruments and coherence of the policy instruments mix. The methodology is illustrated with an evaluation of noise policy in the Netherlands – a typical complex policy domain in which a mix of policy instruments has been in place for decades, and thus provides a good empirical case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although many species have a larger range than the average sized farm, most agri-environment schemes (AES) involve contracts with individual land managers. However, in the Netherlands 'collective contracts' allow neighbouring land managers to co-ordinate environmental management at the landscape rather than the farm-scale. Findings from a study of Dutch Environmental Co-operatives (ECs) are used to discuss how collective contracts for environmental goods affect the following contractual issues associated with AES: transaction costs, asymmetry of information, the 'hold-up', 'end-of-contract' and 'assurance' problems and incomplete contracts. As a prerequisite for effective collective contracts requires land managers holding communal aims and interests, the techniques used by ECs to form like-minded groups are also reviewed. Government support for collective contracts can be justified because they: (1) reduce transaction costs; (2) improve ecological effectiveness; and (3) increase the policy options available. Government support for ECs can be justified (1) as compensation to members for the additional costs they incur co-ordinating group actions; (2) to assist collectives buy-in expert advice; and (3) because they increase participation rates by (a) helping counter the 'hold-up', 'assurance' and 'incomplete contract' problems, and (b) by framing decisions in ways that shift attitudes, values and aspirations among members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses patterns in beliefs about the implementation of wind power as part of a geographical comparison of onshore wind power developments in the Netherlands, North-Rhine Westphalia and England. Q methodology is applied, in order to systematically compare the patterns in stakeholder views on the institutional conditions and changes in the domains of energy policy, spatial planning and environmental policy. Three factors represent support for wind power implementation from fundamentally different perspectives. The fourth perspective is critical opposed to wind power developments as well as critical to the manner in which wind projects are proposed, planned and implemented. These four perspectives exist across the geographical cases; however, some perspectives are prominent in one case and marginal in another. This relates to different legacies and varying implementation achievements in the three cases. The analysis shows that an approach that focuses on implementing as much wind power as possible, relying on technocratic reasoning and hierarchical policies is in practice the least successful, whereas collaborative perspectives with more emphasis on local issues and less on the interests of the conventional energy sector were particularly dominant in the most successful case, North-Rhine Westphalia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of the interplay between market forces and government policy on environmental equity in the vicinity of Amsterdam Airport in the Netherlands. Despite pressure on space and the presence of the international airport, exposure to the higher levels of traffic noise, NO2 and external safety risks, and accumulation of traffic noise and NO2 ('bads') was rather limited and generally distributed fairly equally among income categories, probably as a result of environmental regulations. However, lower-income categories had less access to lower levels of traffic noise, NO2 and public green space ('goods') than higher-income categories, which may be explained by both historical processes and market forces. Policy makers seem to accept a higher environmental burden on the regional population because of the benefits for the national economy generated by Amsterdam Airport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes three relatively recent innovations in the Dutch agri-environment programme which have helped nature management to be contiguous with natural features allowing the landscape to be managed whole rather than piecemeal - and thus generate higher quality and greater scope in environmental management. The first two, joint submissions by neighbouring farmers and payments related to the level of environmental output delivered, are scheme innovations. The third, Environmental Co-operatives (EC) - clubs of neighbouring farmers that inter alia co-ordinate and help manage the scheme innovations - is an institutional innovation. None has an equivalent in the UK. Evidence from interviews with farmer and non-farmer members, policy makers, academics and other interested parties show the role EC play in overcoming some of the postulated problems of the two scheme innovations. Not all the problems have been overcome, and cost-benefit analyses have not been conducted, nevertheless there is sufficient evidence to suggest that these innovations have benefited all actors involved: farmers, the government, the environment and the rural economy. Analysis of UK agri-environment policy using actor network theory (ANT) suggests the UK government will need to show similar levels of trust in and commitment to the farming community before these innovations could be introduced in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the comprehensive approach to environmental management in the Netherlands and the phenomenon of modern environmental agreements. Historical review of the comprehensive approach; Target-group policy for industry; Experiences with management strategy; Effectiveness and scope of management strategy.

Focuses on the integration of regional environmental planning and physical planning in the Netherlands. Increase in the environmental effects of production, mobility and consumption; Netherlands' levels of public planning and policy; Problems and aspects in the integration of environmental and physical planning.