BoerenNatuur

BoerenNatuur

Founded:

2015

National structure:

Umbrella organisation with 40 member organisations

Biogeographical regions covered:

Atlantic

Collaboration with farmers:

90.000

Main activities:

• Nature conservation & biodiversity/species protection
• Contributing to a more nature-inclusive farming system
• Supporting farmers in responsible & sustainable farming

Collaboration:

• with European countries: Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Poland, France, Hungary, Slovenia, Germany, Spain, UK, Italy, Finland, Romania, Luxembourg, Lithuania

BoerenNatuur (BN) is the Dutch national organisation that represents all farmer collectives in the Netherlands. Its 40 members execute the agri-environmental scheme (AES) at a landscape scale, while aiming to conserve nature in farmland and maintain the farmland landscape. Within these 40 collectives over 11,000 farmers are actively involved, managing more than 100,000 hectares of farmland in total. Yearly over € 70 million are invested in agricultural management. Its members range in size and management unit: some of them have landscapes with more open grassland, others with more open fields.

BoerenNatuur has two aims: (1) to support its members and represent their interests with EU and national policy makers involved in the agri-environmental scheme, and (2) to stimulate a more nature-inclusive farming system in the Netherlands. To reach these goals, BoerenNatuur and its members in the collectives work together with farmers, conservationists, nature conservation organisations, governmental organisations such as the provinces and the waterboards, and also with local communities. BoerenNatuur’s starting point is an area-based approach focusing on creating the right mosaic for the Natura 2000 species to be preserved. Therefore, BoerenNatuur needs to work together with many organisations. Many of the farmers they work with are based within or near Natura 2000 areas. BoerenNatuur and also its members in the provinces are involved in several projects that aim at conserving Natura 2000 and at the same time creating the right circumstances for the farmers to make a living from their farming activities within these areas.