Valuable man-made landscapes (VMLs) in the Netherlands: a policy evaluation

In the last decades, Dutch landscape conservation policy has developed from a sectoral into an integrated one, in which the values concerning the conservation of landscapes are strongly linked to the development of new local economic activities. This change is reflected in a new policy for the development of so-called valuable man-made landscapes (VMLs) that combines an integrated approach with a bottom-up strategy. Since 1994, 11 areas in the Netherlands have been designated as VMLs. The aim of this study is to identify and explain the differences in development between these areas. VML areas can be distinguished into three groups on the basis of their stages of development. Five main factors were found that explain the differences between these three groups: their history of regional co-operation (social), financial problems in agriculture (economic), awareness of regional identity (cultural), distance to the cities (physical, geographical) and size of the area (administrative). The problems in agriculture, regional identity and administrative size of the area explain why certain VMLs had a better start than other ones. For the future of VML-like-areas it is important that policy goals remain unchanged for decades and that VML policy is connected to urban developments.