VOICE-OVER: The ground beneath our feet,
we don't often think about it, but we depend on it in many ways.
It accommodates an enormous network of service pipes and cables
that transport gas, water, electricity and waste water.
There are tunnels for transportation,
underground parking garages for cars and bicycles
and the foundations of all our buildings.
We also use the subsurface for our energy supply.
To extract gas and oil.
In addition, new technologies are making it possible to store energy
and use energy from sustainable sources.
But of course there are also the natural cycles under the ground
on which we depend.
The subsurface purifies water.
There is a cycle of nutrients for agriculture
and a wide variety of flora and fauna.
There is also a lot of existing archaeological and geological information
that we want to preserve for future generations.
There is a lot going on in the ground beneath our feet.
There are many different functions, each one of them of importance.
They can hinder one another or complement each other.
Like reusing an empty gas field to store natural gas.
But it is often impossible,
for example, to extract natural gas and geothermal energy
in the same place at the same time.
What takes place in the subsurface is connected to the world above ground.
It can be opportune to build greenhouses
in places where geothermal energy can be extracted easily.
Conversely, an activity in the subsurface often needs an above ground plant
that can be difficult to integrate into a busy or vulnerable area.
A vision on the use of the subsurface is needed
to optimally channel new developments in the right direction
and to protect important functions.
Anything we do to the subsurface has an impact that lasts for decades.
And the consequences of our actions are often not easily reversed.
It is therefore important to make careful considerations.
In this way we can prevent problems from arising and not let opportunities pass by.
Together with other stakeholders the government is therefore drawing up
a national spatial planning strategy for the subsurface.
To ensure that we can continue to make sustainable use
of the subsurface in the future.