There is a lot of work to be done in our country. Our method of production and consumption puts an extraordinary amount of pressure on nature by building open spaces, tearing nature apart, over-fertilizing agricultural areas,… Internationally, our footprint ensures that worldwide deforestation continues to occur and valuable nature is being transformed into Farms for the crops we also consume, such as soybeans for animal feed or palm oil for biodiesel.
30 by 2030
The documents of the draft UN convention propose protecting at least 30 percent of land and marine areas as nature, and placing at least 10 percent under strict protection, for example as a reserve. This international goal is still under discussion, but it is positive that Belgium supports the 30 x 30 initiative. Europe has also already lent its support.
This is not a non-binding number. In Flanders, the area under effective management of nature is just under 100,000 hectares, less than 10% of the 1.3 million hectares in Flanders. At least 30,000 hectares should be added to this. The total area of green destinations in Flanders is a little more than 200,000 hectares, so there is not even 30% of the surface. If you know how long it takes to designate new nature reserves – rather on the order of a few hundred hectares a year – policy should change in earnest over the next 10 years.
