Emission reduction by multipurpose buffer strips on arable fields.

In the area managed by Hollandse Delta, agriculture is under great pressure and the social awareness of the agricultural sector is increasing steadily. In recent years, a stand-still has been observed in water quality, in terms of agrochemicals, and concentrations even exceed the standard. To improve the waterquality a multi-purpose Field Margin Regulation was drafted for the Hoeksche Waard island in 2005. The regulation prescribes a crop-free strip, 3.5 m wide, alongside wet drainage ditches. The strip must be sown with mixtures of grasses, flowers or herbs. No crop protection chemicals or fertilizer may be used on the strips. A total length of approximately 200 km of buffer strip has now been laid. Besides reducing emissions, the buffer strips also stimulate natural pest control methods and encourage local tourism. Finally, the strips should lead to an improvement in the farmers' image. The regulation has proved to be successful. The buffer strips boosted both local tourism and the image of the agricultural sector. Above all, the strips provided a natural shield for emission to surface water, which will lead to an improvement of the water quality and raise the farmers' awareness of water quality and the environment.

Dutch approach to abating agricultural non-point pollution: farmers' behaviour and their motivation.

In The Netherlands, agricultural activities are one of the major diffuse sources of nutrients and crop protection chemicals. A national legal and regulatory framework has been developed to combat the environmental burden from the agricultural industry. This resulted in the implementation of a government decree (AMvB) in the year 2000. Under pressure from NGOs, the Hollandse Eilanden en Waarden Water Board worked on a regional regulation in advance of this national legislation. ZHEW followed an approach of research, communication and partnering prior to implementing the national decree. The most important result of the chosen approach is that compliance with one of the most important measures, the crop-free zone, is close to 100%. There has been little improvement in the amount of pesticides in the open waters. Both water board and farmers are positive about the approach followed. Monitoring and evaluation proved to be essential when communicating with the agricultural sector. The results of attempts to influence behaviour must be recorded in order maintain the motivation to change behaviour. Information on the effects of the approach adopted to combating diffuse agricultural sources is gathered from a number of sources.