Dairy farmer Nico van Vliet participated in a pilot-project that Delfland initiated for outsourcing the management of ecologically friendly banks to farmers.

Farmers become water managers; a likely initiative?
This article is written by the dutch pilot in Delfland

Water managers from six countries were enthralled by the presentation given by the dairy farmer Nico van Vliet from Schipluiden. The water managers wished to be informed on all the ins and outs regarding the ecologically friendly banks adjacent to his terrain and the management thereof. The occasion for this meeting was the Aquarius Project. An international initiative in which the Delfland Water Board participates. Research is being done on how governments and farmers work together on issues regarding water management.   

Senior policy advisor Helen Hangelbroek..
... is involved with the Aquarius Project on behalf of Delfland. ‘The participants in Aquarius are mainly water managers - Water Boards or their local counterparts – from six countries bordering the North Sea: The Netherlands, Germany, Scotland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway’. These countries face similar challenges and problems with regard to water management. Hangelbroek also adds: ‘Due to developments as climate change, soil subsidence and tightening of (European) rules and regulations, water managers are faced with a widening range of responsibilities of greater complexity. Aside from this, we all wish to manage the cost and search for a way to make this possible’. 

Required expertise
One of the choices Delfland has made is to enhance co-operation with others parties in the region. ‘Green-blue services – water, nature- and landscape management by farmers – are a logical next step’ according to Hangelbroek. ‘Farmers are familiar with the area and often have the necessary expertise available for these activities’. Midden-Delfland (a municipality within the Delfland Water Board region) has since a number of years, been designated for research in water management for farmers. This is an experimental area for the ‘knowledge programme Waterkader Haaglanden’ (“kennisprogramma Waterkader Haaglanden”). 

Better prepared
‘The Aquarius Project supplies a lot of useful knowledge’, Hangelbroek mentions. ‘By sharing experiences and ideas with the water managers from other countries, we broaden our horizon and come up with new and smart solutions’.

According to Hangelbroek ‘it also helps Delfland to be fully prepared when meeting with the farmers’. ‘Time is money when speaking with the farmers whom are busy entrepreneurs. Therefore, the more knowledge we acquire beforehand regarding possibilities, rules and regulations and possible solutions, the more efficient and productive the meetings turn out to be’.

Appealing possibilities
Hangelbroek states: ‘The Aquarius Project runs until the end of 2011’. ‘We would then like to have a complete and clear picture, for all parties, regarding the pros and cons on water management by farmers’. ‘We see some interesting possibilities’.

Farmer Nico van Vliet...
.. has a dairy farm in Midden-Delfland. In 2008 he participated in a pilot-project that Delfland initiated for outsourcing the management of ecologically friendly banks to farmers. For a number of years he managed two of that type of banks adjacent to his property. Ecologically friendly banks embellish the landscape and are beneficial for the water quality, as the plants prevent fertiliser reaching the water and offer space for fish and other animals. 

European rules and regulations
‘That pilot actually went well’, according to Van Vliet. ‘The financial compensation and  the co-operation with Delfland was great. But, since the pilot ended, it is unclear how things will move forward. The problem hinges mainly on the strict European rules and regulations. A pity, because it only makes things unnecessarily difficult when trying to start up an initiative of this kind.

Simple solutions
Van Vliet remarks further: ‘I think that the “Green-blue services” is a fine idea as long as clear arrangements can be made and a reasonable financial compensation is agreed upon. If you ask me, this is the cheapest and most simple solution for all parties. I already manage my terrain anyway’. Asked if he thinks that ecologically friendly banks indeed improve the water quality he remarks: ‘I can imagine that the extra plants prevent fertiliser from reaching the water, but I can’t say that for certain. But, certainly during the summer, when everything is in bloom, I think that it looks beautiful’.