1.3 Environmental policies
Since the establishment of a Ministry for Public Health and Environmental Hygiene in 1971, the emphasis of environmental policies initially shifted from combating the effects of environmental degradation to controlling pollution at the source. In more recent years the ministry has been renamed Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM) and an integrated approach has been chosen. VROM's mission is to create the right conditions for the quality of housing and living in today's and tomorrow's society. There must be sufficient space for people to live in a healthy manner, feel safe and have respect for their living environment. The main objective of environmental policy is to work towards sustainable development. The concept of sustainable development is defined as ‘satisfying the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV), the Ministry of Transport and Water (V&W) and the Ministry of Economic Affairs (EZ) share this aim. Unfortunately in the new millennium the importance of environmental matters has diminished. As mentioned before, this is symbolised by replacing the post of Minister of the Environment by the lesser function of a Deputy Minister.
Sustainable development requires not only that the environment be clean and free of pollution, but also that good-quality natural resources be available to all, both now and in the future. It is vital that the distribution of, and access to, natural resources be fair, not only within the Netherlands but also globally. The government sees energy, biodiversity and physical space as the critical resources for present and future human needs. At the global level, water and food resources also need urgent consideration and it is imperative that the resources needed to satisfy human needs be carefully husbanded. Sustainable development can only be achieved in the Netherlands in an international context, by recognising that the Netherlands forms part of a larger whole in social, economic and ecological terms.