Clear felling in Dutch forests definitively off the table

Today it was announced that the Dutch forest lobby group Vereniging van Bos- en Natuurterreinbezithouders VBNE (Association of Forest and Nature Reserve Owners) has withdrawn its appeal against the ruling of the court, on the controversial Code of Conduct for Forests in which clear felling was prohibited. This has made the ruling irrevocable and clear felling in Dutch forests definitively off the table. The withdrawal of the appeal is a remarkable political development because the annulment of this code put a major line through the policy of the minister and VBNE. Clear felling was approved by the minister under the heading of ‘forest protection’ so that forest managers would be able to work faster and on a larger scale. But clear felling causes major and irreversible damage to forests and biodiversity in the Netherlands. ”This is therefore an important victory and breakthrough for our Dutch forest and biodiversity and a first at a global level” stated Comité Schone Lucht (the Clean Air Committee) in their response today.

For this reason, VBNE appealed against this ruling immediately after the ruling. The reason why the appeal was withdrawn has not been explained. The website does refer to a failed agreement with the central government (RVO) on ‘the scope of soil cultivation’. It states that ‘planting and clear felling are no longer possible within the code of conduct’. More than two months ago, on 19 December 2024, the Gelderland District Court annulled the controversial Forest Code of Conduct in an important case against the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN), brought by this nature coalition of seven Dutch action groups1Stichting Natuurbelang Nederland, Stichting Comité Schone Lucht, Vereniging Leefmilieu, Stichting Mobilisation for the Environment, Stichting tot Behoud van het Schoorlse en Noord-Kennemerduinengebied, Stichting NatuurAlert Nederland, and Stichting Vogelbeschermingswacht Noord-Veluwe.. This code of conduct set clear-cutting as an acceptable standard for forest management in the Netherlands.

The main thorn at the side of the nature coalition was the denial, by both the minister and the lobby umbrella, of the commercial importance of clear felling. Clear felling was instead presented as a nature conservation measure (‘legally necessary for the protection of flora and fauna’). This distortion of reality cost the VBNE dearly. The court did not agree. Clear felling is now once again the harmful activity that it is, and for which a permit must be requested from the provincial government, according to the nature action groups.

The minister and the forestry sector are now faced with the task of designing a new code of conduct that does justice to the court ruling. That will not be easy because commercial interests have traditionally prevailed over ecological interests. The nature coalition will closely monitor developments.

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    Stichting Natuurbelang Nederland, Stichting Comité Schone Lucht, Vereniging Leefmilieu, Stichting Mobilisation for the Environment, Stichting tot Behoud van het Schoorlse en Noord-Kennemerduinengebied, Stichting NatuurAlert Nederland, and Stichting Vogelbeschermingswacht Noord-Veluwe.