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18/10/2010
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Judith Westerink
Many Dutch municipalities have land rights in rural areas. This is an open secret. That land often lies ‘idle’ for years, awaiting a land exchange or construction project. In the meantime, it is leased to farmers with no further ambition. The agriculture and nature association Ark & Eemlandschap developed an idea to use that land – which after all had been purchased with taxpayers’ money – to encourage agrarian nature management and farmland footpaths.
A report on this topic by the Science Shop of Wageningen UR was published on 29 September 2010. Read the report (in Dutch).
Ark & Eemlandschap devised a land-users’ bank, into which land owners can contribute land for short or longer periods of time. The land-users’ bank mediates in the leasing of this land, giving priority to farmers with the best 'social performance’ record. This includes, for example, farmers who set aside a plot of land in a strategic spot for grassland birds or a hiking route, or farmers who are willing to enter into strict agreements regarding their current land. The land in the land-users’ bank means extra production space which can be managed according to conventional methods and for which they also pay a normal level of lease. They receive the usual SNL grant for their social performance.
In my view, this is an idea that needs to be repeated elsewhere. Let us come up with still more creative ideas to make use of publically-owned land for innovation and improvements in rural areas, temporary or more permanent natural environments, beautification of the landscape and other social objectives. Incidentally, this should not only apply to land belonging to government bodies. Everyone with land rights can exercise influence!
Judith Westerink