All hands on deck

The unimaginable has happened. On December 17, 2020, the Permanent Deputation of the province of Flemish Brabant approved the allotment application for four hectares of forest on Dennenlaan. This has only just been announced.

The province is thus contradicting the advice of the Flemish Agency for Nature and Forest (ANB), of the Flemish Brabant's own Environment Agency and, finally, of the municipality of Rotselaar, which had previously rejected the allotment.

The objections of more than 370 people and associations, including Semper Ferraris, Natuurpunt Oost-Brabant and Bos +, were swept under the carpet.

We will analyse the decision thoroughly, but a few notable irregularities can already be identified:-

The lawyer of the landowners was given the floor in several sessions. Although we explicitly asked to be present we were never invited.

The members of the Permanent Deputation blindly adopted the findings of the so-called “expert” of the developers, who pointed out that the forest had already been felled in the past and that the trees were not that old.

Apart from the fact that this is irrelevant in the case of a Ferraris forest (the undamaged substrate and the seeds are important), it is absurd that a completely illegal logging and lack of forest management for decades leads to the conclusion that the ecological value of the forest can be ignored.

This opens the door wide open for forest owners to harvest without a permit, so that local residents and nature associations are presented with a fait accompli.

By analogy, allowing protected historic buildings to decay could be used as an excuse to demolish everything to make way for other projects.

The decision of the Permanent Deputation is at odds with the policy of the Flemish Government.

For example, the Minster of the Environment, Zuhal Demir, considers the reduction of nitrogen (in which existing forests play a crucial role) as the most important issue after Corona and, according to the Minister for Housing, Matthias Diependale, there is great consensus in Flanders that we must preserve the remaining open space.

At least on paper, the province of Flemish Brabant follows this strategy. By way of illustration, its policy statement of January 2019 under the heading “Environment” reads, amongst other things, the following:

“A healthy living environment is indispensable in our province. We therefore want to sustainably anchor the open and green character of our province ...

This board team will focus more on sustainability, climate neutrality and biodiversity. ...”

In reality, policymakers apparently lack five minutes of courage to put an end to the old politics in which prosperity is expressed in the number of square meters of concrete.

The well-being of the citizens is opposed to this classic concept of prosperity. Quality of life, health and happiness may be more difficult to measure, but they are factors that play an increasingly important role in our current society.

The higher, general benefits of citizens and the environment appear to be  giving way to the private and purely financial benefits of just a few.

This dossier raises questions as to whether some politicians are only playing lip-service, making phoney statements about the environment, climate change and the preservation of open space for purely electoral reasons.

At a time when the relevance of the provincial authorities is regularly being questioned, this is a missed opportunity. The province could have presented itself as an intermediary and could have offered a listening ear to the citizens. The provincial government could have increased its credibility by taking the advice and objections seriously and taking an impartial position.

Just because subdivisions are still possible within the current legal framework, does not mean that every plan should be allowed without further scrutiny. We must look to the future and we must be very careful with the open space and nature that remains. Climate change is not a hype and certainly not fake news.

Finally. Rotselaar has the unenviable record of deforested area in 2020 for Flemish Brabant (Annex 5 of the Answer of Flemish Minister Zuhal Demir to a parliamentary question of 3 November 2020).

The municipal authorities of neighbouring Holsbeek, where an allotment freeze was announced in December 2020 for the residential park areas to preserve the green lungs on the hills, proves that it can be done differently.

Never waste a good crisis.

Semper Ferraris, together with Natuurpunt Oost-Brabant and Bos +, is appealing against the decision of the Permanent Deputation to the Council for Permit Disputes.

As a result of this ruling, Semper Ferraris starts the campaign “Tall Trees Matter” to promote the petition on our website and to crowdfund.

We welcome your support.

Talking Moose

“We've learned that quiet isn't always peace,

and the norms and notions

of what just is

isn't always just-ice.”

Amanda Gordon (from the poem proclaimed at the inauguration of President Joe Biden on 20th January 2021)