Noise abatement zones in the Netherlands, 2002
In 2002, approximately 500 thousand hectares of the Netherlands were designated as noise abatement zones. Noise abatement zones are environment protection areas in which noise abatement requires special measures given the threat to quiet areas.
How many areas in the Netherlands have been designated as noise abatement zones?
In 2002, a total of approximately 500,000 hectares were designated as noise abatement zones, with more than 200,000 hectares being in the Wadden Sea (Schotten et al., 2003). Provincial authorities set out noise abatement zones in the provincial environmental policy plan. The areas will at least include:
- the areas that have been designated pursuant to the Nature Conservation Act as protected natural monuments or national natural monuments, and
- the areas designated for the implementation of the Convention relating to wetlands of international importance, in particular as habitats for water fowl (Ramsar Convention (1971), Trb. 1975, 84).
The province of Zeeland is the only province that has not designated any noise abatement zones.
Changes compared to 1994
In 1994, the designation of noise abatement zones in a number of provinces had not been completed and a large number of noise abatement zones had the status of potential or future noise abatement zones. The noise abatement zones were definitively designated in 2002. More than 390,000 hectares had been designated as noise abatement zones and approximately 100,000 hectares had acquired the status of potential or future noise abatement zones in 1994 (Schotten, 1994). At present, there is only one area of a limited size that has been actually designated as a future noise abatement area.
The area of noise abatement zones on the list of exemptions has remained virtually the same.
What are noise abatement zones?
The noise abatement zone concept comes from the Noise Abatement Act (Staatsblad, 1979). Noise abatement zones are defined in that act as areas where noise exposure as a result of human activities is so low that there is hardly any interference, if at all, with natural noises in that area.
In 1993, the section about noise abatement zones was taken out of the Noise Abatement Act and the statutory framework was transferred to the Environmental Management Act. Section 4.9 of the Environmental Management Act (see references) requires the provincial authorities to draw up an environmental policy plan four times a year. In that plan, they designate areas that require special protection to maintain the quality of the environment or aspects thereof: the environment protection areas. In the case of noise abatement zones, silence is the factor at issue. In addition, the Provincial Council is expected to draw up a provincial environmental ordinance that includes rules for preventing or limiting noise nuisance in noise abatement zones (section 1.2). In 2002, approximately 1 million hectares of the Netherlands had been designated as environment protection areas.
