Province of Noord-Brabant: applying for an exemption relating to protected plants and animals

You can only obtain an environmental permit under the following conditions:

• There is no other viable solution.
• It is necessary for reasons such as public health, public safety or the safety of air traffic.
• You have a good reason, for example:
  • to prevent damage to crops, livestock, forests or waterways
  • to prevent damage to a fishing business
  • to protect (other) plant and animal species
  • for research or education
  • to reintroduce or import plant and animal species
• Your activities will not cause the plant or animal species to decline in number.

Consult with the stakeholders first. This is, for example, the manager of the nature conservation area. Check the province’s website in advance for more information.

This is how you apply for a environmental permit:

• Go to the Omgevingsloket (in Dutch). This is the Environment and Planning Portal.
• Do the permit check.
• You will be told whether you need to apply for a permit. You can do this right away.
• Log in.

In many cases, you will have to pay a fee to apply for an environmental permit for flora and fauna activities. The amounts depend on the application.

The provincial authorities will make a decision on your permit application within 8 weeks. If the provincial authorities deem it necessary, they can extend this period by a maximum of 6 weeks.

Do you disagree with the decision of the provincial authorities? Then you can lodge an objection. This allows you to explain why you disagree with the decision. Other people affected by the decision may also lodge an objection. Objections must be lodged within 6 weeks.

Have you or someone else lodged an objection to the decision of the provincial authorities? If so, the province will make a new decision. If you disagree with that decision, you can ask the court whether the province made the right decision. This is called “appealing”. You must do this within six weeks. You can only appeal if you have lodged an objection.