Court reprimands minister on management plans for Natura 2000 areas in the North Sea

The Natura 2000 areas Frisian Front, Klaverbank and Dogger Bank are located in the North Sea. These areas are protected due to the presence of special nature, animal and plant species.

The Nature Conservation Act (Wnb) obliges the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management to establish so-called management plans for these areas. These plans must at least state which measures are necessary to achieve the goals set for protected areas. These goals are called conservation objectives.

In addition, the minister can also allow activities in a management plan that are not necessary to achieve the conservation objectives. He must then have certainty under the Wnb that these activities are not detrimental to achieving the conservation objectives of the natural areas. If an activity is included in a management plan, no separate Wnb permit is required for carrying out this activity. 

In the three management plans, the minister has allowed various activities that are not necessary to achieve the conservation objectives for the three natural areas. This includes, for example, the normal operation of existing mining installations, maintenance of cables and pipelines present in the areas, and various military activities such as shooting exercises, clearing explosives, and the use of sonar. 

The court rules that the minister has not met the requirements of the Nature Conservation Act for most exempted activities against which the appeals are directed. The research conducted by the minister still contains too many uncertainties about the effects of the activities.

Furthermore, it is not clear under which conditions the minister allows these activities. Because the Wnb imposes strict requirements on the minister in these respects, the court upholds the appeals of the two foundations. It thus annuls the exemptions for these activities. If the minister still wants to allow the activities, more research must be conducted into the effects of these activities. This does not apply to maintenance of cables and pipelines, as the court agrees with the ministers position on this point.