Column Public Affairs: Working together for water
April 2, 2024
The Public Affairs department represents the interests of Royal FloraHolland, its members and the floriculture sector in society, the media and politics. This is a column by Eline van den Berg, Supply Chain expert at Royal FloraHolland.
The availability over clean and sufficient (drinking) water was long taken for granted, but it is under pressure for various reasons. Worrying for something so vital to us. The Water Framework Directive (WFD), a European directive in force since 2000, addresses this problem and is fully committed to it with the aim of improving WFD water bodies to good status by 2027. Water body means waters of considerable size such as rivers, canals, creeks, lakes and ditches.
The WFD involves water management as well as water quality. That water management is becoming more important is increasingly understandable after the recent period of heavy rainfall and rising sea levels. But think also of the need for water during prolonged dry periods that southern France and northern Spain, for instance, have been experiencing for more than two years now.
Zooming in on quality, we see that although three quarters of the targets in the Netherlands have already been met since the introduction of the WFD, of the more than 700 water bodies, not a single one currently meets all the targets, because the WFD assesses quality at water body level. Failure to meet the targets threatens measures such as a possible sanction for the Netherlands, the (local) shutdown of activities, tightened regulations or reduction of resource use. Are your alarm bells already ringing?
Floriculture sector affects water quality
What is the role of ornamental plant cultivation in this story? As a sector, ornamental plant cultivation has an impact on water quality because plant protection products and nutrients can enter the water through sluices, overflows or leaks. In addition, the sector also withdraws water from surface water for watering crops. An important topic for Royal FloraHolland, therefore, and a reason to participate in the Greenport Netherlands water expert meeting, where knowledge and initiatives on emission reduction are shared. Unfortunately, the many efforts made in recent years to reduce emissions have proved insufficient, as substances are still found in excessive concentrations. Reason for the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management to launch an impulse programme to reduce the use and discharge of problematic substances.
In a list of the 42 most problematic substances, 17 come from agriculture and horticulture. Due to the focus on good status per water body, a targeted area approach seems most obvious. There are already examples in our sector of collaborations where government, water board and entrepreneurs sit around the same table, share data, devise solutions, but also do not shy away from a critical discussion. This is somewhat reminiscent of the study clubs where growers seek each other out, share information, keep each other on their toes and work together on a better product. Collaboration is in our sector's blood, so let's now take our responsibility to join hands (at area level) and work hard for clean water.
Want to know more about this topic? Then visit www.glastuinbouwwaterproof.nl (English).
Do you have any questions on this topic? Then email publicaffairs@royalfloraholland.com.
The availability over clean and sufficient (drinking) water was long taken for granted, but it is under pressure for various reasons. Worrying for something so vital to us. The Water Framework Directive (WFD), a European directive in force since 2000, addresses this problem and is fully committed to it with the aim of improving WFD water bodies to good status by 2027. Water body means waters of considerable size such as rivers, canals, creeks, lakes and ditches.
The WFD involves water management as well as water quality. That water management is becoming more important is increasingly understandable after the recent period of heavy rainfall and rising sea levels. But think also of the need for water during prolonged dry periods that southern France and northern Spain, for instance, have been experiencing for more than two years now.
Zooming in on quality, we see that although three quarters of the targets in the Netherlands have already been met since the introduction of the WFD, of the more than 700 water bodies, not a single one currently meets all the targets, because the WFD assesses quality at water body level. Failure to meet the targets threatens measures such as a possible sanction for the Netherlands, the (local) shutdown of activities, tightened regulations or reduction of resource use. Are your alarm bells already ringing?
Floriculture sector affects water quality
What is the role of ornamental plant cultivation in this story? As a sector, ornamental plant cultivation has an impact on water quality because plant protection products and nutrients can enter the water through sluices, overflows or leaks. In addition, the sector also withdraws water from surface water for watering crops. An important topic for Royal FloraHolland, therefore, and a reason to participate in the Greenport Netherlands water expert meeting, where knowledge and initiatives on emission reduction are shared. Unfortunately, the many efforts made in recent years to reduce emissions have proved insufficient, as substances are still found in excessive concentrations. Reason for the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management to launch an impulse programme to reduce the use and discharge of problematic substances.
In a list of the 42 most problematic substances, 17 come from agriculture and horticulture. Due to the focus on good status per water body, a targeted area approach seems most obvious. There are already examples in our sector of collaborations where government, water board and entrepreneurs sit around the same table, share data, devise solutions, but also do not shy away from a critical discussion. This is somewhat reminiscent of the study clubs where growers seek each other out, share information, keep each other on their toes and work together on a better product. Collaboration is in our sector's blood, so let's now take our responsibility to join hands (at area level) and work hard for clean water.
Want to know more about this topic? Then visit www.glastuinbouwwaterproof.nl (English).
Do you have any questions on this topic? Then email publicaffairs@royalfloraholland.com.
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