Boeren anno nu en in de toekomst: civiele kansen en risico’s

Dutch nature and the environment are in bad shape and the pressure is increasing. For example, when it comes to odor, nitrogen and the use of crop protection products. As a result, citizens and interest groups are increasingly trying to use the courts to reduce the pressure on nature and the environment. Initially this movement was visible mainly in administrative law, but now citizens and interest groups have also found their way to the civil courts. And regularly with success. Indeed, civil courts seem increasingly willing to grant (sometimes far-reaching) claims to reduce the pressure on nature and the environment. These verdicts carry risks for the agricultural sector. Those risks are addressed in this preliminary opinion. The civil jurisprudence shows that it is now really up to the government to offer farmers prospects and a future with adequate laws and regulations in which solutions are legally anchored. The jurisprudence also shows that such laws and regulations are lacking on all sides, making it difficult to see any real solutions at this moment. A systemic change seems an absolute necessity and offers opportunities (at least in theory), but then the government must have the willingness to initiate that change. This is lacking for the time being.