This fifth edition of Green and Grey below Sea Level is an update on Dutch environmental and development organisations. With the ongoing changes in the world of government, NGOs and private sector a new edition was felt necessary. The guide describes recent changes at governmental level concerning environmental and development issues. It also presents a revised list of organisational profiles and a renewed list of addresses, some 30 more organisations and initiatives have been added to the existing list. Added to the address list are also e-mail addresses and Internet home pages of the organisations.

This guide specifically focuses on what is happening on the environment and development scene in one specific country, the Netherlands. Compact and to the point, Green & Grey tries to capture the dynamics of the environment and development movement in the Netherlands against an international background.

The editor is grateful to everyone who has contributed to the compilation of this guide. The descriptions of the organisations have mainly been drawn up by the organisations themselves. Wiert Wiertsema has to be credited for the paragraphs on government policy. Also thanks to Nicole Walsh for her English language corrections. And special thanks to the earlier editors Mieke van Hemert and Anouk van Heeren who provided a clear framework for ‘Green and Grey’ initiatives in the Netherlands. Although many people have provided input to this guide, the contents, descriptions and interpretations are the sole responsibility of the editor.

The publication of this book is a non-commercial venture. To improve the quality and the service capacity of the next edition, we would appreciate comments on the usefulness and actual contents

One of the most well known geographical facts about the Netherlands is that some 30% of its current surface lies below sea level and that some 60% of its inhabitants (10 million people) live in these areas. The many dykes, locks, pumping stations, flood barriers, canals and ditches keep the Netherlands habitable. Local and regional water management in the Netherlands is in the hands of Water Boards, which are decentralised public authorities that date back to the thirteenth century. These Water Boards are considered to be the oldest form of democratic governance in the Netherlands. They sprang from the need to cooperate in the struggle against the water and to find consensus for a variety of individual interests. By means of consultation, landlords, farmers and citizens, who had different economic interests, found each other in their mutual need for dry feet. Nowadays you still find a strong consultation culture in the Netherlands. As what is called the ‘poldermodel’, the unifying force of the Dutch struggle against the water is still present in the sense that public interest groups can participate to a quite high extent in the policy making process of the government.

 

As a result of this long democratic tradition, Dutch society possesses a very comprehensive welfare system and a public sector that is larger than in any other country. Also the non-profit sector is large for such a small country. There are organisations, institutions and committees established at local, regional, provincial and national level to deal with almost any issue. Formerly the public sector was mainly organised according to the historical division of society into ‘pillars’. The main pillars of society are the catholic, the protestant, the socialist and the liberal pillar. And although many organisations still carry their conviction in name, in the way they practise their profession the role of pillarization is nowadays almost invisible. This is reflected in an open and quite intensive form of collaboration between different sectors of society.

 

As a player in the world of development cooperation, the importance of a small country like the Netherlands is limited, but should not be underestimated. The Dutch economy is the sixteenth largest in the world (similar in size to the combined economies of the ten new EU member states) and Dutch companies are among the largest foreign investors in the world. The Netherlands is an important global player in terms of international economic developments and it is the sixth largest donor in the world concerning aid, trade, direct investment, the environment and migration, as well as peace and security.

 

These facts underpin that it can be fruitful for environmental and development organisations to seek contact with Dutch NGOs. To increase the access to NGOs and to stimulate their mutual cooperation, the organisation of the Dutch NGO networks, its initiatives, and its points of view are described in this guide.

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