NETHERLANDS

Ma. Cresilda M. Caning

Decision making mechanisms
Covenant system
Public consultation
Turning talk into action
Policy monitoring
Reaching Agreement
Participatory process: develop shared vision
and mechanisms for cooperative
implementation
From compliance to cooperative management
Covenant system (negotiated agreements):

Criteria for consultative process
1. Stakeholders and public believe in the
benefits of the process and strategy
2. Government recognized that industry
involvement would encourage complete
participation in strategy
3. Process continuity: continue operations while
reducing emissions and municipalities
monitoring and organizing its efforts
4. Sectors to recognize benefits and
concessions of the other parties
Covenant system (negotiated
agreements):
Not purely voluntary between government and
industry
Legitimacy defined by legislation outlined in
the NEPP
Industry, sector or plant-basis
Contain time frames and implementation
strategies for pollution control
Successful with binding provisions
Public consultation: tool for Dutch
governance
Regular meeting: negotiating table with NGOs
NGO involvement in public policy formulation
Citizen participation in key areas for susdev

The downside
NGO: resources to actively participate in the
consultation and negotiation process; credibility
based on competence, policy capacity and
representation
Consultation: could slow down policy process
Turning talk into action
Consistent policy process within the
VROM(through target group managers)
Improved policy integration in government and
among various stakeholders (formulation and
implemertation of the NEPPs)

Policy monitoring
Strict top-down mechanisms for compliance
Learning from the Dutch
Experience
Integration is an evolutionary process and cannot
be fully planned
New environmental responsibilities are not always
welcomed by government ministries or economic
sectors until interconnectedness of environmental
problems is well understood and accepted:
resistance to environment overstepping its
boundaries
Integration can be taken to imply criticism of past
work on sector policies
Integration led to over-all picture of environmental
quality where causes, effects and inter-relations
are better understood.

Strategic environmental approach can be
assessed: do they contribute to achieving
measurable quality objectives
Environmental themes led to longer planning
time frames
Cooperation, coordination and transfer of
responsibility are under way



challenges
Expand capacity for strategic thinking
Systematic policy evaluation
broadening basis of knowledge