Province of Gelderland: applying for an exemption relating to protected plants and animals

Are you going to carry out an activity where protected plants or animals may be compromised? If so, you may need an exemption. The Nature Protection Act (Wnb) protects nature reserves and wooded areas, and certain plant and animal species. It is forbidden to kill, wound or disturb protected animal species. Their permanent residence and habitat are also often protected. Protected plants and their growing places may not be destroyed or damaged.

More information and applying

To obtain an exemption for protected species, you must fulfil a number of conditions:

You take measures to prevent violations and effects as much as possible.
The activity cannot be carried out in another way than applied for, with a smaller effect on the protected species.
The activity serves an interest included in the Nature Conservation Act (Wnb), e.g. public health, public safety, nature protection, research and education.
The conservation status (how well a species is doing) of the species in question in its natural range is not endangered.

In order to assess your application properly, in addition to a fully completed application form, we require a number of documents:

the flora and fauna quickscan, if it excludes certain species for the species-specific survey or effects
the report of the species-specific survey of species that may be present in the plan area
a project plan, which includes: a description of the activity and assessment of the effects on the protected species and the measures taken to prevent or mitigate the effects
a list with species and the prohibited activity for which you apply for an exemption (state this on the application form)
an authorisation, if you sign on behalf of the applicant

You apply to the Province for your exemption.

When you apply for a permit, the provincial charges are to be paid to the Province. For more information go to the Costs page or contact us.

We need maximally 26 weeks to take a decision on your application, calculated from the day that you sent in your application. If you do not include all requested information with your application, processing it will take longer. We process applications in the order in which they are received. So, apply for your exemption on time. The risk of starting without the required exemption is at your expense.

If you disagree with a decision of the province and have an interest in that decision, you can file an objection. At the bottom of each decision you will find whether and within what time period you can filean objection and to whom you should address it. If you cannot file an objection with us, but there is another course of action available to you (such as filing an appeal with another authority), this will also be stated below the decision. More information can be found on our website.

If you have any questions please contact us by telephone +31 26359 9999.