What about that missing nature permit?
The acute problem arose because a legally tenable nature permit must be issued to Schiphol in the short term. It concerns a permit under the Nature Conservation Act, which must be applied for via the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.
Schiphol has had to ensure that nature is not damaged for some time, but that has been arranged for years via the so-called Habitats and Birds Directive. For a long time, the airport thought that this was sufficient and that a separate nature permit was not necessary. That nature permit did not yet exist when Schiphol was established more than a hundred years ago.
In 2019, the cabinet said that Schiphol must apply for that nature permit. During the nitrogen crisis, it turned out that Schiphol’s nitrogen emissions have an effect on nature. The airport must also comply with all kinds of environmental, odor and noise standards in order to protect local residents in particular.
Nature organizations have threatened to take legal action if there is no legally sound nature permit.
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