NATURAL RESOURCE ASPECTS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN BELGIUM

Special rates exist for people receiving the social minimum income (Special Social Tariff). Belgium has set up a national program to prevent interruptions of electricity and gas supplies under an initiative of the Control Committee for Electricity and Gas. In 1995, two Mutual Funds (Fonds d'entraide), financed by electricity distributors and Distrigaz allocated a total of BF 228 million for this program. In addition, the resources of the Social Fund, created in 1994 under the Control Committee and financed by the electricity distributors at a level of BEF 100 million, are used to help consumers who benefited from the Specific Social Tariff. In total, the financial effort made in 1995 by the electricity distributors for minimum income consumers amounted to about 700 million.

Cooperation  

No information is available

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This information was provided by the Government of Belgium to the ninth session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Last Update: November 2000.

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FORESTS

Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies    

The Regional Governments in Belgium are the focal points of authority and competence with respect to managing forests, with forest services being quite decentralized. The various Ministries of Environment of each Region are represented on the National Council for Sustainable Development.

In international affairs related to forestry a Belgian position is defined by means of consultations between the different authorities (regional and federal levels) and sectors (forestry, environment, agriculture, economic affairs, trade) through a process based on the co-operation agreement of April 5, 1995 between the Federal State and the Regions on international environmental policy. 

Flemish region:

For the most important questions of the Flemish forestry policy, the Flemish Minister in charge of forestry must consult with the Flemish High Council for Forests. This advisory body is composed of private forest owners, scientists and representatives of forestry NGO's, forestry exploitation companies, tree nurseries... In this way, participation in policy and consultation is guaranteed.

Wallonia region:

The participation of all stakeholders in the decisions related to forests is ensured by the Wallonia Higher Council of the Forest and the Wood Chain, which has an advisory role, either at the request of the Minister in charge of forests, or at its own initiative. Similar consultative bodies exist for fishing and hunting as well as nature conservation with cross-representation between them.

Private owners are represented within companies and management groupings, as well as within the Trade union of the Forest Owners of Wallonia. Public owners, whose forest properties are managed by the Division of Nature and Forests, take an active part in the elaboration of the management plans for their forests and in their implementation.

Since 1992, several amendments and specifications have been adapted (for example public accessibility, inventories, forest reserves, support for the private forest sector). A number of Regional laws ensure that conflicting uses of forests do not occur. The right of property is a basic right covered by the constitution. In forest law there are certain restrictions on the use of forests, but these are meant to protect the forests and their sustainable development. The item of customary and traditional rights of indigenous people is not relevant to Belgium. 

Flemish region:

After more than 10 years of consultation and discussion, the Belgian Forest Act of 1854 was replaced by the Flemish Government Act on Forests, on June 13th 1990. It provides a detailed definition of the forest concept, applies to all forests – public and private forests - it recognises several forest functions (economic function; social and educational function; shelter function; ecological function; scientific function), it stresses the fact that forests are multifunctional, and gives detailed instructions regarding the organisation of the forest service, forest management and forest protection. This forest law was amended in 1997 by the new Flemish decree on Nature Conservation and the Natural Environment (October 21st 1997). The most important changes are concerning the forests that will be part of the Flemish Ecological Network (VEN), consultation between nature conservation and the forest service concerning the management plans of forests situated in certain sensitive and special areas (VEN, Habitat directive, Ramsar areas…) and stronger limitations in case of deforestation (only for public and general interest) which can be combined with mandatory compensation by afforestation elsewhere.

Other import developments since UNCED are the revision of the legislation on town and landscape planning. The Flemish government decided that the forest area must increase with 10.000 ha forest with a high ecological and nature conservation value and with 10.000 ha of forest in the so-called agricultural areas. The 1999 amendments of the forest decree include a new instrument to stimulate the co-operation between forest owners (private and public) and give legal bases to the Flemish Forest Inventory project and to qualitative criteria for sustainable forest management.

In principle, the forestry service of the Flemish government uses three policy instruments in relation to the forest owner: Law enforcement; Communication, advice; Incentives.

The Flemish Forest Decree aims at giving a more social and ecological added value to all forests and promotes the idea of multifunctional forestry. Every forest must be managed in such a way that the permanent fulfillment of the different forest functions is accomplished.

The forest owner has to prove this by submitting a forest management plan, drawn up according to a model established by the Flemish Government. The Flemish forest service has to approve the management plan for private forests. If the forest owner doesn’t manage his forest according to the approved management plan, he can be prosecuted. If a forest owner doesn’t submit a management plan, he can be considered in default. If there’s still no management plan after that, the Flemish forest service can draw up a management plan in place of the owner and at his own expenses.

Forest reserves and shelter-forests are designated by the Flemish Government and must be primarily managed according to their special role. This can mean some restrictions for the forest owner, but he can count on financial compensation for this "loss of property rights".

In addition, public forest owners must pay special attention to the ecological forest function and forest management must comply by some regional guidelines:

- Conservation or restoration of the natural flora and fauna;

- Promoting indigenous or site-adapted species;

- Promoting natural regeneration;

- Promoting uneven-aged and irregular formed forest stands;

- Advancing the ecological balance.

In the new amended decree on Forests it is stipulated that the Flemish government defines criteria for sustainable forest management. Forest owners who comply with these criteria can receive a financial contribution. Practical modalities are currently being negotiated.

The Flemish Decree on Forest tries to stimulate the private forest owners to give a more social accepted added value to their forests. Grants can be provided for private forest owners:

who dispose over an agreed forest management plan and want to afforest or reforest in a natural or artificial way. Indigenous and noble hard wood species are given more consideration than other species. Bonus-grants are possible when certain indigenous shrub species are used. For afforestation of agricultural land the grants are higher;

who open all or parts of the forest roads in their forests for the public;

who join their property with other owner's properties (at least 5 ha) to make a common management plan (including subsidies for cleaning and thinning out;

If a forest is designated or recognised as a forest reserve the owner can receive a yearly grant between 4.000 BEF/ha and 10.000 BEF/ha. The grant is reduced with 2.000 BEF/ha if hunting is allowed during the hunting season.

Wallonia region:

The forest Code (1854) constitutes the legal base for the sustainable management of the forests; the legislation on the Regional planning supplements this device since 1962. With the forest Code and the continuous actions of public and private managers, the forest area increased by 50%, while gaining in quality; the standing volume increased considerably and is estimated at 118 million m³, the annual increment with more than 4 million and the annual removals to 3,3 million m³.

Several regulations were adopted recently:

• The Decree on Hunting of 1994 ensures a better balance between game and forest;

• The Decree on circulation in forests of 1995 aims at limiting the unfavourable effects on the forest ecosystem of uncontrolled tourism, and organises the access to the forest for users such as pedestrians, cyclists or riders.

• The Permanent Forest Inventory, institutionalised by decree in 1995, permanently evaluates the state and the evolution of forest surfaces. The decree of November 20, 1997 widened its missions with the control and evaluation of durable management and forest biodiversity.  

Lastly, the forest Code is being revised, in order to " ensure the harmonious coexistence of the ecological functions, economic, social and hunting of wood and forests and to guarantee their sustainable development; to maintain the diversity biological of forests, their productivity, their capacity of regeneration and their vitality... particularly to protect soils, water, species and biotopes". These principles are applied in the new "Circular relating to the management of the forests governed by the Forest Code" (1997), which is imposed on the public forests, that is to say 50% of the Walloon forest.

For the private forest, handicapped by its parceling out, a new law (1999) supports the constitution of forest groupings, while a reduction in the inheritance taxes is being contemplated for forests that are managed according to the principles of sustainable forest management.

The legislation relating to Regional planning, defines the forest belts and the constraints which are referred to it, as well as the procedures of modification of assignment; moreover, zones with particular statute exist within the forest zones (natural reserves, forest reserves, classified sites). These principles are implemented in cartographic documents with regulatory value.

In private forest, the right of ownership is obviously respected, but the general interest is protected by provisions of the civil code, rural code and forest code as well as by the legislation on Nature conservation and Regional planning.

The Forest Code establishes a legal basis with various subsidies for public and private owners.

Not-for-profit services are indirectly encouraged, by through conditions for subsidy allocation (draining restrictions, biodiversity, adaptation of the essences to the stations for example); financial aid is possible for making forests accessible for the public including the compensation of relevant investments for the recreative forest function (installations, infrastructure), as well as for training and advertising.

The draft revised Forest Code and adjustment of the succession rights envisages moreover advantages for the owners who meet basic constraints related to sustainable management.

In the Wallonia region, the "Wood Chain" deposited the collective brand "wood of Wallonia". The latter is linked to sustainable management monitoring, through a permanent regional Inventory which integrates the sustainable management indicators derived from the Pan-European process, and better information of the customer. It gives guarantees to the customer as to the origin of his products, meaning indirectly that they result from forests under sustainable management in accordance with the current regulations. This control and demonstration scheme for sustainable management on a regional scale is a realistic alternative to ecocertification at the level of each management or property unit. This system should fit in the PEFC, a Pan-European system of certification which started in June 1999.

Decision-Making: Strategies, Policies and Plans  

The Environmental Plan for Sustainable Development of the Walloon Region has given particular attention to forest issues. In 1993, the Flemish Government developed a long-term strategic forestry plan. A Forest Action Plan is due to be approved in early 1997.  

Flemish region:

The Flemish Forest decree (1990) created the basis for a more plan-oriented forest policy. A background study "Long Term Forestry Plan" (1996) describes the strategy for forest policy up to the year 2100. On the basis of this report a general policy document was drafted with same name. This document defines the mission and the vision for forest policy in Flanders for the long term. The first step towards realisation of this strategy is formulated in the document "Forestry Action Plan" which is now being finalised and ready for ratification by the Flemish government. This plan defines more than 30 key-actions for the next 5 years and is more oriented towards the implementation of the vision and mission. Key terms in the Flemish forestry planning are quality and quantity. Thus: the NFP for Flanders consists of the documents "Long Term Forestry Plan" and the "Forestry Action Plan".

Since the drafting of these documents started before the IPF-report was approved, it is not developed according to the IPF-guidelines but the drafting process was compatible with the IPF-guidelines because many of these guidelines are quite general and applicable to every policy planning process.

This Forest Action Plan is part of the strategic Flemish Environmental Policy Plan 1997-2001, the MINA2 plan. At the moment there is no policy plan that describes the regional sustainable development strategy in general. Sustainable development is considered to be an overall policy goal that is the centre of the Flemish Government Agreement: sustainable development is the core touchstone for every policy measure.

In the seventies a global land use-plan was set up which resulted in the publication of ground-destination maps. In these plans several types of land occupation were defined (for instance agriculture, urbanisation, industry, water protection,...). Forestry was also recognised as a form of land occupation, but the definition of a "forest zone" was rather narrow sensed ( wood production) and forests were put into different destination zones (forest zone, nature zone, nature reserve zone, park zone, buffer zone) all with different specific regulations concerning the possibilities for human activities e.g. building, changing vegetation, altering relief,….

Now the land-use planning system in Flanders is recently revised by the Structure Plan Flanders (1997) which a/o aims at the protection of the country side and the open space. In the countryside several "structures" are recognised which are combined with different functions (agriculture, nature, forestry). In some areas these different functions are interrelated and can coexist with each other. In other areas one function can dominate the others. In this new approach an expansion of the forest area is planned with 10.000ha ecological sound afforestation area and 10.000ha of agricultural land which can be afforested. This means that the Flemish government decided to enlarge the forest area with maximum 20.000ha. These policy measures are compatible with the "Long Term Forestry Plan" (enlargement of the forest area is one of the main policy objectives). Forestry policy itself could not define the exact quantitative policy objective because this is to be seen in relation to other sectors (housing, infrastructure, agriculture, nature conservation…). The quantitative objectives were set after broad consultation (official advisory boards, local communities, public in general…). Now it is up to the Forestry Action Plan to develop suitable instruments to make sure that these new forests will appear.

Wallonia region:

The Division of Nature and Forests issued a document of forest policy, which analyses the weaknesses and assets of the forests in Wallonia, and defines the objectives of forest management. It was not the subject of dialogues and official approval, but should be discussed soon within the Higher Council of the Forests and the Wood sector, which gathers in an advisory capacity all the groups interested by forest management.

The objectives of management were defined as follows, and are in conformity with the principles of Rio and Helsinki:

- to ensure the regeneration and the durable productivity of the forest stands;

- to promote natural regeneration; always to regenerate tree species perfectly adapted to the site;

- to maintain a balance between deciduous and coniferous stands;

- to diversify the choice of tree species; this diversification is applicable on the level of the individual forest stand when the site conditions allow it or on the scale of the whole property. Mixed stands will thus be encouraged; in case of artificial regeneration, to use seedlings of genetic origin or advisable varieties and to differentiate the use of the best possible adapted origins;

- to support a stable and balanced structure: in particular by the selection of stands with irregular structure, especially in the great properties (selection forest with varied age structure);

- to preserve the conditions and characteristics of the soils and water quality :choice of tree species, processing (strong thinning), severe regulation of exploitation to practice a dynamic forest management: broader spacing of plantations to allow the development of a vegetation of accompaniment and to thus ensure a better diversity; strong and early thinning; better resistance to the natural calamities and the parasitic attacks;

to ensure a sufficient profitability of the forest properties, guarantor of the sustainability of the exploitation of the forest;

- to develop the quality of the forest production: advisable genetic sources; sizes of formation and pruning to great height;

- to take specific measures to conserve biodiversity;

- to adopt a considered policy of opening of the forest to the public;

- to envisage rest zones;

- to protect the fragile soils;

- to mark out hiking trails, in particular didactic, and tracks for riders, cyclists and skiers;

- to envisage zones of activities for the youth organisations (convention to be established) .to restore balance forest-game in the respect of the regeneration of forest;

- to ensure the genetic stock management in the long run: improvement : location of new settlements to seeds and constitution of new orchards with seeds and parks with clones;

conservation of the principal tree species but also the secondary species;

- to maintain a good state medical of the forests and to privilege the integrated fight against the parasitic attacks; give preference to the mechanical techniques compared to the chemical methods in maintenance of the plantations and natural regeneration ;

to support the development of employment in all the stages of the forest sector and wood processing industry; nursery gardeners ; contractors of forest work ; experts and technicians independent ; loggers, dockers, operators and conveying ;

sawmills and paper mills ; sector of 2nd transformation;

- to develop information to the general public and popularisation towards the forest owners and the farmers.  

Decision-Making: Major Groups Involvement   

Private forest owners, rural cooperatives, local authorities and communities, youth, and NGOs are among those playing an important role in sustainable forest management. Women, however, do not play a role as a special group in forestry. Overall social actions for equality and emancipation include the forest sector. Consultative mechanisms have been created to include representatives of wood sector stakeholders, such as the ministerial advisory councils in both the Walloon and Flemish Regions.

Flemish region:

Private forest owners can obtain grants if they want to afforest or reforest in a natural or an artificial way and if they have an agreed forest management plan. Grants are higher if indigenous species are used.

Local communities receive financial incentives to integrate forest management and other forms of land use (agriculture, nature conservation) by means of the Municipal Nature Development Plans and rural land use management plans.

Programmes and Projects   

Flemish region:

The most effective mechanism is to work together with all relevant policy sectors from the early stages on. This can lead to rather intensive debates but is the only way to implement the necessary "integration of policies". Forest policy has participated in several projects such as the Structure Plan Flanders (see above) and the strategic Flemish Environmental Policy Plan 1997-2001 (MINA-Plan 2). In this plan the enlargement of the forest area in Flanders is connected tot the regional strategy to combat climate change. Another example is the action 7 of the MINA-Plan 2 in which the Flemish government will develop specific measures to enhance the carbon storage function in materials and sinks, such as timber. This can lead to measures to promote the use of timber as a renewable material that contains carbon.

At the moment, there is less early and intense consultation and deliberation with the policy field ‘nature conservation’. There are several measures that promote the attention for nature conservation measures in Flemish forests, but for the development of the new nature conservation policy plan and the implementation of new instruments (e.g. the development of the Flemish Ecological Network: a coherent structure of 125.000 ha of areas with main function conservation and development of nature) decree on nature conservation, this "integration mechanism" seems less effective. It is common understanding that forests will play an important role in the Flemish Ecological Network which is to be designated by the year 2002, but the practical consequences and possible restrictions for forestry in these areas are unclear at the moment.

At the moment the Flemish Government runs several projects in the forestry sector in execution of employment plans for young people, unskilled labourers and long-term unemployed. With the support of the whole forest sector a task force started in 1996 to work out practical proposals in order to generate jobs in the forest sector.

The integration and consultation mechanisms are in general effective for those areas that are of direct importance for the forests and forestry in Flanders (environment, nature-conservation, land-use management, recreation and tourism). The Flemish Forest Programme does not include measures to promote the forest-based industries or the timber trade. This is the competence of the Department of Economy, which has general supporting instruments for all kinds of industry or enterprises but no specific programme towards forest based industries.

In that regard the Flemish policy is not well developed vertically or downstream (beginning with the forest and including every activity that results from it including e.g. the distribution of wooden furniture) but is well developed in a horizontal way.

The Forest Service supports the FSC-certification system and the "Forest and Timber"-campaign of WWF-Belgium. At the moment three "domainal" forests (owned by the Flemish region) or 4.298ha are FSC certified as pilot projects. The aim of this project was to gather experience with this new instrument and to make the certification process more concrete for every interested party.

The certification process at the moment did not promote sustainable forest management in Flanders because no other Flemish forests are certified! According to the experience with the three "domainal" forests, market interests in certified timber still stays low. This can be explained by the way timber from government-owned forests is put to market, the ‘wait and see attitude’ of the timber merchants (although some of them are very motivated) or the limited economic function of the scattered forests in Flanders. In the two successive public timber auctions of the FSC-certified "domainal" forests, the FSC-certificate did not yet influence the bidding prices for timber.

By means of the municipal covenant (a voluntary agreement between the Flemish government and the local communities) local communities are encouraged to use FSC-certified timber (or equivalent).

At the moment, proposals are being evaluated and discussed to further integrate the general certification concept in the Flemish forest policy.

Status   

Belgium is a federal state that consists of a Federal Government, three Communities and three Regions. The three regions are the Flemish Region, the Brussels Capital Region and the Walloon Region. Forestry is a fully regionalised matter, which means that the three Regions are entitled to develop their own independent forest policy.

There is not one definition of forest for Belgium as a whole at the Federal level. Forestry is a regional matter, which means that the three Regions of the country are politically responsible for forestry affairs. Forests in general are considered to be surfaces covered with trees which function as ecosystems and that can fulfill several functions (wood production, recreation, nature conservation, landscape, soil and/or water protection, shelter functions, etc.). However, the simple alignment of trees, orchards, and gardens are not considered as forests.

The forest area in the Brussels Capital City Region has been classified as a forest zone. Forests can have several protected classes (reserve, nature area, and forest area) in land use management programmes. In addition to these zoning plans, forests can have a juridical status such as protected landscape, forest reserve, or nature reserve. In the Walloon Region, there is a working definition for forests according to international agreed definitions that is used for forest inventories. In the Flemish Region there is a juridical definition as well.

The primary obstacle to reforestation and afforestation efforts are the attitude of agriculturalists, the limited availability of land areas, and the limited financial rent prospects of forest estates. This is aggravated by the long-term nature of forest investments, high maintenance charges, inappropriate taxation structures, forest fragmentation and silvicultural practices not always adapted to the site.

Forest inventories have been prepared for the three Regions. They are completed annually for the Brussels Capital City Region, and about every ten years for the Flemish and Walloon Regions. Walloon’s forest inventory is presently being updated. The first overall Flemish forest inventory programme started in 1996. Walloon’s forests do not suffer significantly from deforestation. In fact, the forest cover has increased from 300,000 ha to 500,000 ha over the past 150 years. Although the Flemish Region's forests have also shown a continual increase in area, particular attention is given to afforestation and forest protection in urban areas and around historically old forests. Flanders still remains a region with low forest cover (about 8%).

Since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), a number of forest-related activities have been fully addressed by the Regional Governments. This includes promoting extension services, public awareness campaigns, research projects, geographical information systems, remote sensing, National plans, multiple roles for forests, land classification, and environmental impact assessments (EIA). The adoption of the European Union (EU) regulation concerning forestry measures on agricultural land is expected to encourage the conversion of more agricultural land to forest.

In most communities and industries, waste is selected according to its characteristics such as glass, paper, plastics, metals, small dangerous waste (paint, varnishes, solvents…), green waste (fruits, vegetables, pruning, grass mowing…), domestic utensils, broken-stones, demolition materials,… This selection process feeds for some types of waste a recycling and re-use process, for others its leads to appropriate assimilation. For timber there are no clear data available for re-use. In general the picture is as follows: in the first transformation process (e.g. sawing) there is no systematic recycling, be it that the sawing residues are entirely used for pulpwood or for generating energy. In 1998, 63% of the raw material used in wood-based panels were residues of other timber processing industries.

In 1998 it was estimated that the use of wood for energy was comparable with 330.000 tons petrol-equivalents : burning of industrial wood-residues accounts for one third of this amount, fire wood use for domestic purposes by families accounts for fifty percent.

Paper products recycling increased in 1998 up to 525.000 tones i.e. 34% of the total production. In 1995, this percentage was 24%.

Flanders collected in 1995 beyond 197.000-ton paper and carton selectively via home-to-home collections or specific waste-selection centres. This is an average of 33,5 kg per capita. Recent research shows that waste deposits of Flemish families still contain 12 % recyclable paper and carton. Per capita, there is still 31,5 kg of paper and carton that can be selectively collected. In Flanders there is a potential for 65 kg of paper and carton per capita that can be collected selectively (50 kg paper and 15 kg carton). This means that continuous attention for prevention and for raising awareness is very important. Thanks to an expansion of the capacity of the paper- and carton-consuming industry, Flanders has an additional assimilating capacity of 220.000 ton of paper and carton. In this way more old paper and carton can be processed into new products. Especially the packing sector used in 1995 more used paper and carton than before and reached a re-use-ratio of 100%. More and more paper for newspapers and magazines is made out of used fibers.

Campaigns to promote timber use in construction – also in public works and infrastructure - are carried out. They include raising awareness by architects, insurers and the general public. For some specific applications, timber is in tough competition with products made from recycled materials (e.g. parking-piles, all kinds of small public infrastructure).

Flemish region:

Flanders is located in northern part of Belgium. It has a population of 5,758,607 on a surface of 13,512 square km. Hence it is a densely populated (426 inhabitants per square km) and highly urbanised region. The build-on surface in Flanders amounts to about 170,000 ha, which is more than the forest surface (130,000 ha). 68 % of the forest surface is private property. The biggest owners of public forests are the Flemish Region (about 20,000 ha) and the municipalities (about 20,000 ha).

The Flemish forests are small and fragmented. The average surface of a forest entity amounts to 19.2 ha, but almost 70 % of the forests are less than 10 ha and 14 % are even less than 1 ha).

The main tree species are Scots pine (26 %), mixed broad-leaved species (23 %) poplar clones (16 %), Pedunculate oak (and a small amount of Sessile oak) (8 %) and Corsican pine (8 %). 23 % of the forest dominated by broad-leaved species are uneven-aged, of the mainly coniferous forests, only 4.5 % are uneven-aged. This historically grown species composition, the fragmented structure of the forests, the enormous pressure of recreation and urbanisation and the complex legislative evolution turn proper management of the Flemish forests into a continuous challenge. A lot of attention is paid to external communication and education.

No information is available

Capacity-building, Education, Training and Awareness-raising   

Efforts have been undertaken to improve the qualifications of forestry personnel. The Flemish and Walloon Regions have institutions which focus on forestry research and high level education (university). Training and extension services are important in the three Regions. 

Flemish region:

In 1992 the Educational Forestry Centre Groenendaal started its activities. The centre is a common initiative of the Flemish Region and two private forestry organisations. Its tasks involve organising activities concerning:

- Training of the forest wardens of the Flemish Forest Service;

- Training and advice for private forest owners;

- Training concerning forests and forestry for the public at large;

- Supporting consultation between the government, private forest owners, the tree nurseries sector and the wood processing industry;

- Training of forest workers.

Since 1979, the Flemish Forest Service has been organising every first or second week of October an information campaign called "the Forest Week". Each year a specific theme is brought to the attention of forest owners, forest managers, the public at large and schools by means of excursions, expositions and other public events. In 1994 "Sustainable Forestry" was highlighted with the slogan "A Forest Forever...". In 1995 the focus was on the protection of biological diversity in forests. In 1996 the ecologically sound and forest-friendly management and exploitation techniques were brought under attention. In 1997, the economic forest function and the relation forest-employment was stressed. The 1998 campaign focused on the possibilities for youth organisations to play in forest or specific forest zones.

The Flemish Forest Service manages 10 forest visitors centres. The Forest Service also publishes several brochures about forestry items. The Institute for Forestry and Game Management publishes an annual activity-report.

Wallonia region:

The actions of the authorities relating to the private forest have been ongoing for ten years: they consist primarily in incentives (conditional subsidies) and training, as well as measures supporting the co-operation between owners.

Information   

The regions of Belgium participate in the Pan-European Process because Belgium signed the resolutions H1 and H2 (Helsinki Conference, 1995) and resolution L2 (Lisbon Conference, 1998) of the Ministerial Conferences on the Protection of Forests in Europe.

Belgium also participated on a voluntary basis in the testing of the indicators for sustainable development, co-ordinated by the CSD.

Sustainable forest management is a general policy goal. At all appropriate levels (global, regional, national, subnational) actions must be undertaken to attain that goal. This means that at every level where forest policy has to be worked out a suitable monitoring instrument must be developed as well. This means that there is no such thing as an overall set of criteria and indicators that is applicable for every level: each policy level must develop its own monitoring and evaluation instrument. The different sets of C&I can be comparable and compatible, most criteria and some indicators can be suitable for different levels, but the different sets of C&I can not be identical for all the policy levels. The ultimate evaluation at a certain level must be made against the set of C&I for that particular level because the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests goes back to the balance between the different forest functions which are reflected in the C&I.

Policy information and monitoring results are published in official publications and/or in specialised magazines. Some are made available via the Internet. 

Flemish region:

i) At the moment, Flanders has not published an independent report based on the Helsinki indicators yet, although the structure of the Helsinki Criteria and indicators was used in the so-called Lisbon report (3rd Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe, June 1998). The Flemish version of the quantitative indicators for sustainable forest management will be based on the collection of quantitative data based on a systematic method (Flemish Forest Inventory). This project is still underway. A first full report is planned for the year 2000.

ii) + iii) There were policy developments in forestry long before the concept of C&I evolved. Policy development and the development of a policy monitoring process go hand in hand. The concept of C&I in general stands for policy monitoring. It uses several elements of the concept "sustainable forest management" to determine a skeleton which can structure the policy monitoring process. Each element or indicator says something about one part of the complex concept of sustainable forest management. With time, the evolution of the quantitative indicators shows the evolution of the policy results for that specific item or part of the global SFM-concept. From this point of view it would be a valuable addition to the C&I-concept if policy targets would be integrated where relevant. It is useless to provide quantitative information if these data can not be matched with the policy targets or accepted standards. The effectiveness of the Flemish Forest Action Plan will be evaluated with a monitoring tool that is inspired by the C&I-concept.

Some indicators about forestry are integrated in the "Flemish Environment and Nature Report" (MIRA) and the overall Flemish Regional Indicators (VRIND) which analyse the whole spectrum of the competencies of the Flemish government.

Official publications of the Ministry of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Government can be ordered via the Internet on the following page: http://www.vlaanderen.be/ned/sites/publicaties/index.html .

Wallonia region:

The Wallonia region elaborated a detailed report on the basis of the 6 criteria and quantitative and descriptive indicators;

Taking into account Pan-European criterions in the policy-making (including the revision of the forest Code).

Integration in the regional forest inventory of a set of indicators for sustainable forest management and biodiversity, based on the quantitative indicators and intended for the periodic policy evaluation and forestry practices; Integrating indicators for sustainable forest management in the more general framework of environmental reporting in Wallonia. 

The Ministry of the Wallonia region frequently publishes official documents or articles in specialised magazines concerning forest sustainable management in the region. The most important are:

- Sustainable management of forest in Wallonia", Ministry of Wallonia Region, General Directorate of Natural Resources and Environment, Avenue Prince de Liège 15, Jambes.

This document describes the institutional and legal context and analyses the current state of the forests in the Wallonia region from the viewpoint of pan-european criteria and indicators. It can also be consulted on the web: http://mrw.wallonie.be/dgrne/home.htm.

- "Inventory of forest resources in Wallonia", Ministry of the Wallonia Region, General Directorate of Natural  Resources and Environment, Division for Nature and Forests, Avenue Prince de Liège 15, Jambes.

This document analyses in depth the results of the regional forest inventory (updated in 1996) for the more classical and dendrometical parameters. The following update is planned for 2000. It will reflect more detailed indicators for sustainable forest management and biodiversity.

No information is available

Financing  

The 1996 budget for forest management (wages and research not included) was Bfr 1.22 billion (US$ 39.4 million). In 1995, the budget was Bfr 1.15 billion (US$ 37.21 million). The National Revenue from the forest sector (including wood processing industries) is approximately Bfr 117 billion (US$ 3.55 billion). The Regional Governments provide subsides using objective criteria for the sustainable management of forests.

Cooperation  

Belgium participates actively in a number of regional and international organizations on forest policy, such as the EU, BENELUX, and International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). Belgium also participates actively to develop criteria and indicators for the sustainable management of forests in the Ministerial Conference for the Protection of European Forests. The Federal and Regional Governments carry out a number of programmes and projects in other countries on a bilateral basis,such as forest information systems with Morocco, and afforestation and forestry research projects in China. Special attention is given to countries with economies in transition.

Intergovernmental Panel on Forests Process (IPF)

IPF 2: Belgium has actively participated at the IPF-process in two ways:

- Participation to the co-ordination within the European Union;

- Participation to the IPF-meetings or intersessional activities of both the federal government and/or the regions :Several intersessional meetings (e.g. International Seminar on Criteria and Indicators, Helsinki 1996 ; meeting on eco-labelling of timber in Brisbane);

IPF sessions 3 and 4.

The relevant Belgian authorities have not yet evaluated the IPF-proposals for action in a systematic and co-ordinated way. This does not mean that there are no policy developments in the areas covered by the IPF proposals for action. Many of these items are well covered by already existing forest policy measures (e.g. national forest and land-use programmes, impact of airborne pollution on forests, forest research, forest assessment, criteria and indicators for SFM).

The implementation of other proposals for action is rather weak, e.g. international co-operation in the field of forestry. The Belgian support for international forest programmes stands in sharp contrast with the recent evolutions and policy both at the European level and in some neighbouring countries. In the colonial period Belgium had built up a strong expertise in forestry, especially in Congo. In the eighties the Belgian Ministry of Development Co-operation still supported several projects in forestry both on a bilateral basis, as well as multilaterally through the FAO. The most important ones were social and agroforestry projects in the Andes, in Central Africa and in Cape Verde. In the nineties however, the asssistance of the Ministry of Development Co-operation to forestry programmes and projects dropped sharply despite commitments at the Rio-summit. Budget restrictions and the fact that forestry was fully regionalised lead to the situation that the federal level reoriented its priorities while the regions remain somewhat hesitant to fully develop international co-operation with financial assistance and technology transfer.

The result is that at this very moment, there are hardly any forestry projects left in the ODA. Studies estimates that the total contribution of Belgium and the regions on international programmes related to forests, forestry and forest biodiversity is less than 50 million Belgian francs/year.

One of the main problems for the implementation of the IPF-proposals for action is the need to integrate all forest and forestry-related processes at the various institutional levels. This seems one of the major difficulties for many countries but is especially the case for Belgium with its rather complex state structure. However, most of the IPF-proposals for action that are limited to forest management as such are more or less implemented at the regional level.

For the forestry services the situation of policy development is fairly in line with the IPF-proposals for action. Some items of the IPF-proposals for action are less relevant for the Belgian situation (e.g. fragile ecosystems affected by desertification and drought; traditional forest-related knowledge).

New policy developments in the Flemish and Walloon region are to be situated in the context of the promotion of sustainable forest management by means of financial incentives (inheritance taxes) and the stimulation of co-operation between forest owners in order to maximise the scale and operation of forest activities.

* * *

This information was provided by the Government of Belgium to the fifth and Eighth Sessions of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Last Update: October1999.

Clickhere for the UN ECE Timber Data Base.

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FRESHWATER

Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies    

In Flanders, the Environment Department (LIN) is in charge of policy-making for drinking water, ground water, and fresh surface water quantity. Fresh surface water quality, including standards, is being covered by the Flemish Environment Agency (VMM). The Administration of Environment, Nature, Land and Water Management (AMINAL) is responsible for coordination, permits, inspection, quantitative aspects, and non-navigable watercourses. The Flemish Environment Holding company was created (51% public/49% private) to promote investments in the environment sector. Through its daughter AQUAFIN, supra-municipal infrastructure is being developed (wastewater treatment plants and collectors). There are 11 sub-river basin committees in charge of implementing integrated water policy under the coordination of the Flemish Consultative Committee for Integrated Water Policy. The Provincial level is responsible for permits for important industries, while municipalities manage municipal sewers.

The General Directorate for Natural Resources and Environment (DGRNE) is the competent authority enforcing Walloon water policy and legislation (permits for water abstraction and wastewater discharges, monitoring, control of water supply and waste water treatment companies, etc). DGRNE is also responsible for coordination, planning, and drinking water quality. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MET) is in charge of the management of navigable watercourses. The DGRNE, provinces, and municipalities are responsible for the management of different categories of non-navigable watercourses. Eight inter-communal companies operate urban wastewater treatment plants.

The Brussels Institute for Management of the Environment is the competent authority enforcing the water policy of the Brussels Region. It delivers and monitors environmental permits provided to industry, monitors the quality of watercourses, establishes the state of the environment including water resources and aquatic quality, plans waterworks and water policy, enhances and implements the process of data collection on water taxes, manages non-navigable watercourses, plans natural reserves including ponds, and coordinates international environmental issues. The Water Committee, bringing together the different bodies of the Brussels Region involved in water management, meets under ministerial chairmanship and cabinet coordination. The Administration of Infrastructure and Mobility (AED) is responsible for construction and operation of wastewater plants and collectors, flooding reservoirs, stormwater drains, and non-navigable watercourses.

The Port of Brussels handles the quantitative aspects of navigable watercourses. CIBE and IBDE are responsible for drinking water production and distribution respectively. At the inter-municipal level, the Collector Consultancy Center (CEC) is a consultancy for the construction, management, and maintenance of collectors and stormwater drains; and for integrated water policy points of action (rivers, collectors, sewers, flooding reservoirs, and four sub-river basin committees). Municipal sewers are managed at the municipal level.

In Flanders decision-making is rather decentralized. Policy-making in environmental matters takes place in various public bodies in charge of different sectors. Environment and water policy is integrated via programmes rather than by a centralized body. Policy options are formulated by the Flemish Government and enacted by the Flemish Parliament.

Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels are Parties to the International Conventions for the Protection of the Rivers Meuse and Scheldt, together with the Netherlands and France. Federal and Regional authorities participate in the activities of the International Convention for the Protection of the North Sea (PARCOM) and the North Sea

Conferences. Belgium is also a member of the Helsinki European Water Convention (UN Economic Commission, 1992) covering transboundary rivers and international lakes.

Water policy in Belgium follows the competence of the Flemish, Walloon, and Brussels Regions. This leads to Regional differentiation in the field of legislation, administration, and monitoring systems. Possible conflicts among regions are resolved through cooperation agreements. European and international legislation remains a common basis for water policy in all Regions. Quality and monitoring of fresh water, groundwater, and drinking water are based on Regional ministerial orders or decrees which implement European Union (EU) directives.

Water policy in Wallonia is based on the law on non-navigable water resources of December 28, 1967, the decree of October 7, 1985 (modified by the decrees of December 23, 1993 and March 7, 1996) for the protection of surface water, and on the decree of April 30, 1990 for the protection and use of groundwater and drinking water. In the Brussels Region, the law for the protection of groundwater against pollution was passed on March 26 1971; the law concerning water quality objectives for specific purposes was passed on May 24 1983; and the regional prescription on environmental permits came into effect on July 30 1993 (modified on November 23 1993). In addition, legislation was passed regarding integrated permits for the release of wastewater (Ordinance 30/07/92) and taxation of waste water (Ordinance 29/03/96). This legislation applies to industry and households in the Brussels Region. There is no specific legislation for agriculture. The construction programme for sewerage and wastewater treatment plants is covered by the Planning Decree of the Brussels Region. Decisions regarding legislation and investment are taken by the Regional Council based on proposals from the minister in charge of water policy. In all regions, the target for the production and distribution of drinking water is full cost recovery; and awareness campaigns are in effect to reduce water consumption by the public and industry.

Decision-Making: Strategies, Policies and Plans  

Water policy is an integrated part of the global environment policy of Flanders (Flemish Regulation for the Environment VLAREM I and II). This legislation applies to industry and households. The policy options are outlined in a Five Year Environment Policy Plan (MINA). Every two years, a State of the Environment Report (MIRA) is produced. An Environment Programme is issued each year. General Water Treatment Programmes (AWP) are being designed especially for surface water. Cost recovery for wastewater amounts to about 70%. There is a manure decree which applies to agriculture. For small consumers (below 500 m per year), a levy of Bfr 980 x 0.25/per unit pollution load applies. For larger consumers (above 500 m per year) the same levy per pollution load applies either to be multiplied by a conversion factor specific to the enterprise or based on analysis of the discharged wastewater. Drinking water supplies are under the authority of municipalities. However, most drinking water is supplied by five major companies. Total drinking water consumption in Flanders amounts to 439 million m³ per year (40% from surface water, 40% from groundwater, and 20% from the Walloon Region). About 82% of wastewater is collected through sewers, with 35% treated in wastewater treatment plants in 1994. This will increase to 60% by the year 2000. The wastewater treatment capacity of Flanders is 650,000 m³/day (1995). Flanders has entered the stage where pilot projects for recycling wastewater into drinking water will be initiated. Flanders aims to attain about 98% coverage for both water supply and sanitation.

The Walloon Environment Plan for Sustainable Development (PEDD), which incorporates an integrated approach based on close cooperation, was passed on March 9, 1995 setting guidelines for a Water Action Programme. The PEDD also introduced the principle of using actual water price. A levy was introduced on household wastewater (at present Bfr 16/m) and on industrial wastewater (at present Bfr 360/per unit of pollution load) by decree on April 30 1990. In the Walloon Region, about 400 million m³ of water are annually abstracted (320 million m³ of ground water and 80 million m³ of surface water) for the drinking water distribution network. Ninety public companies distribute 242 million m³ in Wallonia and 148 million m³ are supplied to the other two regions of Belgium. About 60% of urban wastewater is collected through sewers with 29% of it treated. This includes industrial wastewater without which the percentage drops to 21% (1995). Wastewater treatment capacity is 282,000 m/day (1995) with no recycling of treated urban wastewater. The installed water treatment capacity amounts to 1,800,000 for a population of 3,200,000 inhabitants. Walloon aims to attain 98% and 80% coverage for water supply and sanitation respectively.

In the Brussels Region, some aspects of integrated management have been formulated in the Regional Water Plan (1980) which defines water works, their location, and the shared financing by the Brussels Capital Region and Flanders. The cost of water is governed by the regional prescription of March 29, 1996 which introduced taxes on wastewater. This prescription aims at recovering at least part of the total cost of construction and operating wastewater treatment plants and collectors. All plans and legislative initiatives are submitted to the Environmental Commission for advice. All interests are represented on the Commission. For wastewater, the cost recovery amounts to about 30%. The following principles apply: a) for big industry, the calculation of taxes is based on an estimation of pollutant emissions, on measured discharges, or on pollution loading at the site; b) for industry with loadings under seven equivalent/inhabitants, the calculation of taxes is based on actual water consumption; c) for households, the calculation is based on data from drinking water distribution companies; and d) there are no specific measures for agriculture. The regional prescription of July 1 1993, regarding promotion of economic development, introduces the principle of water allocations.

One of the major objectives of the Brussels Region is the construction of adequate sewerage and wastewater treatment facilities. The Region has to take care of the quality of small watercourses, for example a section of the river Senne (a sub-basin of the river Scheldt) in the framework of regional programmes and international commitments. Frequent local flooding reflect water quantity problems. This will be resolved through the construction of reservoirs. The construction of the main water treatment plant with a 1.3 million m³ capacity for the northern part of the Region is foreseen by the year 2010. The regional government intends to call on private initiative for the construction and operation of this plant as well as the related collectors. The plant for the southern part of the Region (360,000 m³ ) is under construction.

No information is available

Status   

The main target groups for freshwater management in Flanders are households, agriculture, industry, transport, energy supply, and water supply. When major environmental decrees are launched, the Flemish Government provides a period of consultation for the general public prior to finalizing the decree and prior to its enactment by the Flemish Parliament. In the Wallonia Region, the various target groups (industry, agriculture, water companies, NGOs) are consulted through the Water Commission. The Region favours "river contracts", where all parties can contribute to achieving sustainable improvements to the condition of rivers. In the Brussels Region, the different target groups are consulted through the Committee for Environmental Affairs under the Water Programme. Industry is consulted through local sectoral professional associations. Both Flanders and Wallonia are trying to improve surface water quality in order to consume less groundwater.

Every inhabitant of Flanders gets a free supply of 15 m of tapwater per year. In Flanders and Wallonia, the least favoured groups of the population are exempt from paying water levies on wastewater. The least favoured groups of the population in the Brussels Region can fall back on social provisions and social institutions (CCPAS or municipal social assistance institutions).

In all regions, civil protection completes the overall coordination, in association with relevant authorities, for disaster prevention such as floods. Water distribution companies, municipalities, provincial authorities, and civil protection agencies are responsible for drought prevention.

Various agencies in the three regions collect water management and development data. In Flanders, VMM monitors water quality and levies on wastewater. Agricultural data is collected by the region, and the Flemish Land Company and Manure Bank (VLM-Vlaamse Landmaatschappij). In Wallonia, the Water Division of DGRNE collects the bulk of water information. Water distribution companies in both regions collect data on the household sector. Information is released in annual reports and increasingly on the INTERNET.

Challenges  

Various constraints to meeting objectives are listed by the regional governments. Maintaining a sustained level of investment is a difficulty faced by Flanders. The Wallonia Region expresses difficulty to reach water targets set for 2005. Both Flanders and Walloon Regions require a code of good practice for collectors and small scale treatment units. The main problem in the Brussels Region is the collection of sewage and consequent treatment of mixed waters (rivers, drainage of wet areas, capture of spring water). The whole sewage system will have to be reconsidered in view of the physical and biological treatment capacity at the wastewater treatment plant. This issue is related to the financial difficulties to sustain the cost of the investment for the urban Brussels Region.

No information is available

Financing  

The budget for drinking water companies in Flanders is estimated to exceed Bfr 20 billion per year. The investment and operating budget for water treatment and sewerage amounts to Bfr 10 billion per year. In 1996, supra-municipal investments amounted to Bfr 8.8 billion (Aquafin), while municipal investments (sewers) amounted to Bfr 1.0 billion. These figures apply to public investments only. The Walloon Region needs to spend Bfr 173 billion over the next 15 years to achieve universal water and sanitation coverage (Bfr 117 billion for sanitation, Bfr 10 billion for protection of catchment areas, Bfr 8 billion for high capacity water supply conducts, and Bfr 38 billion to modernize the water supply network including tackling the lead-issue). From the total cost for water management in 1997 (Bfr 7.5 billion), Bfr 4 billion came from water charges and Bfr 3.5 billion came from government subsidies. This includes sewerage, urban wastewater treatment, big water supply conducts, and protection of catchment areas. At the moment, a wastewater release tax of Bfr 16/m³ is raised. This tax will increase in the future as a consequence of internalizing all the cost components of water. The global budget for investment and operation of the water infrastructure in the Brussels Region amounts to Bfr 25 billion for the next ten years. Most is covered by the Regional budget, but some comes from collection of wastewater release taxes.

Cooperation  

Coordination among the Regions in the field of water policy occurs whenever a "Belgian" viewpoint needs to be communicated in a European or international fora. This coordination has been institutionalized by the creation of a Coordination Committee on International Environment Policy. This Committee meets bi-weekly and brings together those directly involved in the implementation of international environment policy. Different working or steering groups operate under the supervision of the Committee.

Belgium cooperates with the European Environment Agency, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the Global Environment Monitoring System of the United Nations Environment Programme. Flanders is party to the Flemish-Dutch Commission for Transboundary Non-navigable Watercourses.

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This information was provided by the Government of Belgium to the fifth and sixth sessions of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Last Update: January 1998.

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LAND MANAGEMENT

Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies    

In Belgium, the Regional Governments of Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels Capital City are each responsible for the integrated planning and management of land resources. The Regional Governments are the most competent authorities with respect to territorial planning. However, local authorities have certain important prerogatives in the context of participation and decentralization. The Regional Governments are carrying out a number of activities to manage land resources in a sustainable manner, including formulating appropriate policies, improving information systems, public awareness campaigns, and pilot projects.

Wallonia region:

The Wallonia region already has relatively powerful mechanisms for land management, which were even reinforced with the reform of the CWATUP. Besides in its first article, the code underlines the necessary coordination of policies: " the Region and the other public authorities, each one within the framework of its competencies and of coordination with the Area, are managers of the regional planning ". The Region thus exerts a control of supervision on the decisions at the local level. Moreover, the coordination is facilitated thanks to the establishment of SDER. In addition, a lower-level plan cannot derogate, but for exceptions, from a higher-level plan. This ensures consistency in decision-making.

The Wallonia Code on land use, town planning, and regional planning organizes delegation of responsibility in this matter. Indeed, on a voluntary basis, a commune can accede to a regime of decentralization that enables it to grant the permits to build and to parcel out. This faculty is subject to certain conditions: the commune must be covered by a plan of sector, to have constituted a communal advisory commission of regional planning, to have carried out a communal structure diagram and to have enacted a local town planning regulation. Nevertheless this ‘delegation’ must not be in contradiction with the general land planning policy. Currently 25 communes out of 262 benefit from the decentralization regime.

The decree's on land planning and on town and country planning and the existing land use plans encourages the biodiversity by protecting the territories of the region allocated to nature and forest. The recent decree on nature is geared towards the protection of biodiversity and nature in the non nature-areas. The fresh water resources are legally protected by the decree on town and country planning (indicating water capture zones on the land use plans) , and the decree on the protection of drinking water (specific protection of the water capture zones).

Wallonia region:

There are regulatory and market-based measures. Economic measurements are direct and indirect. Indirect because the granting of subsidies is systematically subordinated to the observance of the regulations in force. Direct when it concerns a project benefiting from a subsidy in collaboration with the European Union.

There are also new financial tools. For instance, the revitalization of urban centres and the valorization of the cultural heritage benefit from land and financial measurements such as the right of pre-emption and the funds for operational management.

Decision-Making: Strategies, Policies and Plans  

The evolutionary options of Regional policies concern the management of land resources in the following ways: define territorial planning and infrastructural zones and their relationships; define town and village planning, in order to reinforce the density of urban areas and obtain more urban and rural specificity; organize parsimonious management of soil and natural resources while allowing for harmonious lifestyle development; and propose the location of transport infrastructure, a hierarchy of transport modes, and the implementation of complementarity between them. Education and training on integrated approaches to land management, institutional strengthening, and strengthening of technological capacities are important activities which are not being implemented by all Regional Governments.

Flemish region:

This year the Flemish parliament approved a new law on town and country planning. The law on land planning is incorporated in it and the pursuit of a land policy supporting a sustainable development is reinforced. Local and intermediate authorities are given more responsibilities while ensuring unequivocal application and respect for the higher levels. For a more dynamic spatial planning, steering the spatial development and integrating social evolutions, structure plans will be evaluated and adapted within a period of five years, if necessary. The first evaluation of the Land Master Plan for Flanders is being prepared. A master plan is a policy plan, providing a frame for the preparation, assessment and execution of decisions with impact on land use. For the realisation of the desired land structure, various instruments will be used, such as zoning and layout plans or instruments of sectoral policies such as environment, economy or mobility.

The changes of existing zoning plans are being evaluated on their consistency with the Land Master Plan for Flanders. For the realisation of the Land Master Plan for Flanders, several plans and documents are being studied and prepared, such as marking out the natural structure, the agricultural structure and the urban areas of regional importance. For the realisation of the new policy on land planning and evaluation of requests for building permits, orders implementing the new law are being prepared for the near future.

The Land Master Plan for Flanders contains essential options for land development in Flanders. It is based on the existing land structure, on the trends in use of space and on the future needs of the various social activities. A long-term vision on land development in Flanders is formulated, as well as aims and land planning principles and the desired land structure for the structural components, based on an equal and simultaneous balance of the social activities. Finally, binding tasks and boundary conditions are formulated for the realisation of the desired land structure for the different authorities in Flanders.

The plan, which is pursuing a sustainable land development, chooses for land planning based on carrying capacity and land quality. Developments perceived as negative (strongly built landscape and loss of distinction between urban and rural areas), are counteracted by pursuing openness and concentrated urban areas.

It also contains essential options for land development in Flanders. It is based on the existing land structure, on the trends in use of space and on the future needs of the various social activities. A long-term vision on land development in Flanders is formulated, as well as aims and land planning principles and the desired land structure for the structural components, based on an equal and simultaneous balance of the social activities. Finally, binding tasks and boundary conditions are formulated for the realisation of the desired land structure for the different authorities in Flanders.

The vision on the land development of Flanders is concretized by four principles. The first principle is deconcentrated clustering. This implicates a selective concentration of living, working and other social functions in the urban areas and in the centres located in the countryside, taking into account the existing scattered pattern of functions and the dynamism of the functions. The second principle states the physical system as backbone. The physical system is the sum of properties, processes and mutual relationships between, climate, air soil and water. It has structuring influence on the natural structure, the agricultural structure, the settlement structure and the landscape. Important structural components for Flanders are the network of river and stream valleys and the continuous open areas in the countryside and the corridors between them. The third principle is about gateways as driving force for development. The gateways for Flanders are the harbours of Antwerpen, Gent, Zeebrugge and Oostende, as well as the internationally oriented multimodal logistic parks, the HST-station in Antwerpen (and Brussel) and the international airport in Zaventem. Because of their existing or potential position in an international context, these gateways are a driving force for economic development in Flanders. The fourth principle is about infrastructure as binding element and as basis for the location of activities. The mainly existing system of rail, waterway and highway infrastructure links urban areas with each other and with urban areas outside Flanders. This system forms the basis for a location policy, so that the mobility profile of each activity is tuned to the profile of accessibility of the place.

Based on this vision and principles, the desired land structure for Flanders has been developed by following four structural land components: the urban areas and networks, the countryside, the areas for economic activities and the line infrastructures.

Wallonia region:

The country has developed a national policy on integrated land management. It materialized through:

1994: environmental planning document.

1995: environment and sustainable development plan and its evaluation in 1999.

1997: revision of the Walloon Code of the Regional planning, Town Planning and Cultural Heritage (CWATUP).

1999: Adoption by the Walloon government of a Regional Land Development Plan.

1999: Adoption of a decree creating the single permit, including in a single procedure all the environmental authorizations and, if necessary authorizations within the competence of town planning.

The best definition of the policy objectives lies in the first article of the CWATUP: " The territory of the Walloon Area is a common heritage of its inhabitants. The Region and the other public authorities, each one within the framework of its competencies and in coordination with the Region, are managers of the regional planning. They meet in a durable way the social, economic, patrimonial and environmental needs for the community by the qualitative management of the living environment, by the parsimonious use of the land and its resources and by the conservation and the development of the cultural, natural and landscape heritage".  

SDER makes it possible to establish the general orientations for our region. The CWATUP for its part structures and organizes the land management. Various schemes and plans, and their developments via a broad dialogue of all actors already reduce the risk of conflicts. The Region will regulate the management of remaining conflicts.

The concept of biodiversity is relatively recent. Its objective is to integrate the concerns of safeguarding species, populations, ecosystems... in all the human activities affecting the territory and to take account of it on the whole territory of the Walloon Region. To achieve these goals, a first 5-year action plan is under development. It will be based on the concept of ecological networking. It has three levels for concrete action: the core zones (playing the role of reserves), development areas (buffer role), and connection zones (rest of the territory).

Fresh water resources have received particular political attention in the Walloon Area. In this matter, the public authorities are attentive to protect the catchment zones, by avoiding the granting of building permits for constructions whose operation is not compatible with water catchment. These problems will undergo very detailed scrutiny as part of the elaboration of the land management plans.

The CWATUP defines the zones that are allocated or not for urbanization. The intention here is to safeguard open areas in particular by restricting or even banning the extension of urbanization. The code also envisages an impact study in the event of a modification in planning. The environment permit allows to take into account all the consequences. In addition, the various plans already integrate the various zones and their possible assignments.

Decision-Making: Major Groups Involvement   

The former and the recently approved new law on town and country planning provide for the establishment of regional, provincial and municipal committees on town and country planning in which representatives of major groups, local communities and citizens are represented. These committees have to guarantee the participation of major groups, local communities and citizens in the decision making on land use and management. Moreover, individuals and groups, both on regional and on local level can make objections on zoning and layout plans during the legal procedure of public investigation of these plans. The above-mentioned committees gather the objections of individuals and groups as formulated during the’ public investigation’.

Flemish region:

All the concerned communities and rural dwellers are involved in the decision-making on land use and management by the foreseen legal procedures of the different decrees.

In addition to the Regional Land Master Plan for Flanders, the same kind of Land Master Plan will be made on provincial and on municipal levels. Each has his own scope, as defined in the Land Master Plan for Flanders. The provinces are working on their plans, as are several towns. A few towns already have a municipal land master plan, approved by the Flemish government. The principle of subsidiarity is essential in the division of tasks, the cooperation and the relations between the three administrative levels.

Wallonia region:

Active participation is a reality at all levels. Consultations or public investigation are regularly used. Thus the SDER was submitted to the opinion of the Walloon population, but also of all the governmental actors concerned and the local communities.

Other examples: the Communal Advisory Commissions of Regional Planning (CCAT), which allows a real and concrete participation at the level of the local communities. The commitment to the right to information should also be underlined.

Programmes and Projects   

The Flemish Environmental Policy Plan (MINA Plan) proposes to create 3 000 hectares of forest reserve by 2002; the forestry sector is one of the target groups of the plan, which also proposes to formulate and implement a forestry action plan. In addition, the Flemish Government expects to convert, by 2002, 10 000 hectares of agricultural land into forest under the provisions of EU regulation 2080/92 which provides subsidies to that end.

In Flanders, the quantitative objective of designating 3 000 hectares of forest reserve is likely to be met by 2002 as about half that area has already been covered. On the other hand, it appears unlikely that the objective of converting 10 000 hectares of agricultural land to forestry by 2001 will be reached as, for various reasons, farmers have showed little enthusiasm for the programme so far; as of late 1997, the programme was being reviewed to make it more attractive. A "code for responsible forestry" is in preparation in Flanders. To overcome the fragmentation problem, forest groupings with a common management plan are promoted in Flanders. The forestry sector is a stakeholder target group in the Flemish Environmental Policy Plan (MINA Plan), but the Plan does not say anything about the expectations put on the group to achieve its objectives.

Wallonia region:

The various tools and programme of practical application of the policy have been described above. It would be too long to develop their activities in detail. Nevertheless, here follows an illustrative example:

The first is the environment permit, introduced in March 1999, which aims at integrated management, and which makes it possible to issue, in a single procedure, an environment permit that includes all the pollution vectors and all the necessary environmental authorizations. Moreover, for building permits, dialogue between administrations will lead to a single permit. It is indeed an integrated approach since all the aspects are dealt with. Thus, installation allows zones assignment taking into account all the possible repercussions: protection of the water collecting zones, protection of remarkable zones (tourism, heritage, nature conservation...), definitions of zones for industrial matters according to their situation in terms of the habitat, the road network.… The Wallonia region made some considerable achievements in ten following areas:

• Food security (e.g. the right of every citizen to have access to safe food and nutrition and enhancement of the agriculture production potential of lands to meet these needs).

• Rural development (e.g. rural employment and income generation opportunities, local participation, tenure security etc.).

• Viability of rural areas (e.g. reduced migration to urban areas, preservation of rural landscapes, promotion of eco-tourism in rural areas etc.)
• Environmental aspects (e.g. minimization of negative environmental impact of human-induced activities such as unsustainable agriculture practices on marginal lands, regulation of productive land and urban land use zoning and enhancement of positive impact on the environment through better land use and management practices).

• Social aspects (e.g. increased public awareness/common vision of sustainability issues, promotion of participation of a wide range of stakeholders, improved societal position of natural resource users).

Status 

Flemish region:

Formally a Flemish integrated land policy aimed at reinforcing a sustainable development started with the new law on country and town planning of 1996. This led to the approval of the land master plan for Flanders in 1997. In 1999, the Flemish government and the Flemish parliament approved a new law on town and country planning, incorporating the one on land planning and aimed at improving subsidiarity, transparency, dynamism and consistency.

The expansion of human settlements is fairly restricted and under control in the actual spatial planning processes, in favour of the protection of the open space, landscape and wetlands. The forest decree and the coastal area decree are other tools for the conservation and protection of forest and coastal areas. By means of the new decrees on land planning and on town and country planning, the best possible land use and sustainable management of land resources is better assured than ever before. The recently modified forest decree prohibits the transformation of forestland into all other use. Land ownership and tenure rights are fairly ensured. Ownership and tenure rights are fully ensured by national legislation.

The interactions between the social policy and the land use policy in the Flemish region are underlined by a number of priorities in the implementation of the Land Master Plan for Flanders. This policy document states that with regard to the qualitative realisation of the needs in housing in the implementation plans priority will go to social housing, which has to be stimulated by projects in the existing housing areas.

To support the realisation of this goal the government is given a number of instruments. One of these instruments is the ‘priority right on buying properties’ for the public authorities which exists within certain areas of the city centers. With this instrument speculation and dilapidation of houses can be countered and the quality of living in these areas can be preserved or even reinforced.

The expansion with new areas for housing in the implementation of the land planning regulation in Flanders is exclusively reserved for social housing projects. In this way, opportunities are offered to those categories of the population that would find themselves in a difficult situation when depending on the private housing market. 

THE ACTUAL POLICY MEASURES ON HAZARDOUS WASTE

Belgian hazardous waste management rules are consistent with international legal instruments to which Belgium is a party and with relevant EU directives, notably those concerning the shipment of waste within, into and out of the EU, hazardous waste, used oils, PCBs – PCTs, batteries, animal waste and the incineration of hazardous waste. Transporters and operators of treatment facilities are required to have a licence before being allowed to work; a separate permit must be obtained for each facility. Landfilling of non-treated hazardous waste is only permitted if the waste complies with the severe acceptance criteria of authorised landfills. Flanders has limited the number of Category 1 landfills for pre-treated hazardous waste and non-hazardous inorganic waste to one per province. Environmental taxes on landfilling and disposal by incineration of waste are used to encourage prevention and recovery.

REHABILITATION OF CONTAMINATED SITES

Wallonia’s 1996 Waste Decree creates a regime for the rehabilitation of closed landfills and other waste treatment sites; other types of contaminated sites are dealt with under more general legislation relating to old industrial sites. The regional waste management plan proposes to resolve all historical problems by 2010. Most of the almost 9000 illegal waste dumps identified in Wallonia in 1980 have either been cleaned up or declared not tot require remedial action, but some 782 contaminated sites still require attention; of these, 138 sites have been rehabilitated and 132 were being rehabilitated as of April 1987.

The 1995 Flemish decree relating to rehabilitation of contaminated soils is intended to prevent new contamination and remedy historical soil pollution; it prescribes procedures for soil decontamination, requires a register of polluted soils to be drawn up (by 1997, 7000 sites had been registered and investigated) and establishes an innovative liability regime. Certain types of classified activities and installations, which potentially could cause soil pollution (e.g. tanneries, wood preservation firms), are obliged to carry out soil investigations at regular intervals. A clear distinction has been made between historical and new pollution. New pollution has to be cleaned up immediately. The intention is to solve the historical soil contamination problem over a period of 40 years i.e. by 2036; it is estimated that this will require an annual expenditure of BF 7 billion, of which BF 1,5 – 2 billion for orphan sites.

Wallonia region:

Regional planning is a regional competency. The action in this field is multi-faceted, but it is mainly being carried out pursuant to the Wallonia Code of the Regional planning, Town planning and Inheritance (CWATUP). The latter was profoundly revised in 1997. This revision reinforces the will for a sustainable development: " the Region and the other public authorities (...) meet in a durable way the social, economic, patrimonial and environmental needs for the community (...)".

From this point of view, the Wallonia Government in 1999 adopted a document of orientation: it is about the Scheme of Development of Regional Space (SDER). This one certainly does not have legal force but has the merit of defining a project as well as a strategy for development.

There are also Communal Master Plans (SSC). They allot to the communes more autonomy and responsibilities in terms of regional planning since they give them access to a decentralized regime. Like SDER, the SSC is a orientation document.

Concurrently to these schemes with orientation value, we find plans which have legal force and which supplement the provisions already envisaged in the CWATUP. First of all the plans of sector which are downstream from SDER. They specify the various destinations of the territories concerned. Their revision (their development dates back to the seventies) is envisaged and will have to reinforce the land structure, to manage the territory with parsimony, to aim at sustainable development, and to integrate the environmental approach. The Communal Land use Plans (PCA, Plans Communaux d’Aménagement) determine zones for a part of or the whole commune.

Finally there are licences to parcel out which determine the assignment of the parcels as well as the conditions for granting building permits in its perimeter.

The CWATUP also defines legal tools, the town planning regional regulations and the communal town planning regulations that supplement them and are then connected to the urbanistic and architectural regulations rather than the destination of the land. Concerning the authorizations themselves, they are of two types: permits to build and permits to parcel out. The latter being already clarified above, we will specify that the permit to build is required for any construction, demolition, transformation, etc. ...

The forest surface is being maintained at its current level. In addition to the respect of the land management plans, it is necessary to obtain a deforestation permit in the case of a final deforestation in an area considered to be a habitat.

Brussels region:

The Brussels region is an essentially urbanized area, where urban policies are relevant and not so much land resources policies.  

No information is available

Information   

There is sufficient access to all the information necessary for making sound decisions. This information is disseminated at the local level by means of maps and texts on the different subjects. The different land inventories are performed with the most recent and appropriate techniques: satellite image processing and aerial photograph surveys. Existing maps are digitalised and put into a geographic information system.

The regional governments have all developed sufficient and adequate indicators on integrated land management and sustainable use of land resources.

Wallonia region:

The report on the State of the Wallonia Environment makes it possible to evaluate the evolution of land allocation. In the near future, indicators for our region will be applied, which will allow an even more effective follow-up. A lot of data are available, some of which are included in maps and atlases. Nevertheless, there is a need for continuing the inventories and research. The collaboration of the National Institute of Statistics (INS) is necessary. Menawhile, The evolution of land allocation can be followed in the reports on the State of the Walloon Environment. The adoption of indicators for our area will allow an even more effective follow-up.

The State of the Wallonia Environment is widely publicized (some reports are on the Internet at " http://mrw.wallonie.be/dgrne/    "). The future indicators, once worked out with the assistance of the Center of Studies for the Sustainable Development of the Institute of Environmental Management and Regional planning (IGEAT) of the Université Libre de Bruxelles, will make it possible for all the actors to have access to reliable and useful data. There are, inter alia, indicators on: pressure from urban centres, the number of applications for permits in the Wallonia Region, evolution of the physical occupation of the land, etc... It is currently possible to obtain some information on the web site of the Directorate General for Land use, Housing, and Cultural Heritage:"  http://mrw.wallonie.be/dgatlp/dgatlp/ ". 

Research and Technologies  

Wallonia Region:

The administration of the Land register makes it possible to follow the evolution of the property situation. A land occupation map was worked out in 1989 but its scale made it difficult to read. Communal Numerical Photographic Plans are being carried out. There are also "orthophotoplans", based on aerial pictures. 

Financing  

The Belgian Agency for Development Cooperation (BADC) has contributed Bfr 24 million (US$ 720,000) for the establishment of a remote sensing centre under the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Research. The Federal Government has also co-financed a project on aerial photography in Cambodia costing Bfr 16.5 million (US$ 500,000).

In Flanders, regional expenditure on nature conservation has risen significantly in recent years; in 1997, the allocation (from the administrative budget and the MINA Fund) amounted to BF 2 123 million; BF 867 million of this was for land acquisition and BF 200 million on subsidies for local nature development plans. In addition, BF 104 million was spent over the five-year period up to 1996 on forestry subsidies. In addition, subsidies are available to private forest owners who provide public access to their properties; as of October 1997, a forestry action plan setting out the region’s forestry objectives was in preparation.

Cooperation  

The Regional Governments participate in a number of European initiatives, such as the elaboration of a framework for the development of the European Area. They participate in a number of inter-regional projects within the framework of the European region and have cooperative agreements with the cities of Berlin and Beijing.

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This information was provided by the Government of Belgium to the Fifth and Eighth Sessions of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Last Update: September 1999.

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MOUNTAINS

No information available.

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OCEANS AND COASTAL AREAS

Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies    

The Federal and Regional Governments share responsibilities for ensuring integrated planning and implementation of Belgium's National Policy on Oceans.

The Federal Ministry and the Flemish Region share the responsibility for integrated coastal zone management. A co-operation agreement is in preparation. The Federal Ministry is represented by the Management Unit of the Mathematical Model of the North Sea (MUMM) which is the Management of the Marine Ecosystem Department of the Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences, Federal Office for Scientific, Technical and Cultural Affairs. The activities of the Flemish Region are undertaken by the Nature Division of the Environment, Nature, Land and Water Management Administration (AMINAL), and the Water Infrastructure and Sea Division of the Ministry of the Flemish Community.

The responsibility for marine environment protection from land –based activities is shared by the Federal Government and the three Regions: Flemish Region, Brussels Region (Brussel’s Institute for Environmental Management, IBGE-BIM) and Walloon Region (General Direction for Natural Resources and the Environment, DGRNE). The responsible body for the marine environment protection from sea-based activities is the Federal Ministry.

Sustainable use and conservation of marine living resources is the responsibility of the Fisheries Sector of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture .

For the overall co-ordination of environmental matters, an Inter-ministerial Commission for Environment has been set up. The international activities are co-ordinated under this commission, at the level of officials, by a Co-ordination Committee on International Environmental Policy, in the framework of which a Steering Group on the North Sea and Oceans is working. A Steering Group on Nature Conservation, which is competent for the protection of marine species and habitats, works within this framework. The integrated coastal zone management issues are discussed in a inter-ministerial steering group in which are represented: the Federal State Secretary of Environment, the Flemish Minister of Environment, the Flemish Minister of Public Works, Transport and Town and Country Planning and their administrations, the Province of Western Flanders, MUMM, AMINAL, AWZ-Waterways Coast Division (competent for coastal protection and harbours), AROHM-Spatial Planning Division and the Institute of Nature Conservation.

Moreover, a co-operation agreement between the Belgian State and the Flemish Region on the preservation of the North Sea against environmental effects from the dumping of dredging material was signed on 12 June 1990. A working group of officials has been established within this framework.

The dialogue between the Federal authorities and the Regional Governments has improved considerably as the sea contamination from land-based sources is one of the major policy issues, and most of the related actions are responsibilities of the Regions.

Belgium ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on 13 November1998.

The precautionary approach is the leading principle on which Belgium bases its commitments. Belgium fulfils its obligations related to marine environment and the sustainable use and conservation of marine living resources within the frameworks of various global and regional conventions, and the European Union (EU).

The Belgian policy relating to the North Sea aims at a full enforcement of the commitments taken within the international framework related to marine affairs. This international framework forms the basis for a new Law concerning the Protection of the North Sea which is being prepared by the Federal Ministry responsible for marine environmental protection. It will provide for:

• an obligation for all users of the marine environment to take account of the principles of prevention, precautionary approach, sustainable management, compensation for damage; and polluter-pays obligation;
• the creation of marine protected areas of five possible types;
• the effective protection of a number of species;
• the prohibition of introduction of alien species or genetically modified organisms;
• ship traffic schemes to preserve protected areas;
• contingency planning for accidental pollution as well as a regime of compensation and restoration;
• a procedure of environmental impact statements and studies for activities subject to a licence or authorisation;
• enforcement through a reinforced control and high penalties.

The Flemish Government has designated an important part of the coastal dunes and of the salt marshes along the Belgian coast as special protection zones in the framework of the European Bird Directive. The Decrees on the Protection of Coastal Dunes of 14 July 1993, 21 December 1994 and 29 November 1995 designated 1,100 hectares as protected dune areas or agricultural areas of importance for the dunes. The Proposal of the Candidate-SAC’s includes all important salt-marsh and dune-areas along the Belgian coast. It was approved by the Flemish government on 14 February 1996 in execution of the EU Habitat Directive.

A major Law on the Protection of the Marine Environment is approved by the Government and currently under discussion at the Parliament. This will form the legal basis for several intended actions like the setting up of marine natural reserves. The Law on Product Norms was adopted by the Government on 25 July 1998, and it is submitted to the Parliament for adoption. This bill has the following aims: to provide a solid legal foundation for an integrated, sustainability-directed product policy with an eye to protecting the human environment and public health; to offer a legal basis for an easy conversion of the EU Directives on Hazardous Substances, hazardous preparations, pesticides and packaging; and to encourage a product policy that is aimed at the promotion of sustainable products and consumption patterns. A conditional permit and licensing system is in place for the dumping of dredged material. An extended legislation on environmental permits in the three Regions covers also most of the land-based activities.

CODES OF PRACTICE

Codes of practice have been established both by the government, for example the Codes of Good Agricultural Practices which are mandatory only in vulnerable areas; and by industry, for example Responsible Care established by the chemical industry.

The guidelines, called the Ecosystem-Perspective for the Flemish Coast, were elaborated under supervision of the AMINAL-Nature Division of the Ministry of the Flemish Community for the management and sustainable use of sandy beaches, dunes and salt marshes along the Belgian coast, starting from an inventory of the scientific knowledge about these ecosystems.

The development of Best Environmental Practice (BEP) concerning dredging activities was approved by the OSPAR Commission in 1993.

FINANCIAL INCENTIVES

Belgium has a number of eco-taxes to reduce polluting effluents and to promote investments in environmentally sound technology.

Decision-Making: Strategies, Policies and Plans  

The Flemish Region has established its Environmental Policy Plan 1997-2001 that covers several items such as the implementation of the Third North Sea Conference in relation to dangerous substances, the inventory of the fauna of the coastal sandbanks, a restoration plan for coastal dunes, the restoration of intertidal mudflats and the development of an intertidal sea inlet.

Decision-Making: Major Groups Involvement   

Most of the major groups are very well organised, and they have permanent access to activities within the frameworks of OSPAR and North Sea Conferences. At the national level, regular ad-hoc contacts take place on request. For example, the industry associations and official organisations of fishermen, representing mainly small-scale artisanal fishermen, participate in an advisory capacity in the national processes.

No information is available

Status   

The major uses of the coastal areas in Belgium are tourism, fishing, mining (sand and gravel), and shipping and harbour development.

The primary sources of land-based pollution are industry, municipal waste waters and agriculture. One of the major achievements of industry and public sewerage sectors is that there are no direct discharges any more. The primary sources of sea-based pollution are the oil discharges from ships and litter.

Fishing represents 0.04 percent (landings/GIP) of the national economy. The methods to encourage sustainable fishing are in place in the European Common Fishery Policy. There are no Belgian vessels fishing on the High Seas.

In order to investigate the human activities and their negative impact on the environment of the ecologically most valuable part of the marine area, a LIFE-Nature project (covering also the terrestrial part of the area) was set up in 1997. The project, co-funded by the EC, is carried out by the Flemish and Federal administrations and two NGOs. Furthermore, the administrations competent for the environment, for the coastal defence and harbour-management, town and country planning, and tourism (sub-regional agency) collaborated to examine environmental and spatial consequences of public works and tourist activities in the coastal area.

Belgium completed a programme for a fifty percent reduction of 36 hazardous substances (metals, solvents, pesticides, dioxines) in the North Sea between 1985-1995.

Since 1991, MUMM has been organising aerial surveillance. The Belgian Marine Environmental Control Programme (BELMEC) has two main aims: the detection and evaluation of marine pollution by ships which is not only useful to detect illegal polluters or to assist in combating the pollution resulting from an accident. It seems also to be the best method to evaluate an order of magnitude of the pollution from this source. A general surveillance of the marine area by observing oceanographic, ecological and biological phenomena as well as the human activities is also undertaken.

Belgium has an intensive monitoring and research program, including up to 200 working days at sea per year. The present program lasts for five years (1997-2001) and forms a scientific support for the marine environmental policy of the government. The Federal Government funds a number of research and monitoring projects dealing with the sustainable management of the North Sea and the conservation of natural values of the marine environment. Furthermore, the Federal Government provides access to and use of an oceanographic vessel (BELGICA) for research and monitoring projects of universities and other institutions.

Other major activities include the following: preparation of an emergency plan in case of maritime accident; update of inventories on the fluxes of substances towards the North Sea; treatment of waste water; installation of black boxes in dredgers (for sand and gravel exploitation); and the creation of marine and semi-terrestrial (beaches, mudflats, salt marshes, dunes, etc) coastal nature reserves and the development of the corresponding management plans.

The main constraints to implementing effective programmes to address ocean affairs are the following: at the national level, there is a non-balance between manpower available and the timeframe needed for consultation with all the concerned parties. At the international level, there are difficulties in establishing clear practical priorities and with the trend in developing new measures without paying enough attention to the effective implementation of the existing ones.

No information is available

Capacity-building, Education, Training and Awareness-raising   

Belgium participates in the training and exchange of expert programmes organised by the European Commission in the field of counter-pollution measures at sea. These programmes have proved to be a valuable learning ground. Sharing experiences between the neighbouring countries has improved international co-operation.

Awareness-raising events related to sustainable coastal management are organised in the framework of the current LIFE-Nature programme.

A major exhibition on sustainable development is currently taking place at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. Important sections are devoted to the oceans, the coastal zone and the estuaries.

Financing  

The sector of oceans and seas is financed by public budgets at Federal, Regional and European levels.

Cooperation  

In addition to the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Belgium is party to the following international or regional marine related conventions:

• Convention on Intervention on the High Seas in cases of Oil Pollution Casualties (INTERVENTION), 1969;
• Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention), 1971;
• Convention on Civil Liability in Maritime Carriage of Nuclear Material, 1971;
• Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (London Convention 1972, amended by the 1996 Protocol);
• International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modifid (MARPOL 73/78), including the Protocol on Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Chemical Pollution Casualties;
• CITES, 1973;
• Convention on the Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (LLMC), 1976;
• Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, 1979;
• Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, 1979;
• Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), 1980;
• Convention for the Conservation of Salmon in the North Atlantic Ocean (NASCO), 1982;
• Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (in progress);
• The Bonn Agreement 1983;
• International Conferences on the Protection of the North Sea (Bremen 1984, London 1987, The Hague 1990, Copenhagen 1993, Esbjerg 1995, Bergen 1997);
• International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response, and Co-operation (OPRC 1990) (not ratified);
• Convention on Biological Diversity, 1992;
• Convention on the Protection of the North-East Atlantic Marine Environment (OSPAR), 1992; and
• Agreement for Co-operation in dealing with Pollution if the North Sea by Oil and other Hazardous Substances (1983/89).

Belgium submits a number of projects to the European Union (EU) for funding. Belgium participates actively in the regional conventions such as OSPAR, International Conferences on the Protection of the North Sea, and the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP). It also participates in the European Environment and Climate and Marine Sciences and Technologies (MAST) research programmes.

* * *

This information was provided by the Government of Belgium to the 5^th and 7^th sessions of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Last Update: January 1999.

To access the Web Site of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, click here:

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TOXIC CHEMICALS

Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies    

In Belgium, there is a Coordinating Committee on International Environmental Policies (CCIEP), which has a number of working groups acting as negotiating fora between the various Federal and Regional Ministries involved. Political decisions are approved at ministerial level by the Interministerial Commission for the Environment. Belgium's activities within the six Agenda 21 programme areas for toxic chemical management are, in the first place, developed in the context of the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS) and are, for the most part, completed within the framework provided by the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

For risk reduction programmes, Belgium participates in the work undertaken at EU and OECD (Ad Hoc Group on Risk Reduction). In addition, a number of working parties under CCIEP closely monitor environmental problems: a working party on Risk Reduction, for example, is part of the larger umbrella group on Dangerous Products and Chemical Risks. Another initiative proposes a draft law imposing product standards to protect health and the environment. Once enacted, these provisions should make it possible to mount a quick and efficient response, both preventive and curative, to any harmful substance.

Belgium takes part in the assessment of risks caused by existing chemicals within the framework of the EU and OECD's High Production Volume programme. This involved, inter alia, the establishment of a group consisting of experts from various universities, scientific institutes, and the scientific and administrative units of government agencies. In the context of the Concise International Chemical Assessment Documents (CICAD), Belgium organized and co-financed one of the meetings held in Brussels.

Belgium engages in harmonization of classification and labelling of chemical substances as a member of the Senior Officials Group of the EU and the Advisory Group on Harmonization of Classification and Labelling Systems of the OECD. It shoulders the responsibility, with other members, for clarifying long-term toxicity criteria. With regard to the future international instrument for the implementation of relevant rules, Belgium believes that the strictest possible obligation should be applied rather than a non-committal choice, otherwise this objective of Agenda 21 will not be attained.

The London Guidelines for the Exchange of Information on Chemicals in International Trade and the procedures relating to the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) are implemented within the relevant EU rules and regulations. In addition, Belgium organized and financed the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee charged with the task of establishing a legally binding instrument for the implementation of the PIC procedure in Brussels in March 1996.

No information is available

Decision-Making: Major Groups Involvement   

Federal Departments of Health, Employment, Environmental Affairs, Economic Affairs, Transport, Regional Environmental Units, and industry (particularly the Federation of Chemical Industries) are the major groups involved in decision making with respect to toxic chemicals.

No information is available

Information   

In 1996, a study called "Crossroads Bank" was initiated with the primary aim to make an inventory of available information and the needs for information about chemicals (environmental affairs, public health, health of workers, intoxications, accidents, etc.). The initiative is in the context of the Global Information Network on Chemicals (GINC) of the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS). Belgium participates in the work of the OECD/United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Group on Information Management. Issues related to capacity building include extending staff, getting expertise from universities and scientific institutions, and establishing technical interdepartmental working parties.

No information is available

Financing  

Belgium finances or co-finances some international initiatives. The country is considering introducing a system of fees to be paid by persons responsible for marketing dangerous substances or preparations. The proceeds are intended to contribute towards the costs of the Risk Control Division of the Ministry of the Environment.

Cooperation  

In terms of preventing international illegal trade in dangerous products, Belgium believes that measures should be considered, such as export notification requirements, phase-out mechanisms, and framework provisions for the possible adoption of protocols on further measures. Countries should seize the opportunity offered by the negotiations on the binding PIC instrument to ensure that it is sufficiently forward looking and provides a flexible legal framework capable of responding to new needs and challenges as they arise. This will avoid having to go through a whole treaty-making process again. Belgium takes part in international cooperative efforts mainly through the EU. It also participates in relevant actions initiated by OECD, IFCS, and UNEP. It supports the coordination efforts of the Interorganization Management Committee (IOMC).

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This information was provided by the Government of Belgium to the fifth session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Last Update: April 1997.

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WASTE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

Solid Waste and Sanitation

Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies    

In Belgium, Regional Governments are responsible for waste management policies. The transit of waste through Belgium and some prevention policies (product norms, eco-taxes, etc.) are within the competence of the Federal Government.

The first priority of the Regions has been the adoption of a series of general legislative measures establishing the legal framework for the waste management policy. An important precondition was the establishment of a sustainable legal framework of basic definitions and concepts as well as the incorporation of the European Union (EU) definitions of waste and hazardous waste and their respective lists.

Decision-Making: Strategies, Policies and Plans  

The general objective of waste management policies is to ensure a high degree of environmental protection, taking into account economic and social costs with a view to promote sustainable development. Therefore, the key objective of Belgian's waste policies, which are based on the precautionary and prevention principles, is to prevent the generation of waste and to reduce the content of hazardous materials in waste. Prevention has led to the adoption of new instruments such as eco-taxes on products, promotion of clean technologies and products, and actions on consumer information and education. Prevention of waste is also the priority of the Federal Government which will adopt instruments such as the eco-label scheme and Product Norms regulation aimed at reducing the content of hazardous materials in waste. Recovery of waste is the second priority of any sustainable waste management policy and has to be considered in its triple dimension: reuse, recycling, and energy recovery. Until scientific progress is made and life cycle analyses are further developed on recovery operations, reuse and material recovery are encouraged.

The waste management plans of the three Regions define, by name, the selected collection systems (their organization, the actors concerned, the sharing of responsibilities, the financing system, the creation of outlets for recovered materials, etc.). Producer responsibility is another basic principle, which aims at implementing a closed loop waste management policy. According to this principle, responsibility rests with the economic operators who is in the best position to make the most efficient contribution to the protection, preservation, and improvement of the quality of the environment. Practical applications of this principle are envisaged for batteries, end-of-life vehicles, wastes from electrical and electronic equipment, and packaging. The last priority is to minimize waste disposal, which must comply with very strict environmental standards. Taxes on landfill (and incineration in the Flemish Region) help to achieve the ultimate objective of turning waste management into a generally accepted, economically viable, and environmentally sound practice.

In summary, the production of reliable and comparable statistics on waste, the development of management instruments such as waste management plans, an appropriate enforcement of legislation, and the increasing use of evaluation techniques (life cycle assessments, monitoring systems, etc.) are and will be the basis of sound waste management policies in Belgium.

Decision-Making: Major Groups Involvement   

Public authorities (Federal, Regional, and local level), private and public companies, environmental organizations, and individuals as citizens and consumers are the main actors concerned with waste management.

No information is available

Cooperation  

An international agreement on packaging and packaging waste has recently come into force. The Coordinating Committee for International Environment Policy (CCIEP) has decided to create a working group charged with the coordination of advice concerning international waste policy.

* * *

This information was provided by the Government of Belgium to the fifth session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Last Update: April 1997.

Hazardous Waste

Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies    

Dangerous waste management, including the import and export of dangerous waste, is a responsibility of the Regional Governments of Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels Capital City. The transit of waste through Belgium is a responsibility of the Federal Government.

The Coordinating Committee of International Environmental Policy (CCIEP) is charged with coordination and consultation activities between the different actors. An agreement between the three Regional Governments and the Federal Government regulates the control of the transboundary movements of hazardous waste. Customs and National police are fully involved in the control system.

The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal was signed by Belgium in 1989 and ratified in 1993. The latest information to the Basel Convention Secretariat was provided in 1997.

In Belgium, the environmentally sound management of hazardous waste is consistent with the regulations and directives of the European Union (EU) and the international legal instruments to which Belgium is a party. This includes the implementation of the regulation concerning the shipments of waste within, into, and out of the EU, and the European directives concerning waste, dangerous waste, used oils, polychlorinated biphenyl-polychlorinated terphenyl (PCB-PCT) batteries, animal waste, and the incineration of hazardous waste. The Belgian waste management plans, elaborated by the Regions are consistent with the European strategy on waste management.

The first priority is the prevention of waste and the reduction of the toxicity of wastes. The introduction of new techniques and technologies that reduce the use of dangerous products is one issue in the prevention of dangerous wastes. Eco-taxes are applied on pesticides and batteries. Material recovery, production of secondary raw materials, and development of new waste treatment techniques are encouraged. Landfilling of non-treated dangerous waste is prohibited if the dangerous waste does not comply with the severe acceptance criteria of the authorized landfill. Environmental taxes on landfills and disposal by incineration are used to encourage the prevention and recovery of waste.

Decision-Making: Major Groups Involvement   

Industry, business, individuals as citizens and as consumers, and local and Regional public authorities are involved in hazardous waste management. This management is based on the precautionary and prevention principles, as well as on the principle that the polluter should pay and environmental impairments should be rectified at their source.

No information is available

Information   

A data collecting system has been developed. The Flemish Region has developed and uses a full-automated system (ASB) for the administration and control of imports and exports of waste, including on-line consultation by all maintenance forces and fulfillment of administrative requirements by waste producers and treatment plants. The Region of Wallonia has developed a waste management and control system based on automated registration at the waste treatment plants.

No information is available

Cooperation  

An interregional network of installations for the environmental sound disposal of dangerous waste is negotiated based on the proximity principle. International contacts with neighbouring member states of the European Union are achieving the same goal.

* * *

This information was provided by the Government of Belgium to the fifth session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Last Update: April 1997.

For direct link to the Web Site of the Basel Convention, click here:

Radioactive Waste

Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies    

The management of radioactive waste in Belgium is the responsibility of the National Agency for Radioactive Waste and Enriched Fissile Materials (Niras/Ondraf). This Agency is managed by a Governing Board, nominated by a Royal Decree on the proposal of the Council of Ministers. Two Government commissioners reside on the Governing Board. They can object against any decision of the Board they deem contrary to the law and the general interest. Their objection has to be submitted to the competent minister who can approve or disapprove it. The management of the nuclear fuel cycle rests with the private company Synatom. This includes the reprocessing or conditioning of the spent nuclear fuel. The Government has two representatives on the Governing Board of Synatom. They have the same rights as the Government commissioners at Niras/Ondraf. Each installation in the field of nuclear waste has to be authorized by the competent safety authorities. The procedure includes consultation of the local community, a National expert commission, and in some cases the European Commission.

No information is available

Programmes and Projects   

Belgium has introduced a complete management programme for its radioactive waste. This management considers several steps, from production to final disposal: a) limitation of waste quantities at the production site by sorting, identification, decontamination, etc.; b) chemical stabilization and volume reduction by chemical treatment, incineration, super compaction; c) conditioning of the treated waste in a stable matrix to limit dispersion; d) temporary storage in appropriate buildings with adequate shielding and safety provisions; and e) proposed final disposal facilities based on a multi-barrier concept. These measures will reduce waste volumes in Belgium.

Status   

Belgium, being largely dependant on imports for its primary energy supplies, has sought safe and reliable energy sources. It has, therefore, developed nuclear energy with seven nuclear power plants in operation with an installed capacity of 5.6 Gwe. There are also two fuel fabrication plants [one for uranium oxide (UO2) fuel and one for mixed oxide (MOX) fuel] in the country. Belgium has a nuclear research center with a material testing reactor and several research facilities. Other activities relate to the production and use of radioisotopes in medicine, industry, and research. Actual dismantling activities relate to the prototype BR3-reactor of the nuclear research centre, the old Eurochemic reprocessing plant, and old waste treatment facilities.

All these activities produce radioactive wastes for which the projected quantities up to the end of the life span, including dismantling of facilities related to the actual Belgian nuclear programme, are estimated as follows:

• Waste of category A (low-level waste with short-lived isotopes, resulting from nuclear power plants, the fabrication of radio-isotopes, and their medical and industrial applications):150,000 m³;
• Waste of category B (low-level waste with long-lived isotopes and medium-level waste, resulting from the nuclear fuel cycle and related research): 25,000 m³; and
• Waste of category C (high-level waste, resulting from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel: 5,000 m³.

Belgium has planned all the necessary installations for the treatment, the conditioning, and temporary storage for all types of wastes produced in the country (the waste resulting from the reprocessing of the Belgian spent fuel is being conditioned abroad on the reprocessing site). With respect to final disposal, important R&D programmes are being carried out. A recent report supports the feasibility of disposing about 60% of the waste of category A in a near-surface repository under strict respect of the safety recommendations issued by international competent bodies. An underground laboratory is available to examine the disposal of categories B and C waste in deep clay layers. An interim safety and feasibility evaluation report has been examined by an international group of experts, which concluded that clay seemed to be an adequate candidate environment for geological disposal. Ongoing research must provide a preliminary safety assessment report early in the next century to be submitted to the safety authorities.

With respect to spent fuel management, Belgium had opted in the past for reprocessing. In 1993, Parliament and the Government decided to freeze any new reprocessing decision and existing options for future reprocessing for a period of five years. During this period, a report comparing reprocessing and non-reprocessing options has to be prepared for a new Parliamentary debate. In order to support the production of this report, a programme has been started on the conditioning of spent fuel, and the research programme on the geological disposal of waste has been extended to cover the disposal of conditioned spent fuel.

No information is available

Financing  

All costs incurred for the management of radioactive waste are borne by the waste producer or by those who are financially responsible for it. 

Cooperation  

Belgium participates in the programmes and activities of international bodies such as the European Commission, the Nuclear Energy Agency, and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

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This information was provided by the Government of Belgium to the fifth session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Last Update: April 1997.

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