Don’t Shoot the Messenger – Reflections on streamlining and simplification of Environmental Assessment in the Netherlands

The Netherlands’ Environmental Assessment (EA) system has continuously been discussed with calls for streamlining and simplifying. This paper aims to provide an overview examine these discussions, including their more fundamental background. To this end, we discuss the origins of Dutch EA-system, its practice, critique, regulator’s reaction by changing institutional arrangements, consequences. We conclude that politically, EA is blamed cumbersome planning decision-making, while professionals are nuanced. see a process persistent decision-making about plans projects in country which environment nature under pressure. situation resulting impromptu ‘escape routes’ evermore detailed EA-studies costly, time-consuming, lack quality, contested, often fail before court. observed long time. Although most studies stressed simplifying will not help accelerating process, nevertheless regulatory changes aimed at because political Overall, as consequence simplification regulations reduction safeguards, advanced comprehensive original EIA-system called into question. messenger intrinsically always be subject critique.