Environmental policy agreements between farmer organisations and the government to reduce excessive nutrients in Flemish agriculture

The Decree of 15/6/1994 (Belgian Official Journal, 8/7/1994) on Environmental Policy Agreements provides a legal basis for agreements between, on the one hand, the Flemish Region, represented by the Flemish Government and, on the other hand, one or more umbrella organisations, having legal personality and representing enterprises which either operate in the same field of business or are faced with a common environmental problem, or are located in the same area, for the purpose of preventing environmental pollution, limiting or removing the consequences thereof, or of promoting effective management of the environment. A growing sense of environmental awareness on the part of industry, as well as a conscious attempt by the authorities to secure voluntary co-operation with the private sector, constitute novel elements in environmental policy as it has developed over the past few years. It is in this context that environmental policy agreements have seen the light of day, i.e. voluntary agreements between the authorities and private industry under which the latter undertake to make a determined effort to counter certain forms of environmental pollution (Bocken & Ryckbost, 1996). The use of environmental policy agreements in order to supplement the more traditional environmental policy instruments has in recent years become increasingly widespread throughout the world. Nearly twenty such agreements have already been concluded in Belgium, and cover such areas as reducing the amount of mercury contained in primary batteries, scaling down the use of CFCs, reductions in emissions of S02 and NOx in electricity generating plants, phosphates in detergents, the waste caused by packaging, and so on. At this moment there is an intention declaration to conclude an environmental policy agreement in the framework of the Decree on the Protection of the Environment against the Pollution caused by Fertilisers (Belgian Official Journal, 23/01/1991), between on the one hand two farmer organisations (ABS Algemeen Boerensyndicaat and BB Boerenbond) and BEMEFA (BEroepsvereniging van MEngvoederFAbricanten) and on the other hand the Flemish Government. Numerous other organisations are asking to conclude an environmental policy agreement or to join the environmental policy agreement wherefore the intention declaration is signed.