Six nature and environmental organisations (1), the Port of Rotterdam Authority and Deltalinqs, the interest group for the business sector in the port of Rotterdam, have entered into an agreement to cut back the depositions of nitrogen compounds in the Rijnmond region and surroundings. Emissions of nitrogen compounds from agriculture, industry and traffic among others are harmful to nature if they end up in the environment. Taking extra measures can relieve the pressure on nature areas (especially the dunes) and also help the port to continue to develop.

<strong>Study into effective measures
</strong>Over the coming nine months, the signatories will study the effectiveness of possible (extra) measures for limiting the deposition of nitrogen in nature areas. This study will investigate measures in industry, agriculture and horticulture and traffic (shipping in particular) as well as the sources which affect the nature areas the most. Parties will also examine the set-up of a regional nitrogen bank which can keep the results of measures. The studies will underlie the goals for reducing nitrogen depositions and making agreements about effective and feasible measures. The results will be registered and, following consultation, they will be put to use partly for new development and partly for deposition reduction in nature areas.

“This agreement targets nature objectives as well as the development of the port. The nitrogen bank enables us to keep track of the rate of reduction and how we can divide the deposition space which is freed up between nature and the business sector. It is a win-win approach,” according to Ronald Paul, COO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority. Alex Ouwehand, director of the Nature and Environment Federation of South Holland: “This study will increase our knowledge of the most efficient way for us to cut back nitrogen depositions. And it will enable us to actually realise and distribute those reductions properly. On balance, nature will improve.” Steven Lak, Deltalinqs chairman: “The business sector wants to do its part in limiting the environmental impact, but above all it wants to reduce the uncertainties about the issue of permits for new developments. We hope to achieve that with this integral approach. The objective is clear: bring the nitrogen depositions down in a way that is as cost-effective as possible, while allowing businesses to develop.”

<strong>The problem with nitrogen</strong>
The combustion processes in engines, and heating systems (nitrogen oxides) and in agriculture (ammonia), is one way nitrogen compounds get into in the air. While fertilizers are beneficial to agricultural crops, they are bad for plant diversity (biodiversity) in many nature areas such as the dunes in South Holland. These plants often require a low-nutrient environment, which means little nitrogen. These areas have a Natura 2000 status which affords them international protection and critical limit values for nitrogen depositions. The decades-old excess of nitrogen depositions in these areas requires site managers to take many more measures to maintain nature, such as more grazing, mowing and turf cutting. If this is not done, increasingly more flora and fauna will disappear from the dunes and the nature areas will quickly become monotonous.

A large part of the nitrogen depositions in nature areas in the Rijnmond region and surroundings comes from abroad or is of unknown origin. Of the sources in the Netherlands, much comes from agriculture and the livestock industry. Agricultural businesses are often located close to nature areas and ammonia emissions, unlike combustion emissions, settle fast. The heating of houses and buildings also adds considerably to the emissions.

Industry and traffic contribute relatively little in total to the nitrogen depositions. The depositions from industry have already been cut back significantly thanks to new technology and stricter legislation. Road traffic has also developed further. Measures can still be applied, however, to shipping in particular. The parties to the agreement also want to map out the cost-effectiveness of measures in agriculture, horticulture and the livestock industry, alongside industry and traffic.

<strong>Regional contribution</strong>
Due to the nationwide scale of the issue, the State has already been working for several years with the provinces on preparing the Programmatic Approach to Nitrogen (PAS). That national programme likewise has a double goal: conservation of protected nature and economic development. Nature and environmental organisations and the business sector in the Rijnmond region want to make a recognisable regional contribution to this and also reduce their dependence on national programmes. Those goals are achieved through the investigation into and design of a regional programme with a corresponding nitrogen bank alongside the development possibilities offered by the PAS. On balance this will result in a reduction of the nitrogen depositions in nature areas and more possibilities for development in the region. In addition, in many cases the measures will also result in a reduction of the use of fossil fuels and an improvement in air quality. This is a win-win approach in multiple aspects, for which the parties are making every effort.

<strong>Source:</strong> Port of Rotterdam