More than 95 percent of Belgian habitats in poor condition: “No European country does it worse” | Inland

In its report, the Commission assesses the way in which EU Member States transpose European environmental legislation into national policy. It is a call to action, says Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius. “While progress has been made in some areas since the last review, I am concerned that the legal divide in other areas is still widening, making us all more vulnerable to environmental pollution and associated risks.”

Biodiversity continues to decline across the EU, the report reads. Belgium is the sad leader in this regard, with more than 95 percent of the habitats in an unfavorable state. The situation in protected forest areas is also described as “worrying”. “More than half of the reviews indicate a poor conservation status,” it reads.

With regard to water management, the Commission sees “more and more worrying trends for water quality in Flanders. Additional measures are urgently needed, in particular to deal with the high level of nitrogen. In the context of the 2021 floods, the Commission is asking – in particular Wallonia – to update the flood risk assessments in order to better identify the areas where there is a risk of flooding.

Kudos to the support of the circular economy in our country. “Belgium is one of the frontrunners in the EU in resource productivity, secondary material use and waste management,” the report reads. The Flemish Blue Deal – to limit water scarcity -, the ambition of the Flemish government to renovate all its buildings by 2030 to reduce CO2 emissions and the creation of two new national parks in Wallonia are also examples of this for the Commission. ‘good practice’.