Noorderzijlvest largely agrees with new code of conduct for Management and Maintenance

Good conversations lead to improved texts

Until just before Christmas, the water authorities, united in the Union of Water Authorities, held productive discussions with the ministry. During these discussions, many of our water authority concerns were water authority . For example, it was decided that the flail mower may be used when it comes to the safety of employees or the environment, such as road traffic. 

Official text of the code of conduct available for inspection until April 1

The improved texts and agreements between the ministry and the water boards have resulted in an official text for the code of conduct. Various parties can submit their views on this text. An approved code of conduct is expected to be available in April. As mentioned, this text also includes exceptions for flailing. When it comes to working safely in our region , we region use the flailing machine. When it comes to the use of the flailing machine in extensive management, there is no exception yet.

Research should provide clarity on flailing in extensive management

In previous statements, we have indicated that, as water authority , we want to use water authority for the so-called extensive management of our mowing paths and watercourses. We firmly believe that mowing less often, but using a flail mower, benefits biodiversity. 
The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency do not agree with including this exception, but insist on further research into this method.  

Research leads to new insights

In the coming years, we will conduct research in collaboration with several parties to further substantiate the use of flailing for extensive management. This research will have to demonstrate whether there are indeed ecological benefits to flailing in extensive management. The substantiated greening of our management area fits in well with the vision of our water authority. We therefore look forward to the research results.

Provisional code of conduct does not immediately lead to bottlenecks

At present, the lack of an approved code of conduct does not pose a direct problem for us. We do not mow at this time of year. When we do start mowing, there will most likely be an approved code of conduct that we can use for a large part of our management area. 

As water authority , we are currently water authority where the new code of conduct could potentially cause bottlenecks in terms of management implementation. For these locations/areas, we will then examine whether suitable area-specific solutions are possible. We are currently in consultation with the provinces about this.

Want to know more about the code of conduct?

The attached infographic answers your questions:
CODE OF CONDUCTSustainable management and maintenance – species protection