Guide to Societal developments

The development of the population and the economy in the Netherlands, and the specific location of the Netherlands in Europe, are the root causes of high environmental pressure in the Netherlands. The Netherlands is one of the most densely populated countries in the world and it is highly industrialised. Furthermore, the service sector has expanded rapidly in recent decades. The coastal location of the country and the fact that a number of major rivers flow into the North Sea through the Netherlands make the country an important freight transport route both for shipping over the Rhine and the Maas and for road transport to Germany, Belgium and beyond.

Index societal developments

• Guide to 'General developments' section
  The main driving forces are the size of the population and the development of the economy.
• Guide to 'Societal developments by target sector' section
  The environmental policy makes a distinction between some ten target sectors within the Dutch economy. They include Agriculture and horticulture, Industry, Consumers, and Traffic and transport. This section contains information about added value for the economy, energy use and water consumption for these target sectors.
• Guide to 'Resources' section
  The earth's natural resources, in particular fossil fuel resources, are a basis for all human activities, and therefore for prosperity and welfare. A sustainable future depends to an important degree on the sensible use of these resources.

Position of societal developments in the environmental chain

Note on the environmental chain

The root causes of pressure on the environment are the size of the population, the needs of these people and the state of the technology for meeting these needs. As the number of people and their needs increase, the demand for food, water, energy, space, products and transport also expands. Both the production and the consumption of these goods result in pressure on the environment. Examples are the contamination of the air, water and soil, the depletion of resources such as energy, water and space, and damage to nature and landscape. The increasing population, the volume of production and consumption, and the use of resources are all classified in the Environmental Data Compendium under 'societal developments'. We call the burden on the environment generated by these activities environmental pressure.