ABSTRACT
Both land use planning and concern for environmental issues have a long tradition in The Netherlands. Significant parts of the country – essentially parts of the lower deltas of the Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt rivers – are below sea level. Collective efforts to manage water and reclaim land from the swamps had to be organized and managed almost from the start of human settlement. Industrial development and ever increasing population density have led to strong pressures on, and competition for, land. Industrialization and population density also led to an early sensitivity to environmental issues. For example, in the early 1970s, when the Club of Rome's Limits to Growth was published (Meadows et al, 1972), politicians as well as the general public were receptive to its notion of the limits to nature's carrying capacity. Concerns about environmental degradation were also the basis for the early adoption and implementation of legislation requiring environmental impact assessment at the project level. Internationally, The Netherlands has been one of the forerunners in implementing legislation and building up experience in this field.
