Brabant rejects legal personality for nature reserves

◆1 source

Hagar Roijackers, North Brabant’s deputy for nature, said granting legal personality to protected nature areas was undesirable, according to a letter to the Provincial States. The letter followed a call by the Party for the Animals to give nature reserves rights so they could be better protected and represented. North Brabant had examined whether protected Natura 2000 sites could become legal entities, but research by Wageningen University & Research found that this would require changes to the law. The province does not want to lobby for such changes, noting that other provinces are also opposed.

Roijackers said practical questions would remain even if the law changed, including which parts of nature would have rights and who could represent them. She also warned that nature reserves could theoretically be held liable for civil wrongdoing or face criminal prosecution. She said nature’s interests are already protected through regulations and the involvement of nature organisations. The letter referred to examples in New Zealand and Spain where natural areas have legal personality and human guardians represent their interests.

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Politics

Brabant’s nitrogen permitting freeze continued

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Brabant’s nitrogen permitting freeze had continued for three and a half years, with 1,713 applications awaiting a decision in September 2026. Nearly all concerned farmers, while infrastructure and industrial projects were also affected. The freeze began in March 2023 after studies reportedly found that protected Natura 2000 sites in the province were in such poor condition that new nitrogen permits might not withstand legal challenges. It applied within 25 kilometres of Natura 2000 sites and effectively covered almost the entire province. There had been virtually no permits since the freeze began, although applications were still being processed; the number of new applications fell from 286 in 2023 to 69 in 2025. ASML was identified as a rare exception that received a nitrogen permit. The province expanded its own nitrogen measures, including withdrawing unused permitted nitrogen capacity, restricting fertilisation on provincial land and requiring farmers to maintain outdated stables. It said emissions were falling but not quickly enough and continued to call on the national government for plans and funding. A national package was expected to target a 42 to 46 percent reduction in emissions by 2035, but the permitting crisis was not yet resolved. If permits were able to resume by the end of 2027, Brabant could face a further restriction on discharge permits because it was reportedly not meeting the European Water Framework Directive’s requirements for water availability and quality.

Politics

North Brabant restricts new natural cemeteries in Nature Network Brabant

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The province of North Brabant said it will no longer allow new natural cemeteries in areas within Nature Network Brabant. Deputy Hagar Roijackers said the province is reserving those areas to protect and improve nature and biodiversity, citing disturbance from visitors, including car traffic. The province has received nine applications over the past year and a half, covering a combined 150 hectares, and said demand for new and expanded natural cemeteries is increasing. Natural burials remain possible elsewhere in Brabant, including transition zones and estates outside the nature network.