Natural capital and great prosperity in the Netherlands

The contributions of ecosystems to our overall prosperity are highly dependent on the design and management of the living environment, the quality of ecosystems, and the extent to which people can benefit from these ecosystem contributions. However, the ecosystems that make these contributions are under pressure around the world. The Monitor Broad Welfare and SDGs 2022 shows that the state of natural capital is also a cause for concern in the Netherlands. This report shows what types of ecosystems exist in the Netherlands and how they contribute to overall prosperity. This relationship is established by looking at the ecosystem services they provide. The research results on this subject are published by Statistics Netherlands in this report. The analysis in this report covers the period 2013 up to and including 2020.

In addition, we look at how our living environment has changed over the period 2013-2020. The magnitude of these changes is important to know, as they can help contextualize the potential magnitude of further spatial shifts. To this end, this report compares the recent conversions of ecosystem types with the potential land occupation and associated conversions due to the major societal challenges that currently await us, such as energy transition, housing construction, countries -Bas climate-proof, further expansion of the Dutch network on nature and planting forests as part of the forestry strategy. Based on the political intentions, an estimate is made of the possible space needed and this is compared to recent spatial changes.