Open Vld comes with a concept note in which the party develops solutions for the ongoing conflicts between agriculture and the environment. On Friday it turned out that the agriculture department in recent advice for the permit of stables is targeting the nitrogen compromise of the Flemish government.
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After the nitrogen ruling, Minister of the Environment Zuhal Demir (N-VA) issued a strict ‘ministerial instruction’ for the assessment of permit applications. As a result, various extensions of stables were advised negatively, but the Department of Agriculture refuses to accept that negative advice. Agriculture and the environment also clash around dossiers such as the construction shift.
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In a concept note, Steven Coenegrachts of Open Vld makes a series of proposals to take the sting out of the conflicts. For example, he wants to separate intensive agriculture and nature with a buffer zone. This includes forms of agriculture that have a limited impact on the living environment, such as agroforestry and organic farming. On the one side of the buffer zone, nature is given plenty of room to develop without the impact of fertilization, for example. On the other side of the zone, highly productive agriculture has a prospect of a legally secure future in Flanders.
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Area doubling of nature and forest areas
Open Vld allows the nature and forest areas to double in surface area. In these natural areas, opportunities can be created for agriculture, provided that it is fully at the service of biodiversity conservation. This means, among other things, that no fertilizers and pesticides are used.
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The agricultural areas may further evolve into highly productive activities. This means, among other things, that nature associations and other actors in these areas will stop buying up agricultural land. The government also does not encourage afforestation. “I call on both the nature associations and the agricultural organizations to look at this with an open mind,” says Coenegrachts.
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