Problems and Purpose

The nature-inclusive participation initiative was developed in response to the absence of a formal place for non-human ecological interests in Gouda's municipal participation processes. Its proponents argued that while residents can participate in decisions affecting their interests and living environment, animals, plants and other elements of nature affected by municipal decisions have no equivalent opportunity to be heard.[1][7]

The proposal aimed to bring ecological interests into relevant participation processes from an early stage. Its proponents argued that this could help identify biodiversity and animal-welfare concerns before projects were further developed, rather than encountering these considerations at a later stage.[1][7] They also connected the initiative to Gouda's existing policies on green space, biodiversity and animal welfare.[1]

Partij voor de Dieren framed the proposal around the principle that those affected by municipal decisions should have an opportunity to be heard, extending this reasoning to non-human beings and ecological interests.[7] Councillor Wouter Kraidy described the intended representative as “a kind of translator for nature,” who could “translate the voice of beings who cannot speak themselves.”[7] The initiative therefore sought to create a recognised place for ecological interests within municipal participation when policies, projects or plans may affect them.[1][2]

Background History and Context

The initiative emerged during Gouda's revision of its municipal participation framework. The municipality began developing a new participation policy following a start note adopted in April 2024. In March 2025, it appointed a project lead and established a core team to develop the policy and accompanying ordinance with input from municipal staff and external stakeholders.[4][5] This process resulted in the Denkwijzer participatiebeleid ‘Gouda werkt samen, met én voor de stad’ 2026 and the Verordening participatie gemeente Gouda 2026. The new framework addressed participation in the development, implementation and evaluation of municipal policy and established procedures for both municipality-led participation and participation associated with initiatives from residents and other local actors.[2] However, nature-inclusive participation was not initially defined in the proposed ordinance. Although the draft did not prevent its use, it provided no definition or guidance for applying it. In response, during the municipal council's consideration of the new framework, councillors Wouter Kraidy of Partij voor de Dieren and Jan de Koning of Leefbaar Gouda submitted an amendment to formally incorporate it. The Gouda municipal council adopted the amendment on 5 November 2025, incorporating its provisions into the new participation ordinance.[1][4] Partij voor de Dieren and GroenLinks Gouda described the resulting initiative as the first formal inclusion of this form of nature representation in a Dutch municipal participation ordinance.[6][7]

Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities

The initiative forms part of the participation framework of the Municipality of Gouda. Municipal staff developed the wider participation policy and ordinance, with input from internal and external stakeholders. The Gouda municipal council was responsible for formally adopting the ordinance.[2][5] The nature-inclusive participation provisions were proposed by two municipal councillors: Wouter Kraidy of Partij voor de Dieren and Jan de Koning of Leefbaar Gouda. They submitted the amendment during the council's consideration of the new participation ordinance on 5 November 2025. A majority of the municipal council supported the amendment, allowing its provisions to become part of the final ordinance.[1][4] Implementation is the responsibility of the Municipality of Gouda. For each relevant municipal participation process, the responsible municipal body determines how participation will be organised and, where nature stakeholders are involved, identifies the nature representatives who will participate.[2] Public documentation does not identify separate funding for nature-inclusive participation. The provisions were incorporated into Gouda's existing municipal participation framework. [2]

Participant Recruitment and Selection

The selection of representatives is linked to individual participation processes. When a municipal participation process involves a nature stakeholder, the participation plan must identify which nature representatives will be involved. [2] The ordinance therefore requires representatives to be identified in relation to the ecological interests affected by the particular policy, project, programme or plan. Therefore, the represented ecological entity and its representative can vary between processes.

The ordinance establishes two requirements for nature representatives: independence and relevant qualification or authority (bevoegdheid). Independence means that the person or organisation acts without direction from the municipal administration and has no direct interest in the outcome of the process in which the nature stakeholder is being represented. Qualification means possessing relevant expertise concerning the nature stakeholder involved and experience representing its interests.[1][2] In August 2026, it invited people active in associations and foundations working on nature, biodiversity or ecology to register as potential nature representatives who could be approached for relevant municipal projects.[11]

Who is represented depends on the issue under consideration. The ordinance defines nature stakeholders as non-human entities with an ecological interest, including ecosystems, landscapes, biotopes, habitats, species and populations as possible nature stakeholders.[2] The municipality has therefore begun inviting potential nature representatives to register, but public documentation does not yet specify how registrations are assessed or how representatives are selected for particular participation processes.[9] A list of selected representatives has not been released publicly as of August 2026.

Methods and Tools Used

Nature-inclusive participation operates through human representatives who represent the interests of non-human ecological entities in relevant municipal participation processes. The mechanism is incorporated into Gouda's existing participation system rather than organised as a separate process.[2] For municipality-led participation, Article 5 requires the responsible municipal body to prepare and publish a participation plan. The plan sets out the policy or project concerned, the purpose and form of participation, when participation will take place, the timetable, how participants will receive feedback, and how the process relates to municipal decision-making. Where nature stakeholders are involved, the plan must also identify which nature representatives will participate.[2] The ordinance provides three forms of participation: consultation (samen denken), developing plans together within established parameters (samen doen), and participating in decision-making within established parameters (samen beslissen). The form used is specified in the participation plan.[2] At the end of municipality-led participation, Article 6 requires the responsible municipal body to publish a participation report describing the process, its outcomes and how those outcomes were incorporated.[2]

What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation

On 5 November 2025, councillors Wouter Kraidy of Partij voor de Dieren and Jan de Koning of Leefbaar Gouda submitted the nature-inclusive participation amendment during the municipal council's consideration of Gouda's new participation ordinance.[1][4] The council adopted the amendment, incorporating nature representation into the final ordinance.[1][4]

The amendment made several changes to the proposed framework. It introduced the categories of natuurbelanghebbende (nature stakeholder) and natuurvertegenwoordiger (nature representative) and required participation plans to identify nature representatives where nature stakeholders are involved. It also established independence and relevant expertise as requirements for representatives. The explanatory text further included nature representatives in provisions calling for timely involvement, accessible information and feedback on how participants' contributions were used.[1][2] The amended ordinance was officially published on 9 February 2026 and entered into force on 1 July 2026.[2][3]

The council subsequently connected the new provisions to the planned development of the Groen Blauwe Zone (Green-Blue Zone) in Westergouwe. In considering further development of the area, councillors identified ecological issues including a designated nature-rest area, ecological migration routes and an existing sand-martin wall. A motion submitted by Partij voor de Dieren, Leefbaar Gouda, ChristenUnie Gouda and Gouda Vitaal instructed the municipal executive to apply the nature-inclusive participation amendment to participation concerning the Green-Blue Zone. The council adopted the motion.[8] However, the Green-Blue Zone decision is currently an intended application of the mechanism; as of August 2026, public documentation reviewed for this case does not identify a participation process in which a named nature representative has participated under this case.

Influence, Outcomes, and Effects

As of August 2026, no evaluation or documented outcomes of nature-inclusive participation have been identified in the public documentation reviewed for this case. The ordinance only entered into force on 1 July 2026. Public documentation does not yet identify a completed participation process involving a nature representative or provide evidence of influence on municipal decisions.

Analysis and Lessons Learned

A notable feature of the Gouda case is its embedding within formal governance and its potential to serve a routine, ongoing function rather than remaining a one-off initiative. Although the mechanism and level of governance differ, this combination bears some resemblance to the legal personhood granted to the Mar Menor in Spain, which embeds nature representation within formal governance processes and establishes it as an ongoing institutional arrangement. [2][11] By contrast, the large majority of more-than-human democratic innovations that have been reported in Europe have been organised as one-off or experimental processes, often outside formal governance institutions.

The case is also notable for the requirements placed on representatives. A nature representative must be independent and have both relevant expertise concerning the particular nature stakeholder and experience representing its interests.[1][2] Representation is therefore conditional on prior knowledge and experience. This differs from initiatives such as Species’ Ambassadors in Denmark, where anyone can become an ambassador and prior expertise is not required.[12] However, Gouda's ordinance provides limited detail on what level or type of expertise and experience is sufficient, how these requirements will be assessed, or who will make that assessment.[2]

See Also

Species’ Ambassadors (Denmark) – A more-than-human representation initiative in which individuals represent particular species without requiring prior expertise.

Zoöp (Zoöperation) – A governance model that embeds more-than-human interests within organisational decision-making through an independent Speaker for the Living and a recurring governance process.

Interspecies Council – a deliberative method in which participants embody non-human perspectives and speak on behalf of other species or ecological systems.

A More-Than-Human Response to Defra’s Land Use Consultation for England – An application of the Interspecies Council method to a formal UK government consultation on land use.

Confluence of European Water Bodies – A recurring transnational initiative bringing together human representatives of rivers, seas, lagoons and other water bodies to exchange approaches to ecosystem representation and governance.

The Treaty of Finsbury Park – A participatory initiative using interspecies assemblies and role-play to enable participants to represent species and ecological communities in discussions about the future of an urban park.

River Dôn Living Stewardship Agreement – A civil-society-led initiative exploring more-than-human stewardship through participatory mapping of ecological relationships and commitments of care.

References

[1] Partij voor de Dieren Gouda. (2025, November 5). Amendement: Natuurinclusieve participatie. Amendment submitted by Wouter Kraidy (Partij voor de Dieren) and Jan de Koning (Leefbaar Gouda), adopted by Gouda Municipal Council. Amendment

[2] Gemeente Gouda. (2026). Verordening participatie gemeente Gouda 2026. Gemeenteblad 2026, no. 56518. Published 9 February 2026. Official ordinance

[3] Overheid.nl. (2026). Verordening participatie gemeente Gouda 2026 – regelinginformatie. Regulation effective from 1 July 2026. Regulation information

[4] Gemeente Gouda. (2025, November 5). Municipal council agenda and documents concerning Denkwijzer participatiebeleid en Verordening participatie Gouda 2026. Gouda municipal council information system.

[5] Gemeente Gouda. (2026). Jaarstukken 2025 – Bestuur en organisatie: Wat heeft de gemeente ervoor gedaan?Municipal annual report describing development and adoption of the new participation policy and ordinance. Jaarstukken 2025

[6] GroenLinks Gouda. (2025, November 5). Gouda krijgt als eerste gemeente stem van de natuur in participatie. GroenLinks Gouda article

[7] Partij voor de Dieren Gouda. (2025, November 5). De natuur krijgt een plek aan tafel. Partij voor de Dieren Gouda article

[8] Partij voor de Dieren Gouda et al. (2026, January 28). Motie: Wensen en bedenkingen gemeenteraad Gouda bij ontwikkeling Groen Blauwe Zone (GBZ) in Westergouwe. Adopted motion submitted by Partij voor de Dieren, Leefbaar Gouda, ChristenUnie Gouda and Gouda Vitaal. Green-Blue Zone motion

[9] Gemeente Gouda. (2026, August). Ben jij actief bij een vereniging of stichting voor natuur, biodiversiteit of ecologie? Meld je dan aan als natuurvertegenwoordiger! Official Municipality of Gouda LinkedIn post. Municipality of Gouda LinkedIn

[10] Arternes Ambassadører. (n.d.). Species’ Ambassadors. Official website. Species’ Ambassadors

[11] Spain. (2022). Ley 19/2022, de 30 de septiembre, para el reconocimiento de personalidad jurídica a la laguna del Mar Menor y su cuenca. Boletín Oficial del Estado, no. 237, 3 October 2022. Official Spanish legislation

External Links

Official Verordening participatie gemeente Gouda 2026

Amendement: Natuurinclusieve participatie

De natuur krijgt een plek aan tafel

Green-Blue Zone Westergouwe motion

Municipality of Gouda – nature representative recruitment announcement

Eco Jurisprudence Monitor – Gouda Nature-Inclusive Participation

Notes

* The large majority of primary sources were originally published in Dutch. English translations were generated with the assistance of AI and cross-checked against multiple sources where possible. Because automated translation may not fully capture contextual or technical nuances, readers are encouraged to consult the original Dutch documents when precise interpretation is important.

Contributor Positionality Statements

The entry is part of the more-than-human democratic innovations collection. It was developed through the research project Mapping emerging practices of nonhuman representation and participation led by Lucy J. Parry and Hans Asenbaum at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy, Claudia de Cordoba Fernandez Farini of Living Imaginaries and Graham Smith at the University of Westminster. The project is funded by Participedia and the Centre for Animals and Social Justice.

This case draws exclusively on publicly available documentation. All descriptive claims are based on documented sources. Interpretive analysis is confined to the Analysis section and informed by the contributor’s broader research on emerging practices of nonhuman representation and participation.