Dutch Face Growing Pressures On Rural Land - OECD
Date: 04-Jun-08
Country: NETHERLANDS
Author: Catherine Hornby
With roughly 16 million inhabitants, the Netherlands is the second most densely populated country in the OECD after South Korea, yet it is also the world's third largest exporter of agricultural products, which contribute to about 10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
"The Netherlands is a pressure cooker of competing interests in which we have to juggle the three P's: people, planet and profit," said Agriculture Minister Gerda Verburg following a presentation of the report.
The OECD's (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) Rural Policy Review of the Netherlands found that rising population and growing demand for rural housing and recreation were among factors adding to land use pressures.
At the same time, it said that increased flooding risk as a result of climate change may mean that more land is needed for water retention areas.
The Netherlands is particularly vulnerable to climate change as a quarter of its territory lies below sea level and it is on the flood plains of three big rivers.
SPECIES UNDER THREAT
On top of these demands, concerns about biodiversity may also create more claims on land for nature, the report found.
It said the Netherlands' share of species under threat is one of the highest among OECD countries for birds, amphibians, reptiles and vascular plants, and the highest for freshwater fish.
"All these elements will lead to increased claims on land. This combination of claims will be particularly intense in the rural areas around cities. These are in many cases now in use as agricultural area," the OECD said in its report.
Concerns about overcrowding and high land prices have encouraged the Dutch to consider building islands in the North Sea that could be used for housing, farming or a nature reserve, including one proposal for an island in the shape of a tulip.
Agricultural use of land is currently around 69 percent in the Netherlands, declining at a pace of around 0.35 percent per year since 1950. Horticulture is the only sub-sector which is increasing its land use.
The Netherlands exports 75 percent of its agricultural products. It dominates the world market in flowers, eggs and pigs, producing more than half of world exports of each, according to the data.
At the same time, it is the most urbanised country within the OECD, with 85 percent of its population living in urban regions.
(Reporting by Catherine Hornby; editing by Christopher Johnson)