The preliminary design provides direction on how the various goals can be achieved and what changes are needed in the rural area of Brabant. And at the same time, it offers room to discuss how these goals can best be achieved in the follow-up steps to the draft BPLG and final BPLG.
In the coming months, the province of North Brabant will hold substantive discussions with Brabant partners and the Provincial Council (PS) about important selection issues such as the design of transition areas and the careful handling of the best agricultural land. Parallel to this process, a plan EIA procedure is also completed and a Socio-Economic Impact Analysis (SEIA) is carried out to properly identify both environmental and socio-economic effects.
Since the first charcoal sketch for the BPLG, which was presented to the government in June 2023, important thinking steps have been taken in the area together with Brabant partners during Brabant-wide meetings about the BPLG, the green-blue area-oriented approach in and near nature reserves (GGAs) and administrative consultations. of development strategy, spatial development perspective and structuring choices.
Positive advice for the first part of the package of measures
The NoRegret package of measures below was added to the charcoal sketch. Positive advice has already been received from Wageningen Economic Research (WEcR) for 8 of the 10 measures. Brabant expects that the province will receive funds from the government in the short term for the implementation of these measures, now that the House of Representatives has approved the amended budget of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.
Sustainable perspective for agriculture:
- Customized approach to nitrogen;
- Biodiversity monitor arable and horticulture;*
- Carbon sequestration in agricultural soils, trees, forests and nature;*
- Emission reduction by adjusting the housing system, management measures and manure processing;
- Expansion in and around GGA areas and the nature network.*
Nature and water restoration
- Retaining water (water system measures);*
- GGA Markiezaat;*
- Water landscape Pauwels;*
- Forest revitalization;*
- Green-blue veining (GDBA).*
*positive assessment for the 1st round of the Transition Fund.
Brabant hopes to receive money from the government before the summer
The positively assessed measures have a value of up to €222 million. After the assessment round in April-May of this year, it will become clear exactly what amounts Brabant can count on. The other two measures (customized approach to nitrogen and emission reduction through adjustment of the housing system, management measures and manure processing) worth €30 million are now also submitted to the government. The province of North Brabant recently also received a positive assessment from WEcR for the measure ’emission reduction through adjustment of the housing system, management measures and manure processing’ (worth a maximum of €10 million). The province will have to further develop some of these. However, no resources have currently been reserved or made available by the government for either measure, so they will therefore be forwarded to a second assessment round. The government is investigating financing options.
Deputy Hagar Roijackers (Nature, Environment and Brabant Rural Area Program): “It is great and important for Brabant that we pass the assessment so well. We hope to receive the corresponding amount quickly, so that we can actually start working with our partners on these challenges for nature, water, climate and the future prospects for our Brabant farmers, preferably before the summer. It is a very major legal and social challenge that we have in our province.”
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Tags: Brabant establishes preliminary draft Brabant Rural Area Program
