Overview
- In advice on the Nota Ruimte to 2050, the PBL concludes that restoring nature through function combinations is only partly possible and that dedicated nature areas must expand.
- The agency estimates an extra 100,000–150,000 hectares of nature are needed beyond current plans and says agricultural land use must be adjusted to reach targets.
- Demissionary minister Mona Keijzer (BBB) pushes back, calling the report a “love letter” while rejecting large-scale expansion as unrealistic in a densely populated country nearing 20 million residents.
- She questions who would pay for the expansion and warns that citizens could end up funding nature areas they cannot visit.
- Keijzer’s concept plan emphasizes nature outside existing reserves, combining uses such as agriculture, recreation and defence, and avoiding the conversion of farmland for nature or housing.