European sustainable development rural actor database

Administrative organization

Form of State: unitary State, though strongly decentralised.
Legislative power in all fields rests exclusively with the national government, which exercises this power via the States-General. Administrative power rests with the central government, insofar as it is not exercised by the provincial and municipal authorities, which thus complement the work of national level.
The provinces and municipalities may issue provincial and municipal regulations, as long as they are in compliance with national law. Both provinces and municipalities have the autonomy to develop policy that is not in conflict with national legislation.
Interesting ministries:

• Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and the Environment. Minister: Mrs Jacqueline Cramer.
• Ministry of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality. Minister: Mrs Gerda Verburg. Apart from agriculture, this Ministry is responsible for biotechnologies, environment, and rural territories.

Total public expenditure: €229.9 billions = 45.5% GDP.
Sub-national public expenditure: €81.6 billions = 16.1% GDP = 35.5% total public expenditure.

Rural life

Utilized agricultural area: 51.5% total area, i.e. about 21,559 km2.
Rural population: 19.8% total population.
Labour force in agriculture: 197,000 Annual Work Units (AWU).
Unemployment rate by degree of urbanisation:

• Densely populated areas: 5.3%
• Intermediate areas: 3.9%
• Thinly populated areas: 4.0%

Employment rate by degree of urbanisation:

• Densely populated areas: 72.9%
• Intermediate areas: 73.9%
• Thinly populated areas: 73.9%

Youth unemployment ratio by degree of urbanisation:

• Densely populated areas: 6.3%
• Intermediate areas: 4.9%
• Thinly populated areas: 5.6%
• Total: 5.8%

Share of organic area in total utilised agricultural area: 2.5%.

Sustainability

The Netherlands has been working since 1990 on the issue of SD. This resulted in a large volume of policy documents that together form the Dutch Strategy for SD. This diversity of information sources makes it difficult to pick one key document for the basis of this review. We thus followed the Comity of the Regions lead and finally opted for the Government’s Action Programme for SD entitled “Duurzame
Daadkracht” (will for sustainable action) because it is the most recent document available (July 2003). This political document translates the long-term SD objectives into short-term objectives and measures for the coming four years. It focuses more particularly on 12 priorities for SD:

• Water
• Biodiversity
• Energy
• Agriculture
• Transport
• Consumption and production
• Knowledge
• Health
• Population
• Recreation and tourism
• Governance: instruments for changing government’s and other actors’ behaviour
• Poverty

The National Action Programme is explicitly focused on actions to be taken by the National Government. Every Ministerial department in it financial statements for the coming year, has to explain how it will take account of the different dimensions of SD in preparing and implementing policy. Therefore all Ministries are involved. Each Ministry is responsible for the implementation of the actions for which it has been designated to be the leader. The Ministry of Housing Spatial Planning and the Environment coordinates the implementation.
Environmental protection expenditure in the public sector: 1.5 % of GDP, i.e. 390 € per capita.
Government expenditure on environment protection, in % of GDP: 0.7%.
Government expenditure on environment protection, in % of total government expenditure: 1.6%.
Area protected under the Habitats Directive as a percentage of total area: 9.5%.