Regional nature governance in the Netherlands; Four decades of governance modes and shifts in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug and Midden-Brabant
Policy fields with a collective interest, such as nature policy, are traditionally governed by the government. In the last decades, however, policy scientists witness a decline in government involvement in these fields, while at the same time, the role of non-governmental actors increases. This phenomenon is known as the shift in governance.
When we from this perspective look at Dutch nature policy, however, a rather confusing picture appears. At least three different claims seem viable, namely a shift in governance, a reversed shift in governance and a non¬-shift in governance. This PhD thesis unravels this governance puzzle, by explaining how governmental and non-governmental actors have shaped Dutch nature policy over time. The thesis focuses on the Utrechtse Heuvelrug and Midden-Brabant regions, discerning which traditional (hierarchical governance, closed co-governance) or newer (open co-governance, self governance) governance modes over time appear in these regions.
The research concludes that there is evidence for all three claims that constitute the governance puzzle. A reversed shift takes place in the sectoral governance of nature, occurring between the mid 1970s and the midb 1990s. After that, a shift in governance takes place when nature policy gets a more integral and regional character. Finally, it turns out that there is one traditional mode of governance (closed co-governance) that surfaces in both sectoral and regional-integral nature policy.