Is the Flemish Nitrogen Agreement too ambitious or not ambitious enough?
In February, the Flemish government launched a nitrogen agreement to reduce harmful emissions of nitrogen, as Europe requires. Until today, Friday 17 June, anyone who feels disadvantaged by these plans had time to submit an objection. While the farmers' interest group wants to loosen the nitrogen rules for agriculture as much as possible, environmental organisations are asking for a more ambitious plan.
Boerenbond, the interest group of Belgian farmers, submitted an objection letter of no less than 170 pages on Friday. "This letter of objection was prepared very thoroughly from the bottom up," said chairman Lode Ceyssens to the newspaper Het Belang van Limburg.
"Our objections come down to three main points. One: the objectives imposed by Flanders are unachievable for the farmers. Two: the agreement is not legally sound . The standards for nitrogen are stricter for agriculture than for industry. And yet it makes no difference to nature where the nitrogen comes from. Three: the agreement is not well supported ecologically," Ceyssens claimed.
It is not only the Boerenbond that is dissatisfied with the nitrogen agreement as it is now on the table. Environmental organisations are also demanding the necessary adjustments. Climaxi, the movement for climate and social justice, together with Boerenforum, the organisation for agroecology and fair agriculture, submitted a notice of objection.
Land-related agriculture
In a press release, the two organisations say they opt for "land-related agriculture", whereby as many animals are kept per hectare as that hectare can handle. They fear that the current draft decree will lead to "even more intensive and industrial agriculture".
According to both organisations, the Flemish government has too little eye for alternatives.
"In other European countries we have found alternatives, where agriculture and nature are integrated and farmers receive a basic income that protects them from price fluctuations. We miss a real agricultural policy in this proposal and call for a dialogue with the sector."
Earlier, the Bond Beter Leefmilieu, Natuurpunt, the Limburgse Milieukoepel and the West-Vlaamse Milieufederatie, four Flemish environmental organisations, also announced their joint objection. One of the problems mentioned by the environmental organisations is the technical interventions that farmers are allowed to apply to reduce their nitrogen emissions, such as air scrubbers or low-emission barn floors. In practice, these do not always deliver the promised nitrogen reduction.
The Flemish Nitrogen Agreement is based on the European Habitat Directive, which obliges every country to protect endangered plants and animals. One of the elements to be taken into account is the nitrogen deposition in a nature area, but the European Union itself does not impose a nitrogen standard. This is determined by the member states, so different standards apply in different member states.
(AHU)
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