Netherlands still lacks permits for pesticides a year after Council of State ruling
Dutch provinces have not issued a single permit for pesticides that could harm protected nature, nearly a year after the Council of State ruled such licenses are required. The delay leaves farmers across the country likely to use the same chemicals as last year.
Ten provinces responded to inquiries from NU.nl. All confirmed that no permits have been granted, and few enforcement requests have been received. Bulb growers in Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland, lily growers in Drenthe, and arable farmers in Limburg are expected to continue applying the same pesticides in the 2026 growing season.
The Council of State’s ruling, issued last April, followed a legal challenge by environmental group Milieudefensie, which in 2018 asked Drenthe to enforce regulations against a lily grower in Vledder. The group argued that the pesticides used posed a threat to the Holtingerveld nature reserve. Drenthe initially refused, but courts sided with Milieudefensie, confirming that permits are mandatory until research clarifies the environmental impact of the chemicals.
Most provinces reported that no permit applications have been submitted. Zuid-Holland, Friesland, Overijssel, and Drenthe said they do not expect any approvals before the spring planting season.
Provincial authorities face a difficult balance, trying to protect natural areas while allowing farmers to maintain production. A spokesperson for Limburg described the situation as involving “very complex questions.” Despite the looming spring, major changes in policy have not been implemented.
Frans Rooijers, chairman of citizen science organization Meten=Weten, criticized the slow progress. He called it “scandalous,” noting that the group’s research detected 37 different pesticides in the air over Marker Wadden, a newly created nature area more than seven kilometers from the mainland.
