Research questions The present research program gives an overview of all the reporting and monitoring obligations of the Directorate Nature of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. An inventory is being made of reporting and monitoring obligations in the framework of international and national laws and regulations (e.g. the Convention of Biological Diversity and the Bird Directive and the Habitat Directive). Based on this inventory an information analysis is carried out. br> The following research questions are answered:
1) What information is required for the reporting and monitoring obligations? 2) Is the required information available and useful (availability and usability)? 3) How can the required information be distracted from available data e.g. from existing monitoring programs? 4) What improvements can be made in order to get better quality information (e.g. the elaboration of existing monitoring programs)?
In addition the present research program assists the Directorate Nature of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality to fulfil the reporting obligations. An information infrastructure is being developed, implemented and maintained consisting of amongst others a web portal and several databases and information systems. This infrastructure is being used for research and reporting activities that are carried out within the present research program. At present the overview of the reporting and monitoring obligations of the Directorate Nature of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality is complete. An information infrastructure has been developed, resulting in a web portal (www.natuurgegevens.nl) and several databases and information systems. Methods have been developed in order to assess the conservation status of species and habitat types for the purpose of the reporting obligations in the framework of the Bird Directive and the Habitat Directive. Several national reports have been delivered in cooperation with the Directorate Knowledge and de Directorate Nature of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and other organisations. Two very important databases have been developed, implemented and maintained, namely a geographical database with the protected areas (an Oracle spatial database linked with the Microsoft access database of Natura2000) and a national vegetation database ( this database contains about 400.000 vegetation relevés and is being used to assess the conservation status of the habitat types in The Netherlands). The research program has been carried out in cooperation with several governmental and non governmental organisations amongst others volunteer organisations that are collecting information on flora and fauna species (www.voff.nl), nature management organisations, the Dutch Environmental Planning Agency (www.mnp.nl), and several research institutes.
Publications of this programme are available Here |