Regulatory framework

Areas under EU status. The three Belgian regions and the Federal government have transposed the EU Birds and Habitats Directives into regional law. This includes the need to establish protected areas and to elaborate management plans for the designated areas.

Areas under national status. Each of the Belgian regions has specific legislation regarding protected areas. There are also regional plans that take the conservation of biological diversity into consideration. The MMM (Marien Milieu Marin) law takes into account requirements for marine protected areas.

• Flanders: besides specific regulations for protection and management of Natura 2000 sites, there is an 'Implementation Act' regulating recognition of nature reserves and listing criteria for the subsidies that NGOs can receive from the Ministry of the Flemish Community for acquisition, management planning and implementation, and monitoring of sites. Information on the law relevant for nature conservation can be consulted on: http://www.mina.vlaanderen.be/wiedoetwat/aminal/taken/natuur/vlaamse_wetgeving.htm (in Dutch)
• Wallonia: http://mrw.wallonie.be/dgrne/sibw/legislations/home.html (in French)
• Brussels Capital Region: http://www.ibgebim.be/francais/contenu/DroitContent.asp?ref=1541 (in French)
• North Sea: http://www.mumm.ac.be/EN/Management/Law/national.php.

Areas under international status. The Ramsar Convention has put forward a number of criteria in order to determine whether a wetland area is of international importance to water birds (http://www.ramsar.org/key_criteria.htm). In Flanders, these have been applied to the selection of the four sites that are currently protected under the Ramsar Convention. In Wallonia, these criteria have been adopted for the future development of the list of wetlands of international importance, and have been used for three new designations in 2002 (a transboundary site, a peatland and a karst). An example of a marine protected area can be found on: http://www.mumm.ac.be/EN/Management/Atlas/habitatramsar.php (in English).

Areas under EU status. There are guidelines on how to designate areas under the EU Birds and Habitats Directives. The bio-geographical seminars have been set up to facilitate this designation process (including both terrestrial and marine habitats). The European Commission published a manual on the management of Natura 2000 sites.

• Flanders: the Flemish region published a general brochure on the Birds Directive in Flanders in 1999, and another on the Habitats Directive and the development of Natura 2000 in Flanders in 2002 (available at: http://bch-cbd.naturalsciences.be/belgium/news/VL_Natura.pdf). The brochures include an overview of the methods used for site selection and a presentation of general guidelines for the management of the habitats and the species for which the sites have been designated. For each of the Natura 2000 sites a 'Nature Objectives Plan' will be developed based on the ecological criteria of the site designation and on the ecological requirements for the conservation or restoration of the habitats and species for which the site was designated. The nature objectives plans will be developed and approved in a wide participatory way.
• Wallonia: see the Biodiversity Information Server of Wallonia for a description of the methods used for the selection of sites: http://mrw.wallonie.be/dgrne/sibw/sites/Natura2000/methodo.html.
• Brussels Capital Region: see http://www.ibgebim.be/francais/contenu/content.asp?ref=1599 (in French) or http://www.ibgebim.be/nederlands/contenu/content.asp?ref=1563 (in Dutch) for a description on the methods used for the selection of sites.
• North Sea: guidelines and criteria for the selection and the identification of protected sites have been developed to identify areas under EC Directives. A study on SPAs is currently on-going. The identification of sites is carried out using scientific criteria only. The second step, which will be the elaboration of management guidelines of those selected sites, has not yet started. The elaboration will be done with the help of all stakeholders concerned.

Areas under national status. Each of the Belgian regions has specific guidelines, criteria and targets regarding the establishment and management of protected areas.

• Flanders: development of the 'Flemish Ecological Network' (VEN) (target designation of 125,000 hectares around 2003), supported by an 'Integral Interweaving and Supportive Network' (IVON) (designation of 150,000 hectares planned by 2008). See http://www.ven-ivon.be. Specific guidelines, criteria and management regulations, and monitoring of management also exist for the establishment of nature and forest reserves; see point 4.
• Brussels Capital Region: development of the 'Green and Blue networks', for the cohesion and continuity of green spaces and semi-natural areas in the urban environment and the integrated management of the open waterways in the Region. See the following URLs:
  http://www.ibgebim.be/francais/contenu/content.asp?ref=1300 (in French) or http://www.ibgebim.be/nederlands/contenu/content.asp?ref=1532 (in Dutch).
• Wallonia: inventory of 'Sites of Great Biological Interest' (SIGB), which make the framework for the designation of protected areas. See: http://mrw.wallonie.be/dgrne/sibw/organisations/OFFH/progSGIB/home.html.

Research. Belgium takes part in a COST Action at European level: E27 PROFOR - 'Protected Forest Areas in Europe'. The main objective of the action is to describe, analyse, and harmonise the wide-range of protected forest area categories used in European countries within the context of existing international systems of protected areas.

Areas under EU status. Financial support is foreseen for the management of Natura 2000 sites. At the moment various, LIFE-Nature projects with co-financing by the EU are carried out, and several sets of agri-environment measures have been introduced.

Areas under national status.

• Flanders and Wallonia: subsidies can be granted to farmers applying agri-environmental measures to land under various levels of protection status.
• Flanders: grants can be provided to private nature or forest owners for having a nature or forest area designated or recognised as a reserve (the grant is reduced if hunting is allowed during the hunting season). Grants are also provided to nature conservation NGOs for acquisition, establishment and management of nature reserves.
• Wallonia: subsidies can be granted for private nature reserves (purchase, ordinary and extra-ordinary management works).
• Brussels Capital Region: grants can be provided for the management of private nature reserves. They have not been used so far, as there are not yet any officially designated private nature reserves.
• North Sea: as the management guidelines of marine protected sites still have to be completed, it is not known whether they will involve the use of intensive, and benefit-sharing arrangements.