Management approach

Release date	15/02/2006

7. Have the principal threats to protected areas and the biodiversity that they contain been assessed, so that programmes can be put in place to deal with the threats, their effects and to influence the key drivers?
a) No	X (most protected areas)
b) an assessment is being planned for	X (some protected areas)
c) an assessment is in process	X (some protected areas)
d) yes, an assessment has been completed	X (some protected areas)
e) programmes and policies to deal with threats are in place (please provide basic information on threats and actions taken)	X (biodiversity in general)

For most protected areas, there is no threat analysis available. Assessments are planned, are on-going or have been carried out on a case by case basis for some protected areas, as part of the management planning process. A general assessment of threats to biodiversity has been carried out by all three regions of Belgium. A synthesis in English can be found in: Peeters, M., Franklin, A. & Van Goethem, J. (eds) 2003, Biodiversity in Belgium. Chapter 6. RBINS, Brussels.

Flanders: for all the areas designated in the Natura 2000 network and in the Flemish network VEN-IVON, a site-specific 'Nature Objectives Plan' will be developed (see question 5). The basis of the plan includes the description of the area, the biodiversity characteristics and the threats to the area and the biodiversity they contain. The main objective of such a plan is to describe site specific measures to deal with those threats. Measures that may be introduced on a general basis in all the areas are being compiled in an Implementation Act (approval and publication foreseen in 2003).

8. Are protected areas established and managed in the context of the wider region in which they are located, taking account of and contributing to other sectoral strategies?
a) No
b) yes, in some areas	X (areas under national status)
c) yes, in all areas (please provide details)	X (areas under EU status)

Areas under European status.

• Designated areas under the EU Habitats and Birds Directives are considered in the context of European biogeographical regions (Atlantic and continental, in the case of Belgium).
• At the pan-European level, protected areas are to be integrated in the Pan-European Ecological Network. The full and effective implementation of existing international instruments is of vital importance in building the Pan-European Ecological Network, since they provide for the conservation of many of the most valuable sites in Europe. These international instruments include the Bern Convention, the European Union Habitats and Birds Directives, the Ramsar Convention, the Bonn Convention, the World Heritage Convention and the Fourth Protocol of the Barcelona Convention.

Areas under national status. 

• Some transboundary protected areas have been established with the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and Germany. See question 17.
• The 'Plan de Base Écologique et Paysager Transfrontalier' (PBEPT) Wallonie-Luxembourg is a project seeking to develop a coherent transboundary area based on nature and landscape. This project is part of a EU-funded INTERREG III programme which covers Wallonia, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Lorraine (France).

Sectoral strategies. Different policy instruments exist at EU level, such as Biodiversity Strategy (1998) and its Action Plans (2001) on Natural Resources, Agriculture, Fisheries and Development Cooperation, the Forestry Strategy (1998), the Water Framework Directive (2000), the Strategy on Integrated Coastal Zone Management (2001), the Sustainable Development Strategy (2001) and the Strategy to protect and conserve the marine environment (2003).

9. Do protected areas vary in their nature, meeting a range of different management objectives and/or being operated through differing management regimes?
a) no, most areas are established for similar objectives and are under similar management regimes
b) many areas have similar objectives/management regimes, but there are also some exceptions
c) yes, protected areas vary in nature (please provide details)	X

Different types of statuses for protected areas are found in each of the three Belgian regions. As presented above, there are areas under international, European and national (regional) status. They have different levels of protection and a range of management objectives. For more information on the different types of protected areas at national level and their management regimes, see:

• Flanders: http://www.instnat.be/content/page.asp?pid=NG_Startpagina (in Dutch)
• Wallonia: http://mrw.wallonie.be/dgrne/sibw/sites/espaces.proteges.html (in French)
• Brussels Capital Region: http://www.ibgebim.be/francais/contenu/content.asp?ref=1369 (in French) and http://www.ibgebim.be/nederlands/contenu/content.asp?ref=1556 (in Dutch)
• North Sea: http://www.mumm.ac.be/EN/Management/Atlas/habitatramsar.php (in English). Management guidelines still in the process of establishment.

10. Is there wide stakeholder involvement in the establishment and management of protected areas?
a) No
b) with some, but not all protected areas	X
c) yes, always (please provide details of experience)

Many NGOs organize 'management days' involving the public for brushwood clearing, mowing, etc. in the protected areas under their ownership/management.

Flemish region: the site-specific Nature Objectives Plans will be developed in cooperation with stakeholders active in that specific site, while each plan will be supported by a general communication programme and will be approved after public consultation.

North Sea: the stakeholders will be involved in the establishment of the management plans for marine protected areas.

11. Do protected areas established and managed by non-government bodies, citizen groups, private sector and individuals exist in your country, and are they recognized in any formal manner?
a) no, they do not exist	X (North Sea)
b) yes, they exist, however are not formally recognized
c) yes, they exist and are formally recognized (please provide further information)	X (other regions)

Some protected areas established by NGOs have been recognized by the government and given a legal status. These include:

• Flanders: "natuurreservaten terreinbeherende verenigingen"
  (http://www.instnat.be/content/page.asp?pid=NG_Natuurreservaten, in Dutch).
  Moreover, private owners can have their nature or forest site recognized as a reserve, and by doing so, they may receive subsidies for the management of their site.
• Wallonia: ''réserves naturelles agréées'' ( http://mrw.wallonie.be/dgrne/sibw/sites/espaces.proteges.html#resnatagr, in French).
• Brussels Capital Region: recognition of reserves is foreseen by law, but it has not been granted yet as there are no private nature reserves.
• North Sea: recognition of protected areas established by NGOs is not foreseen in the MMM law.