Actions related to objective 7.3

Full text of the objective 7.3 "Develop adequate monitoring methodologies and biodiversity indicators" from the National Strategy

Flanders:

Flemish Nature Report (2005, www.nara.be) developed a full set of ‘nature' indicators (www.natuurindicatoren.be). A first summary report on the trends of the EU headline indicators was published in 2005, and an update in 2006.

Monitoring programmes for specific species(groups), habitats and/or sites (such as nature and forest reserves, Natura 2000, nature development project sites,...) are being carried out by INBO, NGO's and/or research institutes

• Project 35 meetnetten en monitoring
• MR401 Beleidsindicatoren uitwerken en opvolgen voor het milieubeleid en het beleid met milieugevolgen (cf. project 33 planningscyclus)

Brussels:

Monitoring programmes for specific species(groups), habitats and/or sites (such as nature and forest reserves, Natura 2000, nature development project sites,...) are being carried out by scientific institutes, universities, NGO volunteers with financial support of IBGE-BIM.

Walloon region:

There are ongoing monitoring programmes for major species groups and major ecosystems :

• Monitoring of the state of the environment through bio-indicators (birds, dragonflies, butterflies, ladybirds, superior plants, reptiles, and amphibians).
• Inventory and Monitoring of Habitats (ISH) Program: (inventory and monitor the distribution of habitats)

The indicators used are essentially:

• state indicators: evolution of indicators of their status (IUCN categories) of the above mentioned species, biotic index of watercourses, defoliation % of trees;
• pressure indicators: evolution of the occupation of soils, in particular in urban areas, indicators concerning other compartments of the environment;
• responses indicators: % of protected areas, measure for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use outside protected areas.

Other inventory or monitoring programs are also caried out on several habitats (quarries; caves; peatlands(study on impacts of nitrogen deposition)) and species (mammals; bats; hymenoptera)

Federal:

Several SSD projects developped specific sampling strategy approaches for monitoring (e.g. mosquitoes, cyanobacteriae, mycorhyzae...)

Future actions:

• Conduct preferably these research efforts in agreement and, if possible, in collaboration with similar programmes carried out at the European and the international level.