The title might give the impression this blog is about a politically charged topic, but it has nothing to with the migration goals of our future cabinet. I am referring to Land van Ons, an ambitious civic initiative to develop a new ecological network of agricultural land within a decade. The ecological network will consist of a 300,000ha buffer of responsibly farmed land. That is 15% of the agricultural land in the Netherlands. And I see a compelling link between this initiative and our field of expertise. So read on!
People taking part in this civic initiative help raise funds that are used to buy up agricultural land. Leaseholders are encouraged to make responsible choices to curb the intensive use of land, i.e. by stopping slurry injections, the use of artificial fertilisers and pesticides and monoculture crops. The area is then redeveloped into attractive and sustainably managed farmland with plenty of room for biodiversity in and on the soil. Hedgerows strips are restored, there is room for untidy areas and crop rotation, and significantly, leaseholders are able to farm the land profitably.
The lack of a shared vision in our country in terms of future-proof spatial planning made me wonder if initiatives such as Land van Ons would work in the construction industry.
Just imagine if we design, build and develop on principles similar to the civic initiative: if we stop developments that yield only short-term economic gain and halt imports of primary natural resources. If we no longer build in low-lying areas or floodplains.
Solutions such as circular construction, focus on long-term ambitions and monetarising sustainable development with long-term social and financial obligations would become the norm, if only the government, residents and businesses made more of an effort to work together to define a joint vision of local developments in their village, city or neighbourhood.
That could solve the growing competition for ever scarcer space to develop our country.
I imagine our living environment would be greener, focused on sustainable management, more resilient to the effects of climate change. In other words, a pleasant place for future generations.
When we apply our cool ideas and technical skills from a more holistic perspective, we can tackle the social challenges in a sustainable way, without compromising our sparse building materials or space. This land is the only land we have. Let’s make it a land that can sustain us for generations to come.
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