Every time a politician calls out that nature in the Netherlands is on the verge of collapse, this person is supported by data that the RIVM provides via the Aerius model, and by the nature target analyzes that the provinces all received last year (and themselves). With each new version ('release'), the RIVM also declares that all input data that are important for the outcomes are regularly updated, for example the land use maps. But is that also true?
The writer of this piece dares to doubt it and was confirmed in this suspicion when, after two years of waiting, he received WOO pieces about Aerius.
For Aerius, air quality is measured with a network of sniffing stations, but other indicators are also of great importance, things that many people may not think about. This mainly concerns the nitrogen sensitivity of 'habitats' in nature reserves. The more sensitive the nature and the more such nature, the greater the effect on Aerius.
Very sensitive gis nature
The problem is that quite a bit of land is classified as very sensitive nature, while this has not been checked at all or it is even known that there is no nature under it at all. This is literally in the documents. There was already a discussion about this in 2020. It was about 'boosting' nature, as the Agrifacts Foundation reported at the time. Many details were not yet clear at the time, but a parliamentary-wide motion (Harbers/Geurts) called for this to be resolved. Then-minister Carola Schouten agreed, but the fact is that nothing has been done so far. This was discussed at interprovincial level and also with the RIVM and the national government, but the almost 700 hectares of 'very sensitive' but otherwise unknown GIS habitats (code H9999) remained on the map.
Government does not cheat, farmers do
Apparently no province thought it was worth going outside and verifying the situation on site. Does the province only have office ecologists or were they afraid of detecting official fraud? It also certainly gives a strange impression to the farmers who have been pilloried in recent years because they included corners of land owned by the government or water board as part of their eligible business area. With approximately 240 hectares, Overijssel has the most to clarify H9999. It is also strange why the gis habitats were immediately assigned the highest sensitivity. Officially this is invoking the precautionary principle, but it is strange to implement it as fully as possible.
Hordijk officially ignored
By the way, the habitat issue is not the only remarkable thing. Former Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality Schouten set up the Hordijk committee due to criticism of Aerius. It found that Aerius is not suitable for use at local level and licensing and concluded that a maximum distance limit of 25 kilometers should be used for emission calculations. Politics agreed, but at official level and behind closed doors it was decided that RIVM and governments did not have to worry about this, it can be read.
Undesirable windfalls
Unforeseen outcomes of improvements are also not welcome, especially if the outcome is that the deposition from the air is lower than in previous calculations. For the scientists at the RIVM, this is not a relief, but an undesirable outcome, it is noted. In any case, it was a reason to prefer to leave an improved land use map - which resulted in lower terrain roughness through sharper 'glasses' - for a while and to examine the calculation model carefully again. Researchers with tunnel vision?
Terminally demissionary and suffocating pressure
With a few days to go until the new cabinet is sworn in, the outgoing ministers at LNV are stepping up their game. Document production is set to maximum. Seen from that point of view, every minister should be terminally out of office, but unfortunately for them that is not the parameter on which they are judged. Prefer fewer and simpler documents and with user-friendly content.
One of Minister Adema's last actions could have been better in that respect. It's about his intention all addresses of PAS reporters to publish. Those involved can still object to this for two weeks, but the minister appears to have only published his intention in the Government Gazette and on the ministry's own website. If no one objects, the database of MOB, the Leefmilieu Foundation and other professional objectors will be enriched again without hindrance.