Membership of Dutch private nature conservation organisations, 1989-2024

Memberships in 2024

In 2024 the combined membership of the four biggest nature conservation organisations was 1,760,372 members/donors. The total membership grew slightly compared with 2023. Natuurmonumenten was the biggest organisation, with 874,154 members/donors, an increase of almost 23,000 members/donors. The combined membership of the provincial landscape foundations rose by about 7,000. In contrast, the number of members of WWF declined by 2.5% and Birdlife Netherlands declined by 1.8%.

Major role in conservation management

Private nature conservation organisations play a major part in managing nature reserves and protected areas in the Netherlands and in generating public support for nature and landscape conservation. Natuurmonumenten and the provincial landscape foundations focus on the acquisition and management of nature conservation areas in the Netherlands, while WWF focuses on global nature conservation. Birdlife Netherlands works to conserve wild birds and their habitats.

Trends in memberships over the period 1989–2024

There are big differences in the trend in membership numbers between the four organisations. Whereas the WWF membership has declined significantly from 2010, Natuurmonumenten has increased its membership since 2018. The provincial landscape foundations and Birdlife Netherlands have experienced a more stable, moderate growth in membership.

WWF grew rapidly from the 1990s, with a peak around 2007 when the number of members was more than 800,000. Since then, the trend has been downwards. The Natuurmonumenten membership grew considerably from the beginning of the 1990s, reaching a high point around 2000 of almost one million members. Following a slight decline, numbers remained relatively stable until 2018 when they grew again to 874,000 members in 2024. Membership of the provincial landscape foundations grew steadily during the whole period. The number of members rose slowly from around 100,000 at the end of the 1980s to more than 300,000 in recent years. Birdlife Netherlands grew moderately but steadily until 2012, followed by a decline until 2020, after which the membership has remained reasonably constant at around 150,000 members.

Limited data available for 2024

The only membership data available for 2024 are for the four biggest nature conservation organisations.