Effectiveness of Voluntary Measures to Reduce Agricultural Impact on Groundwater as a Source for Drinking Water: Lessons Learned from Cases in the Dutch Provinces Overijssel and Noord-Brabant

Agricultural practices cause diffuse water pollution issues, which is a policy concern across the globe. This paper addresses the reduction in agricultural impact on groundwater as source for drinking water with a governance approach based on a mutual gains approach (MGA) using voluntary measures on...

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Autores principales:	Cors van den Brink, Marije Hoogendoorn, Koos Verloop, Alma de Vries, Peter Leendertse
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	non-point source pollution nutrient management pesticide management groundwater quality water governance voluntary measures Hydraulic engineering TC1-978 Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes TD201-500
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/b4690decb8f646178332afd83cf04386
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:b4690decb8f646178332afd83cf043862021-11-25T19:16:19ZEffectiveness of Voluntary Measures to Reduce Agricultural Impact on Groundwater as a Source for Drinking Water: Lessons Learned from Cases in the Dutch Provinces Overijssel and Noord-Brabant10.3390/w132232782073-4441https://doaj.org/article/b4690decb8f646178332afd83cf043862021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/22/3278https://doaj.org/toc/2073-4441Agricultural practices cause diffuse water pollution issues, which is a policy concern across the globe. This paper addresses the reduction in agricultural impact on groundwater as source for drinking water with a governance approach based on a mutual gains approach (MGA) using voluntary measures only. We performed case studies in Overijssel and in Noord-Brabant, both located in the Netherlands, to study the effectiveness of the governance approach on nutrients and pesticides, respectively. The effectiveness was studied by analyzing the engagement process qualitatively and by analyzing the impact of measures at farm scale as quantitative indicators. For nutrients, the effectiveness is expressed in the N-surplus at farm scale and the realization of groundwater quality objectives in groundwater protection areas (GWPA). For pesticides, the effectiveness is expressed in environmental impact points (EIP) at farm scale and the level of groundwater protection areas (GWPA). The results indicate that the engagement process based on voluntariness creates a platform for meaningful engagement, adds to the economics of the farm and reduces the agricultural impact on groundwater quality. However, the nitrate objectives of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) are not met at the level of GWPAs in Overijssel. Due to the voluntariness of the approach, the participation rate relies on the farmers’ expectation of the costs and benefits of the process, and diminishing economic returns prevent the further improvement of efficient nutrient use. Although an enforceable objective and strict deadline for pesticides is missing, the objective has been met at the level of GWPAs using voluntary measures only in Noord-Brabant. An important driver for this effectiveness is the fact that these results can be obtained without incurring economic losses, which may tie into the high participation rate of farmers.Cors van den BrinkMarije HoogendoornKoos VerloopAlma de VriesPeter LeendertseMDPI AGarticlenon-point source pollutionnutrient managementpesticide managementgroundwater qualitywater governancevoluntary measuresHydraulic engineeringTC1-978Water supply for domestic and industrial purposesTD201-500ENWater, Vol 13, Iss 3278, p 3278 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	non-point source pollution nutrient management pesticide management groundwater quality water governance voluntary measures Hydraulic engineering TC1-978 Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes TD201-500
spellingShingle	non-point source pollution nutrient management pesticide management groundwater quality water governance voluntary measures Hydraulic engineering TC1-978 Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes TD201-500 Cors van den Brink Marije Hoogendoorn Koos Verloop Alma de Vries Peter Leendertse Effectiveness of Voluntary Measures to Reduce Agricultural Impact on Groundwater as a Source for Drinking Water: Lessons Learned from Cases in the Dutch Provinces Overijssel and Noord-Brabant
description	Agricultural practices cause diffuse water pollution issues, which is a policy concern across the globe. This paper addresses the reduction in agricultural impact on groundwater as source for drinking water with a governance approach based on a mutual gains approach (MGA) using voluntary measures only. We performed case studies in Overijssel and in Noord-Brabant, both located in the Netherlands, to study the effectiveness of the governance approach on nutrients and pesticides, respectively. The effectiveness was studied by analyzing the engagement process qualitatively and by analyzing the impact of measures at farm scale as quantitative indicators. For nutrients, the effectiveness is expressed in the N-surplus at farm scale and the realization of groundwater quality objectives in groundwater protection areas (GWPA). For pesticides, the effectiveness is expressed in environmental impact points (EIP) at farm scale and the level of groundwater protection areas (GWPA). The results indicate that the engagement process based on voluntariness creates a platform for meaningful engagement, adds to the economics of the farm and reduces the agricultural impact on groundwater quality. However, the nitrate objectives of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) are not met at the level of GWPAs in Overijssel. Due to the voluntariness of the approach, the participation rate relies on the farmers’ expectation of the costs and benefits of the process, and diminishing economic returns prevent the further improvement of efficient nutrient use. Although an enforceable objective and strict deadline for pesticides is missing, the objective has been met at the level of GWPAs using voluntary measures only in Noord-Brabant. An important driver for this effectiveness is the fact that these results can be obtained without incurring economic losses, which may tie into the high participation rate of farmers.
format	article
author	Cors van den Brink Marije Hoogendoorn Koos Verloop Alma de Vries Peter Leendertse
author_facet	Cors van den Brink Marije Hoogendoorn Koos Verloop Alma de Vries Peter Leendertse
author_sort	Cors van den Brink
title	Effectiveness of Voluntary Measures to Reduce Agricultural Impact on Groundwater as a Source for Drinking Water: Lessons Learned from Cases in the Dutch Provinces Overijssel and Noord-Brabant
title_short	Effectiveness of Voluntary Measures to Reduce Agricultural Impact on Groundwater as a Source for Drinking Water: Lessons Learned from Cases in the Dutch Provinces Overijssel and Noord-Brabant
title_full	Effectiveness of Voluntary Measures to Reduce Agricultural Impact on Groundwater as a Source for Drinking Water: Lessons Learned from Cases in the Dutch Provinces Overijssel and Noord-Brabant
title_fullStr	Effectiveness of Voluntary Measures to Reduce Agricultural Impact on Groundwater as a Source for Drinking Water: Lessons Learned from Cases in the Dutch Provinces Overijssel and Noord-Brabant
title_full_unstemmed	Effectiveness of Voluntary Measures to Reduce Agricultural Impact on Groundwater as a Source for Drinking Water: Lessons Learned from Cases in the Dutch Provinces Overijssel and Noord-Brabant
title_sort	effectiveness of voluntary measures to reduce agricultural impact on groundwater as a source for drinking water: lessons learned from cases in the dutch provinces overijssel and noord-brabant
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/b4690decb8f646178332afd83cf04386
work_keys_str_mv	AT corsvandenbrink effectivenessofvoluntarymeasurestoreduceagriculturalimpactongroundwaterasasourcefordrinkingwaterlessonslearnedfromcasesinthedutchprovincesoverijsselandnoordbrabant AT marijehoogendoorn effectivenessofvoluntarymeasurestoreduceagriculturalimpactongroundwaterasasourcefordrinkingwaterlessonslearnedfromcasesinthedutchprovincesoverijsselandnoordbrabant AT koosverloop effectivenessofvoluntarymeasurestoreduceagriculturalimpactongroundwaterasasourcefordrinkingwaterlessonslearnedfromcasesinthedutchprovincesoverijsselandnoordbrabant AT almadevries effectivenessofvoluntarymeasurestoreduceagriculturalimpactongroundwaterasasourcefordrinkingwaterlessonslearnedfromcasesinthedutchprovincesoverijsselandnoordbrabant AT peterleendertse effectivenessofvoluntarymeasurestoreduceagriculturalimpactongroundwaterasasourcefordrinkingwaterlessonslearnedfromcasesinthedutchprovincesoverijsselandnoordbrabant
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Effectiveness of Voluntary Measures to Reduce Agricultural Impact on Groundwater as a Source for Drinking Water: Lessons Learned from Cases in the Dutch Provinces Overijssel and Noord-Brabant

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