Objective
This project, a cooperative effort between three conservation NGOs and local, provincial and regional authorities, wants to reverse the decline of the ponds and associated habitats, so as to provide an incentive for the bittern to return to its old breeding haunts. In practice this means first purchasing ponds, buying up hunting rights and buying out fish farmers. Next come works to turn steep banks into gradual inclines, remove or restore dykes and lower water levels in the ponds, so that the fringing vegetation can grow back more easily. By planting fresh reeds and managing the existing original reedbeds, the ponds can again become a suitable nesting site for the bittern. In addition, bushes and saplings are to be removed to restore the heath and meadow biotopes associated with the ponds. The project will also try to bring back peace and quiet to the site by creating appropriate routes for visitors.
From as early as the Middle Ages onwards, ponds were laid out in areas where food supplies were scarce in order to farm fish and so provide the local population with an additional source of protein. In so doing, Belgium's greatest pond complex was created in the central part of Limburg and further increased by peat digging and the extraction of bog iron ore. Within this man-made pond landscape, dry and wet heaths, acidophilous oak woods and (around the ponds) tall-herb and reed terrestrialization zones evolved. Together, these constitute ideal habitats for threatened bird species like the bittern (Botaurus stellaris), little bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) and purple heron (Ardea purpurea).
Although designated SPA, the ponds have been severely degraded over the past 25 years by the intensification of fish farming: application of animal protein feedstuffs and of pesticides, removal of reed fringes and digging of vertical pond banks. Besides which, traditional land use declined. The grasslands and remnants of heath became overgrown or were ploughed under and turned into maize fields. Additional disturbance was caused by the recent increasing pressure of recreational activities, the construction of a few hundred illicit holiday cottages, the nearby Zolder racetrack and the dumping of rubbish. Since 1994 the bittern has stopped nesting here.
Topic(s)
Data not availableCall for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
1050 Brussel
Belgium