Derde lerende evaluatie natuurpact: reflectie en projectie voortgang ontwikkelingsopgaven natuur : Lessen voor de Derde Lerende Evaluatie Natuurpact (LEN3)

Samenvatting

This study evaluates how financial resources for the development of the national ecological network in the Netherlands are spent and whether these resources are sufficient to achieve the nature targets. The approach is a combination of database, statistical projection and document analyses, as well as interviews and workshops with provincial governments. From 2013 to 2019 approx. 22% of financial resources for land acquisition for the national ecological network was spent and approx. 42% of the land acquisition target was achieved. Similarly, approx. 33% of the financial resources for conversion to nature (landscape works followed by land management) were spent and approx. 48% of the conversion target was completed. This rate of progress is not sufficient to complete all the nature targets for 2027. Over the period 2013-2019, the costs of land acquisition across the country rose by approx. €6,900/ha/yr and the costs of conversion rose by approx. €6,400/ha/yr. If these costs remain the same as the standard cost, national funding will be sufficient (+1.8 billion euros) to achieve the nature targets; if the costs rise in line with the historical trend, national funding will be insufficient (-870 million euros) to achieve these nature targets. Depending on the expected increase in these costs, some provinces will have sufficient funds to achieve their nature targets, while others will not. The advice by the task force on accelerating the rate of progress towards the nature targets (Taskforce Versnelling) and the provinces, contains measures that facilitate a speeding up of land acquisition and reduce the pressures on land markets. The advice therefore meets the need to increase the rate of land acquisition, but only to a lesser extent meets the need to speed up the conversion of land to nature.