Well-being here and now: environment

Clean air, clean drinking and surface water, enough (healthy) nature and biodiversity, and unpolluted soil are essential aspects of a healthy living environment. A healthy and clean living environment is intrinsically important for well-being and also affects physical and mental health.

Well-being 'here and now'

Environment

20.9%
of total land area in 2022
Managed natural assets (terrestrial) within NNN
70.5%
qualified as 'excellent' in 2023
15th
out of 25
in EU
in 2022
Quality of inland bathing waters
64.4%
of terrestrial nature areas suffer from critical load exceedance in 2021
Nitrogen deposition and terrestrial nature areas
9.4
microgram PM2.5 per m3 in 2022
The long-term trend is decreasing (increase well-being)
8th
out of 26
in EU
in 2019
Urban exposure to particulate matter (PM2.5)
14.5%
of the population over 16 experience problems in 2023
18th
out of 26
in EU
in 2020
Environmental problems
Well-being 'here and now'
Theme Indicator Value Trend Position in EU Position in EU ranking
Environment Managed natural assets (terrestrial) within NNN 20.9% of total land area in 2022
Environment Quality of inland bathing waters 70.5% qualified as 'excellent' in 2023 15th out of 25 in 2022 Middle ranking
Environment Nitrogen deposition and terrestrial nature areas 64.4% of terrestrial nature areas suffer from critical load exceedance in 2021
Environment Urban exposure to particulate matter (PM2.5) 9.4 microgram PM2.5 per m3 in 2022 decreasing (increase well-being) 8th out of 26 in 2019 Middle ranking
Environment Environmental problems 14.5% of the population over 16 experience problems in 2023 18th out of 26 in 2020 Middle ranking

Colour codes and notes to the dashboards in the Monitor of Well-being

In 2022, the area of natural land managed within the Netherlands Nature Network (NNN) accounted for 20.9 percent of the total land area. National and provincial government had agreed to establish at least 80,000 hectares of new nature by the end of 2027 to improve conditions further for flora and fauna, especially vulnerable species. By the end of 2022, 48,511 hectares of this target had been realised. A substantial effort will be needed in the coming years to achieve this goal.

Nitrogen deposition puts pressure on nature, and the risk of vulnerable flora disappearing increases when this deposition exceeds its critical load value. The greater the excess and the longer it lasts, the greater the detrimental effects, also on fauna in the habitat. Nutrient-poor ecosystems in particular are sensitive to nitrogen emissions. The critical load value was exceeded on almost two-thirds of land area in 2021. Water quality of inland waters in the Netherlands is quite good: 70.5 percent were rated ‘excellent’ in 2023. Lastly, 14.5 percent of the population experienced refuse, pollution or other environmental problems in their immediate vicinity.

Trends are mostly stable in this well-being ‘here and now’ theme. Only the (decreasing) urban exposure to the finest particulate matter (PM2.5) is developing favourably in terms of well-being. Given this fairly neutral picture of trends in the environmental aspect of well-being ‘here and now’, it is important to note that the well-being ‘later’ environmental perspective is clearly less promising. Environment indicators in the Natural capital dashboard (well-being ‘later’) as well as the biodiversity indicators in the SDG 15 Life on Land dashboard indicate a decrease in well-being. SDG 11.2 Living environment further shows that air quality is improving, but also that compared with other EU countries, a large percentage of Dutch households experience noise pollution from neighbours and traffic. Moreover, this trend for this nuisance is increasing.