High costs, governments that do not comply with the rules, 'independent' consultancy firms do not want to go against important clients. It is the daily course of events in the fight for public space in the Netherlands. Meanwhile, it is becoming increasingly difficult for citizens to protect their living environment.
Citizens and nature organisations who want to protect their environment regularly encounter problems.
For example, the Netherlands has a comprehensive law #natuurbescherming , but things often go wrong in the implementation: governments seem to fail to comply with their own rules.
For example, applications for authorisation must be controlled by the authorities, but in practice it is often citizens who take on this task. In that fight, the citizens run at a high cost.
Objectioners have only one chance to challenge complex project developer reports: a counter-report by an independent consulting firm.
But this so-called “counter-expertise” is difficult for citizens to obtain: the agencies prefer not to write a report that goes against important clients.
The result: in recent years, as a Dutch citizen, it has become considerably more difficult to resist building plans and major interventions in your living environment.

On the day of publication June 10th, this article can be read free of charge.

Citizens fighting for nature are immediately 2-0 behind