© Franziska Komossa

The Dutch case study region – the Kromme Rijn area – is located in the Central Netherlands. This dynamic area (219 km², 86.090 inhabitants) is characterized by a rich cultural landscape with differences in scale, openness and relief, attracting around 1.8 million recreationists yearly (Provincie Utrecht, 2016). Its location adjacent to the city of Utrecht adds to the popularity of this peri-urban area as a leisure-time destination. The main recreation areas are defined by diverse landscapes, offering a variety of landscape elements, including riversides, small forests, and cultural heritage sites such as estates and forts belonging to the monumental ‘Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie’ (Will, 2002).

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The main sources of tension related to public goods/public bads within the case study region – as stated by stakeholders during stakeholder workshops or personal interviews (March 2016 and December 2017) – concern tensions between different landscape functions. These functions relate to the agricultural character of the area, the natural environment and an increasing demand for outdoor recreation. The higher demand for outdoor recreation – here mainly short-term recreation such as daily hikes, biking, picnicking – potentially leads to various effects, including environmental pressure (e.g. tranquility, biodiversity), residents’ fear of losing rural identity, increased traffic on the road network etc.
Simultaneously, agricultural land use (dairy farming, fruit cultivation and arable farming) – especially agricultural intensification without sufficient agrobiodiversity measures – is likely to negatively influence the natural environment in terms of the supply of biodiversity in the case study region. The aforementioned tensions call for well-designed management strategies for the preservation and maintenance of the multi-functionality of the area.

Increasing demand for outdoor recreation requires an increasing need for comprehensive landscape management, capable of maintaining or improving the touristic infrastructure and the quality of landscapes attractive for outdoor recreation. Read more…

We investigated a potential future location advantage tax charged on recreational facilities as a means to finance landscape management and maintenance through the demand for outdoor recreation. Read more…