Guide to Embedding Water and Soil in Environment Programmes

Environment programmes are a key instrument of the Environment Act. They are used to translate ambitions into measures for developing and protecting the living environment. This Guide answers the question of how to draw up programmes in which water and soil are given a directive role. As the Environment Act promotes collaboration and participation, the Guide mainly addresses options for inter-ministerial environment programmes.

For whom?

This Guide is intended for government professionals who wish to give water and soil a more directive role in policy and implementation.

How can the Guide be used?

The Guide helps municipalities, provinces, district water boards and environmental services to collaborate on complex spatial issues on the basis of an inter-ministerial environment programme, in which water and soil constitute the guiding principle. The Guide presents four key messages to substantiate (inter-ministerial) environment programmes:

Contact: collaborate on shared responsibilities
Concept: work in a system-oriented manner
Contract: set down administrative commitment
Continuity: learn by doing

Actor Tool

The Water & Soil as a Guiding Principle - Actor Tool has been developed in concert with this Guide. This Tool shows the responsibilities of the respective government authorities in the field of water and soil, and the tasks involved in such responsibilities.

Who has developed the Guide?

The Guide has been developed by the Sustainable Water Systems in the Environment and Planning Act research group of Hall Larenstein UAS and the Law & Justice research programme of Leiden UAS, in collaboration with partners active in actual practice.