Environmental Law

25/06/2015

Spectacular judgment by Dutch Court in climate change case

Court orders State to achieve reduction target of 25% in 2020

Palace of Justice, The Hague (photo by Flickr user Elvin)

In an unprecedented and unexpected decision, a Dutch court found that the Netherlands government has acted negligently and therefore unlawfully towards Urgenda by implementing a policy aimed at achieving a reduction for 2020 of less than 25% compared to the year 1990. The court had to overcome many obstacles to reach this decision, such as the obstacle of causation (from a global perspective, the Netherlands has a relatively small contribution to climate change, so how can the Dutch State by liable for climate change damage suffered by individual Dutch citizens?) and the obstacle of the principle of separation of powers, which does not allow courts to move into politics (setting mitigation targets is usually considered to be a policy matter, of which courts should remain clear). In other countries, particularly the United States, where many climate change suits have been decided or are ongoing, these two obstacles present the main reason why most climate change cases went nowhere, so far…

In its decision of June 24^th, 2015, which was rightfully translated in English as international interest in the judgment will be massive, the Court orders the State to limit the joint volume of Dutch annual greenhouse gas emissions, or have them limited, so that this volume will have reduced by at least 25% at the end of 2020 compared to the level of the year 1990. How did the Court reach this decision, and, more importantly, how did it overcome the two obstacles mentioned above?

The case was initiated by Urgenda, a foundation that was established in 2008 with the aim to stimulate and accelerate the transition processes to a more sustainable society, beginning in the Netherlands, by, among other things, legal action. More than 800 individual citizens joined the suit, so the case was lodged by Urgenda acting on its own behalf as well as in its capacity as representative of these individuals. Under Dutch tort law, NGOs are allowed to initiate public interest cases (see extensively Berthy van den Broek, Liesbeth Enneking, Public Interest Litigation in the Netherlands. A Multidimensional Take on the Promotion of Environmental Interests by Private Parties through the Courts, 2014 Utrecht Law Review 10:3). On standing, the Court not only finds that Urgenda is allowed to represent current generations, but also future generations, because the foundation is aimed at achieving a sustainable development (see judgment under 4.6-4.8). This makes this case a landmark case for the debate on intergenerational equity as well.

The question that the court had to address is whether the State acts unlawfully by “only” pursuing the reduction targets that were imposed upon the Netherlands by EU-law for 2020: a 21% reduction for sectors covered by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (basically large industry and power stations), and a 16% reduction for non-EU ETS sectors (such as transport and agriculture). Under Dutch tort law, there are two ways in which unlawful action or inaction can be established: actions contrary to legal norms, or actions that are not contrary to written legal norms, but that are considered to be violating the standard of due care. First, the Court finds that the state did not breach its legal obligations under a range of legal instruments, such as the UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, various EU climate change instruments, the European Convention of Human Rights, etc.

Then, however, the Court tests whether the State fulfilled its duty of care towards its citizens. This is where the case becomes really interesting, because in order to establish what exactly, in this case, this duty of care entails, the Court relies on a large number of binding and non-binding rules and principles (such as the precautionary principle and the principle of ‘fairness’), policy statements, and even ‘scientific consensus’, to determine what can be expected of the State. The Court then finds: ‘Due to the severity of the consequences of climate change and the great risk of hazardous climate change occurring – without mitigating measures – the court concludes that the State has a duty of care to take mitigation measures. The circumstance that the Dutch contribution to the present global greenhouse gas emissions is currently small does not affect this. (…) It is an established fact that with the current emission reduction policy (…) the State does not meet the standard which according to the latest scientific knowledge and in the international climate policy is required for Annex I countries to meet the 2°C target.’

How did the Court overcome the two obstacles mentioned above: causation and separation of powers?

On causation, the Court uses earlier case law on joint liability: the fact that one actor’s contribution to damage is minor, does not allow courts to reject liability. On the contrary, this actor can, under certain circumstances, be hold liable for the entire damage by those who suffer the damage. It is then up to the targeted tortfeasor to reclaim part of these costs from the other tortfeasors. After having referred to this jurisprudence, the Court states: ‘The fact that the amount of the Dutch emissions is small compared to other countries does not affect the obligation to take precautionary measures in view of the State’s obligation to exercise care. After all, it has been established that any anthropogenic greenhouse gas emission, no matter how minor, contributes to an increase of CO2 levels in the atmosphere and therefore to hazardous climate change.’ Interestingly, the Court follows the principle of common-but-differentiated responsibilities that is one of the main principles of the UNFCCC to argue that it is only fair that the Netherlands takes a proactive approach when it comes to mitigation: ‘Here too, the court takes into account that in view of a fair distribution the Netherlands, like the other Annex I countries, has taken the lead in taking mitigation measures and has therefore committed to a more than proportionate contribution to reduction. Moreover, it is beyond dispute that the Dutch per capita emissions are one of the highest in the world.’ The Court then concludes:

From the above considerations (…) it follows that a sufficient causal link can be assumed to exist between the Dutch greenhouse gas emissions, global climate change and the effects (now and in the future) on the Dutch living climate. The fact that the current Dutch greenhouse gas emissions are limited on a global scale does not alter the fact that these emission contribute to climate change. The court has taken into consideration in this respect as well that the Dutch greenhouse emissions have contributed to climate change and by their nature will also continue to contribute to climate change.

The Court spends a good deal of considerations on the separation of powers. It apparently is very conscious of the fact that it is encroaching upon the realm of policy-making.  The government defended its policy by stating that it is working towards remaining within the 2 degrees limit. To achieve this, bigger emission cuts would be required in 2030. It was a policy decision, backed up by a majority in Parliament, to stall emission cuts a bit (also with a view to the economic crisis), and to speed up emission reductions later. According to the government, this is a legitimate political decision that should not be reviewed by courts.

The Court, however, takes a firm position in the separation of powers debate: ‘It is worthwhile noting that a judge, although not elected and therefore has no democratic legitimacy, has democratic legitimacy in another – but vital – respect. His authority and ensuing “power” are based on democratically established legislation, whether national or international, which has assigned him the task of settling legal disputes. This task also extends to cases in which citizens, individually or collectively, have turned against government authorities. The task of providing legal protection from government authorities, such as the State, pre-eminently belong to the domain of a judge. This task is also enshrined in legislation.’ According to the Court, this is exactly what the claim asks of them: provide legal protection against negligence on the part of the State. The Court acknowledges that by granting judicial review in this case, it will moving into the policy arena: ‘This does not mean that allowing one or more components of the claim can also have political consequences and in that respect can affect political decision-making. However, this is inherent in the role of the court with respect to government authorities in a state under the rule of law. The possibility – and in this case even certainty – that the issue is also and mainly the subject of political decision-making is no reason for curbing the judge in his task and authority to settle disputes. Whether or not there is a “political support base” for the outcome is not relevant in the court’s decision-making process.’

This is a firm statement indeed! The Court does acknowledge that there has to remain room for political decision-making, hence they only set the minimum reduction target of 25% reduction, without imposing the measures that need to be taken to achieve this target, nor preventing (future) decision-makers to go beyond this target. Why 25%? The court bases this decision upon scientific data, but also upon previous policy statements by Dutch authorities and upon the statement in court that a 25% emission cut in itself would not be entirely impossible to achieve. The Court rejects the policy decision to stall the reduction speed until 2030, by arguing that this approach ‘will cause a cumulation effect, which will result in higher levels of CO2 in the atmosphere in comparison to a more even procentual or linear decrease of emissions starting today. A higher reduction target for 2020 (40%, 30% or 25%) will cause lower total, cumulated greenhouse gas emissions across a longer period of time in comparison with the target of less than 20% chosen by the State. The court agrees with Urgenda that by choosing this reduction path, even though it is also aimed at realising the 2°C target, will in fact make significant contributions to the risk of hazardous climate change and can therefore not be deemed as a sufficient and acceptable alternative to the scientifically proven and acknowledged higher reduction path of 25-40% in 2020.’

There are many very important elements in this judgement that warrant further discussion and research. It is clear that the Dutch Court provided a break-through in climate change litigation, at least in the Netherlands. We have to wait and see whether this approach is copied by courts in other countries, and, first, whether this spectacular decision survives appeal. The Dutch government did not yet indicate whether it will appeal the judgement. It currently ‘studies’ the decision.

Update: Subsequent to the writing of this blogpost, the government of the Netherlands indeed appealed the Urgenda case. On 9 October 2018, the Higher Court in The Hague rejected all objections by the State. An explanation of this second sensational judgment is available here.   

26/05/2015

Enforcement of the EU ETS in the Member States: Further improvements needed

Although the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) has been operating now in three trading phases for ten years and has been extensively covered by legal research, there has been remarkably little attention for the enforcement of the ETS. Although, generally, we have seen an increasing centralization of the EU ETS, monitoring and enforcement still are largely in the hands of the emissions authorities in the states in which the EU ETS operates: 28 EU Member States plus Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland. As part of the EU funded FP7-project ENTRACTE (Economic iNsTRuments to Achieve Climate Targets in Europe), we did an ex-post evaluation of the legal implementation of the EU ETS at Member State level with a focus on compliance. We wanted to know whether the effectiveness of the compliance mechanism of the EU ETS has been improved over the years and what further improvements (if any) are necessary. We reviewed the relevant EU law in each of the three phases, reviewed previous evaluations and relevant research projects, and evaluated the implementation of the EU ETS in selected Member States, both through existing sources and through interviews with key players in the compliance mechanism at Member State level. The Member States that we studied were Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary, Greece, Poland and the UK.

The EU ETS is the largest trading program in the world designed to combat global climate change.  The theory behind emissions trading is that a market mechanism is established in order to mitigate greenhouse gasses. After a cap is set and potential polluting firms have obtained allowances to emit, they can either (1) reduce their emissions and sell their allowances by for example investing in technological innovation; (2) use their allowances in order to cover their emissions; or, (3) increase their emissions by buying additional allowances on the market. The crucial importance of a well-developed and operationalized compliance chain has been neglected in the original design. In fact, a striking paradox of the EU ETS is that while the idea is that the market should be the place to regulate greenhouse gas (hereafter: GHG) emissions, the system only functions if it operates in a highly regulated context. Market participants must have the confidence that the system is transparent and consistent, and that it guarantees a level playing field for all actors in the 31 participating States because every firm complies with the rules. Effective enforcement of the rules is, therefore, crucial.

The EU ETS legislation originally left a considerable amount of discretion to Member States. This particularly included operational elements of emission trading, such as registration, monitoring, verification, reporting and enforcement issues. Only after European law enforcement agencies signalled that in some European countries carbon trading fraudsters may have accounted for up to 90% of all market activity, with criminals pocketing billions, the compliance issue received increased attention. Moreover, different strategies for ensuring compliance among Member States give rise to distortions of the market for greenhouse gas allowances. The effectiveness and reliability of the ETS, therefore, to a significant extent depends on the effort of each of the Member States. Lack of compliance of only a few or even a single Member State can harm the functioning of the ETS in the entire EU.

We, as well as other researchers in the consortium (see the London School of Economic’ report on compliance), found that compliance with the EU ETS is high.  Most infringements are caused by genuine mistakes and lack of knowledge, not by deliberate actions to evade obligations. The majority of offences concerns the operation of an installation without holding the required permit, exceeding the deadline for submitting the emission report or not monitoring in accordance with the monitoring plan. It is also believed that the verification process pays off: many mistakes are discovered by private verifiers and subsequently rectified. Since prices of allowances have been very low, the majority of allowances are surrendered and not traded. Hence, the EU ETS has not been tested to the full yet, and it remains to be seen whether compliance will be as high in a market under stress (with high prices due to limited availability of allowances).

There are many indications that current enforcement activities will not suffice in a market under stress, although there a big variations among countries. The number of staff employed in the national emissions authorities, for example, differs enormously, ranging from 4 to 5 in Greece and Hungary to 150 in Germany, 40-50 of whom are devoted to inspecting compliance by installations, i.e., checking emission reports, monitoring reports etc. No need to explain what this means for effective enforcement. The biggest loophole that we found in our evaluation is the absence of site visits. Site visits are not yet part of the standard enforcement strategy of most Member States we studied. Only the UK and the Netherlands have a well-developed blueprint for conducting regular site visits on the basis of a risk assessment. There is a considerable risk that non-compliant behaviour will remain undetected when inspectors rely on data provided by the “paper work” that goes with the EU ETS in its  automated system. In the UK, the competent authority regularly conducts site visits as part of its enforcement strategy; 5% of the operators are audited each year. Operators receive notice of these audits since their purpose is more to check than to inspect, although formally the regulator could use its power of entry to perform an unannounced inspection. Regulators in England and Wales have developed a common format for reporting the results of site visits, which are entered into an electronic database. The details include a summary of the visit, any instances of non-compliance detected follow-up actions that have been agreed with the operator.  The findings of the site visit may also be shared with other government bodies. Non-compliance is explicitly recorded to create a database of historical performance for future reference. Follow-up varies from a phone call or a visit to slightly more invasive forms such as a warning. By comparison, in Germany inspection was until 2013 mainly an administrative process done behind the desk at the emissions authority.  This is true for most of the EU Member States. Germany has very recently changed its policy and now officers of the ETS authority do joint inspections together with officers responsible for the enforcement of regular environmental permits, thus benefiting from the experience and knowledge on past performance of the individual company that the latter usually has.

There is not enough space here to cover all the elements of the enforcement system in the Member States that can be improved. Overall, we concluded that Member States can learn a lot from each other’s attempts to close loopholes and fix weak spots in the compliance mechanism. Overall, more efforts should be undertaken to harmonize enforcement practices of the national competent authorities responsible for the enforcement of the EU ETS. This is not easily achieved. Our research clearly shows that compliance assistance is regarded as the most important element of the compliance cycle of the EU ETS: helping companies to apply with this complex regulatory instrument. Such compliance assistance is best offered at the national level in the national context. In addition, we think that the EU, with the extensive legislative framework for the EU ETS that was developed over the years, has exhausted its legislative powers in this area. Therefore, other forms of harmonization (e.g., network based peer review) need to be explored.

26/04/2015

Monitoring and conservation of large carnivores in Europe

Jennifer Dubrulle, junior member of the Ius Carnivoris project, a Tilburg University research project on the role of law in conserving and restoring wolves, bears and other European large carnivores, participated in a Large Carnivore Monitoring project in the Beskedy mountains in Slovakia. The project aims to track large carnivores and accurately map their presence in numbers. It is essential to correctly estimate the population numbers as hunting quotas are based on these estimations. Overestimations mean higher quotas, more carnivores shot, which might endanger the population’s viability. Underestimations mean lower quotas, less carnivores shot, which might negatively impact economic/recreational interests of hunters.

Lynx caught on camera

The high of our trip was the capture of a (well-known to be shy) lynx on our camera trap. We also were lucky enough to see quite some fresh tracks of bears, wolves, lynx, fox and hazel grouse and see wild animals (wood mouse, three-toed woodpecker), their remains (roe deer prey) and scats (wolves and lynx). All of this is well-documented in the photo-album .

The low of the trip was feeling the reality of living where large carnivores live. Shy from human presence, they often live in remote, difficult accessible, areas. The transformation from a domesticated office cat to a wild lynx was physically challenging.

26/06/2014

Shale gas: Increasing intervention by local authorities

In most countries, unconventional gas production (as is the case with most natural resources) is of national interest. The production of shale gas, tight gas and coal seam gas through hydraulic fracturing is considered an important source of revenue and an important element in the nation’s energy policy. The big national interests at stake with unconventional gas production put local governments under pressure. Local governments usually are concerned with protecting the local environment for the benefit of present and future generations. Often, these concerns have a legal basis, either in the constitution, in the public trust doctrine, or in domestic legislation in the field of land use and planning and/or environmental protection.

In several shale gas rich countries around the world, we see attempts by local governments to challenge hydraulic fracturing (fracking) using various legal pathways. Examples are popping up everywhere, now almost on a monthly basis. In the US, in December 2013, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declared an Act that sought to eliminate zoning authority from municipalities over shale gas extraction, unconstitutional because it infringes the municipalities’ duty under the state’s constitution (Environmental Rights Amendment), to act as a trustee of natural resources. In 2014, the shale gas richest province in the south of the Netherlands and several of the municipalities in this province, banned exploration and production of shale gas altogether, using various legal instruments in the field of environmental law and land use planning law.

Although local authorities do not have competences in the field of mining law, they do have responsibilities and associated powers under planning law. Local zoning and planning is always done at the local level, and hence, municipal authorities may set restrictions or conditions to any new activity so as to fit in this activity within the existing land use. These powers can be very far-reaching, even rendering the use of a production permission entirely impossible. Should, for instance, a local zoning plan prohibit mining activities at a certain location, or prohibit the issuing of a construction license to mining constructions on that location, then no mining can take place there, even after the competent authority for the mining operations granted all necessary permits.

Both in the Netherlands and the United States, however, central governments have legislated in order to have the regulatory tools to intervene in local decision-making when needed to ascertain that mining activities go ahead. In the case of shale gas, local governments and local communities increasingly pursue legal pathways to block or at least hinder shale gas operations. In the example of Pennsylvania, the state authorities used their legislative power to overrule local decision-making. Courts, however, seem to be willing to limit or even block such intervention because it infringes on the constitutional right to a clean environment and the public trust doctrine, also laid down in the constitution, according to which governments have to protect the environment for present and future generations.

In the Netherlands, instruments to overrule local decision-making in the field of environmental protection and spatial planning are in place, but have not been applied yet. The debate on the constitutionality of such intervention has not arisen yet. Should intervention take place, it is likely to be argued that this is unconstitutional, not just because of the alleged infringement of the right to a healthy environment (somewhat similar to Pennsylvania, laid down in the Dutch constitution in the form of a basic duty for the government), but also because of the principle of decentralized governance that forms the basis of the Dutch public governance system. It remains to be seen whether such reasoning is going to be successful, as the Netherlands does not have constitutional courts, nor the possibility to have legislative acts of the national legislature tested against the constitution. Even without these opportunities, however, it is clear that Parliament will scrutinize any attempt by the Cabinet to overrule local rules and regulations as this will be considered to undermine future collaborations with local authorities on which the central government in almost every policy field depends for the execution of their policies. In a previous attempt in the Netherlands, to impose national decision-making upon an unwilling municipality (the selection of a location for an onshore carbon capture and storage demonstration project), huge public uprising occurred, ultimately leading to the abandonment of the project.

Shale gas in Europe. Image via The Economist.

In Germany and France, by contrast, public protests, mainly at a local level, have strongly influenced decision-making at the national level, more or less by-passing local governments. This probably is due to the fact that in these countries, local authorities have little power to stop or regulate shale gas exploration and production. Hence, protesters –with much success– aimed at national political institutions rather than at local authorities. In France, opposition was especially fierce because of the lack of public consultation. Both countries imposed a moratorium on the exploration and production of shale gas through hydrofracking with the use of chemicals.

The above brief assessment of the role of local governments in the hydrofracking debate shows that the local level plays an important role indeed. Simply ignoring or legislating local governments and local communities out of the picture will be counterproductive, as the local level has legal and political cards to play out, and, constitutionally, perhaps even has to play out these legal cards to protect the environment for present and future generations. It seems, therefore, that local communities determine the success of unconventional gas development and should be taken seriously by central governments that plan to support hydrofracking. Transparency and meaningful involvement of local communities should be pursued, allowing for any kind of outcome, including the outcome of a moratorium or ban. It can be expected that at the EU level, where legislation is currently being prepared, focus will be on such important procedural issues.

14/05/2014

Wolves on Dutch doorstep: European law and the return of a controversial carnivore

In April 2014 automatic wildlife cameras in two German areas just across the Dutch border caught pictures showing an animal with all the looks of a wolf (Canis lupus). DNA found in wolf-like scat from the area is being analyzed to know for sure. If in future the presence of this or another wolf can be reliably established on the Dutch side of the border this would be quite an event, as the last fully confirmed sighting of a wild wolf in the Netherlands dates back to 1845. The words ‘fully confirmed’ are justified because that animal was shot dead. Whereas wolves used to occupy most of Europe, they gradually disappeared from their former ranges, chiefly because of a lack of human tolerance for their presence. The species hung on in the east of the continent, and in isolated populations in Spain and Italy. In most European countries, wolves remained only in (fairy) tales.

Canis lupus in the Lüneburg Heath wildlife park, Germany (source: Wikimedia, user Quartl)

But things are changing. Recent decades have seen a steep increase of wolves across Europe, both in terms of their numbers and the places where they occur. For instance, France and Germany – both wolf-less for many years – are now home to swiftly expanding wolf populations. These follow spontaneous re-colonizations in, respectively, Italy and Poland. Wolves travel impressive distances and the establishment of new packs has been steadily progressing westwards. The last few years have even yielded reliable records of the first wolves reappearing in Belgium and Denmark. The scene thus appears set for a natural return of wolves, whether from the German or French population or both, to the Netherlands. This would be a milestone indeed, as Holland is probably the last place on people’s minds when thinking of wolves. Already in 2011, and again in 2013, several tentative wolf sightings occurred in the east of the Netherlands, and in the spring of 2013 a wolf was camera-trapped just across the border in Germany, in the same area where one of this year’s wolf pictures was taken.

All of this is good news from a biodiversity conservation perspective, for at least two reasons. First, most big predator species worldwide are threatened and in decline. Second, large carnivores are of crucial importance for the proper functioning of ecosystems. Both aspects were emphasized in a recent review article on large carnivores in the journal Science. At the same time, the European wolf comeback comes with significant challenges that must be met in order to prolong the success story. In particular, conflict between humans and wolves has been a consistent theme throughout history. Wolves were exterminated for a reason! Such conflicts spring, among other things, from livestock depredation, human safety concerns and competition for the same prey with hunters. The animals tend to stir up controversy particularly when they reappear in regions and countries from which they disappeared long ago, and where people are no longer used, or willing, to live alongside them. Finding examples of such conflicts is easy, as the media tend to be eager to cover them – sometimes a little too eager, it seems. The Netherlands is a case in point as well, as the mere possibility of wolves returning to the country has been giving rise to significant debate in recent years, both in the media and in Parliament.

So why raise all of this in a law blog? To begin with, law played its part in the wolves’ demise. A representative example is the 19th century Dutch hunting act, ‘Jagt- en visscherijwet 1814’, which set a bounty to be collected for every dead wolf: 30 guilders (approximately 500 present day euros) for a female, 25 (~400 euro) for a male, and 15 (~250 euro) for each young wolf. Conversely, legal protection is often mentioned as one of the factors enabling the comeback of wolves since the 1970s, along with land use changes and increases in forest cover and wild prey populations. At the same time, law is of the essence for ensuring that the wolf’s recolonization of its former habitat takes place as smoothly as possible, particularly by minimizing and resolving human-wolf conflicts. Finally, in view of the fact that almost all current European wolf populations extend across more than one country, a particularly prominent role is reserved for international cooperation. Two significant legal instruments in this regard are the 1979 Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention) and the 1992 EU Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora (Habitats Directive). Both instruments contain important obligations regarding the protection of wolves and their habitat. Moreover, specific guidance for the application of these obligations to wolves and other large carnivores has been developed within the framework of both instruments by a dedicated group of experts called the Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe (LCIE).

Returning to the Netherlands, the Dutch government recently announced it will list the wolf as a strictly protected species under Dutch law, motivating this decision with reference to the Netherlands’ obligations under the Habitats Directive. Other steps undertaken by the Dutch authorities to prepare themselves and society at large for the wolf’s expected comeback include a fact-finding study, opinion poll, assessment of experiences in other countries and workshops involving all stakeholders ranging from conservationists to sheep farmers. The authorities also commissioned a legal study to assess the viability of various policy options regarding the management of wolves should they return to the Dutch landscape, and answer other legal questions raised by this anticipated return. Some examples are the following:

• What is the (inter)national legal status of wolves returning to the Netherlands?
• What can be done about wolves preying on livestock?
• Is a zoning policy of ‘go and no-go areas’ for wolves a legally viable option?
• At what stage of re-colonization are protected areas to be designated for wolves?
• What is the position of wolf-dog hybrids and of measures to counter hybridization?
• What role is reserved for transboundary cooperation?

The whole process culminated in the development of a blueprint for a national Wolf Plan [PDF], which was commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (the national authority currently dealing with wildlife conservation). The blueprint, which was finalized in October 2013, is the result of a participatory process involving national and provincial governmental bodies, protected area managers, NGOs, livestock farmers’ organizations, hunting associations and academics from various disciplines. The document sets out guidelines regarding information and communication, monitoring and research and the prevention and compensation of damages to livestock. It also includes a discussion of the applicable legislative framework for wolves, including the species’ generic protection through various prohibitions, the designation of protected areas and transboundary cooperation with neighboring states. The recent express designation of the wolf as a strictly protected species under Dutch law was one of the actions recommended in the blueprint, but it remains to be seen to what degree its other components will be transformed into actual government policy. At any rate, a feature that stands out is the proactive manner in which the entire process has been conducted, in the absence thus far of the protagonist species itself. The Dutch experience to date appears to affirm the intuitive notion that it is easiest to reach a level of agreement amongst stakeholders with conflicting views on wolves before the animals themselves arrive on the scene.

As just concisely illustrated, large carnivores like wolves not only constitute one of the hottest topics in the area of European wildlife conservation and management today, but also a rich topic for legal analysis. This post has done little more than introducing the topic and scratching the surface, and Canis lupus and other big predators like bears and lynx may well be revisited in future pieces.

– Arie Trouwborst

Selected further reading:

• LCIE website
• IUCN European Newsletter on large carnivores
• European Commission’s webpages on large carnivores
• Law journal article on large carnivores and European law

Tilburg Law School’s Kees Bastmeijer and Arie Trouwborst are the principal authors of the legal study mentioned above, and also assisted in the drafting of the Wolf Plan blueprint. They authored various scientific journal articles on legal issues concerning large carnivore conservation and management. Arie Trouwborst is a member of the Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe.

29/11/2013

Climate change and biodiversity: towards connectivity conservation law in the EU

Many protected areas are badly suited to overcome climate change–induced shifts in species’ geographic ranges. Studies show that protected areas “have not been designed for efficient (or even complete) representation of species” (Hannah et al. 2007). Fixed protected areas alone will not be sufficient to safeguard biodiversity from the impacts of climate change. Hannah et al. show that between 6% and 22% of species in their analysis failed to meet representation targets for future ranges that take into account the impact of climate change, with a further increase expected under more severe climate change scenarios. Connectivity measures, such as the creation of corridors or stepping stones compensate for such losses. This is also reflected in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment: “[c]orridors and other habitat design aspects to give flexibility to protected areas are effective precautionary strategies. Improved management of habitat corridors and production ecosystems between protected areas will help biodiversity adapt to changing conditions” (MEA 2005). A combination of several measures (enlarging areas, securing robust large areas, securing ecological connections between areas, and establishing real ecological networks) therefore seems to be the best approach to maximize the ability of nature to cope with the pressure of climate change on biodiversity.

The IUCN recently published a two volume publication titled ‘The Legal Aspects of Connectivity Conservation’ (IUCN 2013). Volume 1 gives a broad overview of current insights and understanding of connectivity conservation and explains through which legal mechanisms connectivity conservation can be achieved, taking examples from around the world, and focusing on land use planning law, development control law, voluntary conservation agreements and economic and market-based instruments. Volume 2 has a wealth of case studies of connectivity projects around the world. These projects range from local or regional projects, to nationwide or even continent wide connectivity projects. Examples of these are the nationwide ecological network in the Netherlands, the 3600km long corridor of the Great Eastern Ranges in Australia, the EU’s Natura 2000 network (including domestic projects in France, Germany, Spain, the UK, Finland and Slovakia) and corridors in Brazil, such as the Central Amazon Corridor.

Connectivity conservation and the management of connectivity conservation areas are emerging fields of scientific study and conservation management practice within the broader subject of nature conservation. In the most basic terms, connectivity conservation is a conservation measure in natural areas that are interconnected and in environments that are degraded or fragmented by human impacts and development where the aim is to maintain or restore the integrity of the affected natural ecosystems, linkages between critical habitats for wildlife, and ecological processes important for the goods and services they provide to nature and people. In fragmented ecosystems, wildlife corridors and other natural linkages such as green belts and large wildlife corridors have been common representations of connectivity conservation. The scientific emphasis takes into account connectivity needs across landscapes and seascapes, and in some cases even across continents, where necessary to maintain or restore specific linkages for habitat or species populations, or to maintain or restore important ecosystem processes. Scientific study and conservation practice have made important strides in understanding and applying connectivity conservation across a range of scales and functions.

The overarching conclusion from the research and analyses undertaken for this project as presented in Volume 1 of the report is the need for countries to become increasingly alert to their connectivity conservation needs, undertake connectivity planning, and initiate actions using existing mechanisms and opportunities as much as possible to negotiate and protect critical connectivity areas before they are lost to development. To support this process, a related conclusion is that a wide array of different legal instruments and tools already exist in many legal systems to begin to promote and implement science-based connectivity actions in priority landscapes/seascapes and local sites. Countries should start with these tools, using the best scientific information available, before development pressures make conservation or restoration no longer economically or political feasible. As experience is gained working with communities and landholders, and managing for connectivity conservation, a foundation of knowledge and support can be built for amending or enacting new legislation, as needed, to strengthen and integrate connectivity conservation authority into legal frameworks. Opportunities to use existing law and policy instruments should not be delayed by those efforts. It also is important to recognize that the law, by its nature and function, aims for clarity, certainty, and clearly defined processes and criteria for achieving specific goals and objectives. These features are essential for societies to have orderly interactions and effective future planning. In contrast, connectivity conservation is a tool for adapting to change due to dynamic factors related to current and new threats to protected areas, biodiversity and ecosystems, and to global change including climate change. Bringing the law and connectivity together requires that the law incorporate some flexibility in order for management to be able to respond to changing connectivity conservation needs and that connectivity conservation actions be based on the best available scientific information (in both the natural and social sciences) so that management actions and commitments are well founded for the foreseeable future. Law has several mechanisms that can provide flexibility. These include requirements for periodic review and revision of management plans, regular monitoring based on ecological criteria, the development of performance measures to help assess and evaluate whether management plans are achieving their intended purposes, and decision-making mechanisms to monitor and incorporate new scientific information relevant for connectivity conservation management as it becomes available.

For Europe, it is clear that Natura 2000 alone does not constitute a coherent network in the sense of truly interconnected protected areas throughout an entire country or throughout the whole of the EU. Additional, domestic instruments, mainly in the field of nature conservation law and spatial planning law are needed to create connectivity between the Natura 2000 sites. Even in case domestic instruments are applied, in addition to the EU’s Natura 2000 legal framework, to achieve connectivity, we still cannot be certain that the network remains just an ecological network on paper. Much depends on the actual application of all the laws and policies on activities within the areas that constitute the network. Farmers and other local landowners have to refrain from harmful activities, and/or have to actively manage the area to support the area’s connectivity function. Financial incentives are needed to make this happen. Fortunately, we can observe that EU Member States increasingly do apply such domestic instruments in order to achieve connectivity. Domestic policies in various Member States, such as the Netherlands and the UK, provide for additional connectivity instruments that add to the Natura 2000 network. Domestic subsidy schemes across the EU exist as well, and the EU’s LIFE+ scheme provide important financial incentives for connectivity. This, however, is largely due to national policy initiatives, and based upon national law instruments. At the EU level, there seems to be a slow movement towards accepting that connectivity measures are legally required by the current texts of the Birds and Habitats Directive. The Alto Sil judgment of the EU Court of Justice (Case C-404/09 European Commission v Spain), as well as a range of policy documents go into that direction. In my view, however, there is much to say for more explicit regulating connectivity (and restoration) requirements in binding legal instruments, such as the EU Habitats Directive. There is a fear that altering the current text of the Habitats Directive will open Pandora’s Box, leading to a decline of the impact of this Directive on nature conservation in Europe. Fear, however, generally is a bad advisor. The Habitats Directive is getting outdated, caught up by climate change and by large scale landscape fragmentation in Europe.

06/09/2013

Shale gas debate finally kicks off in the Netherlands

Fifteen years after the first economical shale fracture in the United States, the debate on shale gas extraction has finally reached full speed after the publication, in August 2013, of a research report by three consultancy firms lead by Witteveen + Bos, on the potential risks and consequences of shale gas and coal seam gas extraction in the Netherlands. In the report for the Dutch government, the researchers reviewed the existing literature on the impact of shale gas extraction and “translated” the findings to the Dutch situation. Most of the information on the impact of shale gas extraction is from experiences in the US and the UK. The comprehensive report focuses on all possible consequences, such as water use, underground impact on the soil, methane emissions and the impact on the carbon footprint, pollution of the environment (including groundwater) by fracturing fluid and flowback water, noise and light pollution from installations, flaring, safety issues, earthquakes and subsidence. Generally, the report concludes that most if not all of these risks can be managed by setting strict permit conditions. Unlike in the US, the Dutch shale gas reserves are at great depth, well below ground water aquifers, and, also unlike in the US, in the Netherlands there already exists an extensive regulatory system that sets strict rules. Flowback water, for instance, cannot be stored in open basins, but has to be stored in closed tanks that are stored on watertight floors as a consequence of EU waste water law. Although the report looks sufficiently overarching and detailed, it also gained criticism. It was for instance criticized for its selected use of sources. Professor Jan Rotmans, in the Dutch newspaper Trouw (29 August 2013) stated that the report heavily relied on data coming from the industry (75% of the data used is from industry related sources), rather than on data from more independent sources. In addition, the lack of data is usually interpreted in a ‘positive’ way, i.e., concluding that a certain impact is not problematic, while in fact we do not know because of lacking data. Applying the precautionary principle would have led to the opposite conclusion in such a situation! Unfortunately, the Minister decided to grant the research project to a consortium of three private companies, one of which is Fugro, which states on its website: ‘Fugro’s activities (…) are primarily aimed at the: oil and gas industry, construction industry, mining sector’. On such a sensitive issue, it would have been better for the Minister to grant the project to a consortium of universities rather than of private businesses with ties to the shale gas industry, or at least have a university team lead the consortium. Another problematic feature of the report is that it does not focus on specific local conditions. This is a bit strange because a) the government selected the three locations on which exploratory drillings are to take place long ago (2010), and b) the report argues that local zoning requirements are needed to protect specific sites, such as Natura 2000 sites (protected areas under the EU’s nature conservation laws) and groundwater protection areas (in use for drinking water supply), and probably also (although not specifically mentioned in the report) other types of protected areas, such as water storage areas, silence areas, and national parks. The report also suggests to protect buffer zones around such protected areas, without detailing how big these have to be. Given the fact that populated areas probably have to be avoided as well, it would have been interesting to test what drilling options remain. By leaving a lot of issues to the local level, authorities resisting shale gas extraction have an immense opportunity to block drilling, even in case the national authorities granted concessions. We already see developments going into this direction: a majority of politicians of the province of Noord-Brabant in which two of the designated exploration locations are located, have announced to prohibit shale gas exploration in their province in the Provincial Environment Ordinance. It is clear from the report that shale gas extraction is only acceptable under strict legal conditions. The report does, therefore, constantly refer to laws and regulations that are or should be in place to minimize the negative impact of fracking. A full assessment of current laws is lacking, though. Current Dutch mining legislation does not explicitly deal with fracking, simply because it predates the large scale use of this technology. An earlier EU investigation of existing environmental laws, by a consortium that, interestingly enough, also included Witteveen + Bos, found many gaps and shortcomings. It is unlikely that all of these do not exist in the Netherlands. The report, furthermore, relies on law in the books rather than on the law in action. Although there are supervising authorities, both on the implementation of mining legislation and environmental legislation, much depends on the way the various authorities involved deal with their decision-making and monitoring and enforcement powers. The debate will not be over for a while. This is a good thing. Before investing billions of euros into new infrastructure to extract fossil energy resources, it is worthwhile to rethink whether such investments perhaps are more appropriate in the dwindling Dutch renewable energy sector. According to the 2013 Renewable Energy Progress Report, the Netherlands is on a snail ride, moving from a 2,4% share in 2005, to a 3,8 share of renewable energy sources in the total energy consumption in 2010. Compare this to some of nearby countries, such as Germany (11%), France (13.5%), and Denmark (22.2%)… In 2012, the share went up to 4,7%. In this pace, it is highly unlikely that the Netherlands will meet its target for 2020 of 16%… Investing in shale gas extraction will not speed up this process.

02/06/2011

Coastal adaptation

Around the world, coastal defenses are an integral part of climate policy. The risk of flooding is increasing due to a number of factors – the rising sea level (which in the Netherlands is being exacerbated by subsidence), the increasing intensity of storms and rising water levels in rivers. The Dutch parliament is currently looking at proposals for a new Delta Law, which is designed to address these increasing dangers. This law, as well as the legislation that already exists, is among the most advanced in the world. But of course, that is because half of our country is susceptible to flooding, either from the sea or from rivers.

Unlike in the Netherlands, most of the coastal areas around the cities of southern and eastern Australia are in the hands of private landowners. These ‘ocean view properties’ are spectacular, and extremely expensive. That makes it difficult for the government to build coastal defenses. Many interesting legal cases are already underway in this area which will clarify how this aspect of climate law will be put into force in the future. Essentially, the law states that the authorities must create a coastal protection area where they can make provisions for the effects of climate change. This policy will determine whether projects in coastal areas are allowed to go ahead. But what should be done in cases where houses are under threat from the sea?

One of the most famous cases is that of a rich landowner in Byron Bay to the south of Brisbane. The government had decided not to defend a section of the coastal area against the increased risk of erosion, but rather to let nature take its course as a part of a wider plan that involved protecting other, more important areas. The owner of the land decided to take measures to protect the land from erosion himself by renewing the old coastal defenses. The government denied him permission to do this, for the same reason as it had decided not to do so itself. When it looked as if the dispute would be settled in favor of the landowner, the government decided to renew the coastal defenses after all. However, it is clear that this is only a temporary measure until the next storm comes along. There is no prospect of a definitive solution, not least because land owners are opposing the construction of new coastal defenses for the future. After all, this would mean their land would no longer be located directly on the coast, and so it would be worth considerably less…