30:
86:
176:, on average, the water quality is improving quickly, mainly because of increasing waste-water treatment. In recent years, salmon and trout is seen again in Belgium's main rivers. Moreover, according to the EU Commission (2015 report), the water quality at the Belgian coast was ranked excellent in over two out of three locations (i.e. 17) where samples were taken.
712:
Langhammer, P.; Laurance, W. F.; Lieberman, S.; Linkie, M.; Malhi, Y.; Maxwell, S.; Mendez, M.; Mittermeier, R.; Murray, N. J.; Possingham, H.; Radachowsky, J.; Saatchi, S.; Samper, C.; Silverman, J.; Shapiro, A.; Strassburg, B.; Stevens, T.; Stokes, E.; Taylor, R.; Tear, T.; Tizard, R.; Venter, O.; Visconti, P.; Wang, S.; Watson, J. E. M. (2020).
711:
Grantham, H. S.; Duncan, A.; Evans, T. D.; Jones, K. R.; Beyer, H. L.; Schuster, R.; Walston, J.; Ray, J. C.; Robinson, J. G.; Callow, M.; Clements, T.; Costa, H. M.; DeGemmis, A.; Elsen, P. R.; Ervin, J.; Franco, P.; Goldman, E.; Goetz, S.; Hansen, A.; Hofsvang, E.; Jantz, P.; Jupiter, S.; Kang, A.;
163:
The generation of industrial waste is relatively high, as mentioned previously, but on average, 96% is treated, either in Europe or in Asian countries. Until 2021, when some asian countries banned certain quantities of waste exported to their countries, Belgium was a big exporter of industrial waste
155:
Although the generation of hazardous industrial waste remains high relative to population, Belgians generate less municipal waste than its neighbours, with 416 kilograms per capita compared to a
European average of 505 kilograms. Belgium is also a leader in municipal waste treatment, with 98,5% of
49:
accumulated in sediments. Air quality is generally good to average, but is affected by emissions from traffic and house heating, and industrial air pollution blowing over from the neighboring heavily industrialized Ruhr-area in
Germany. Biodiversity is lower in Flanders than in Wallonia because of
138:
due to the lack of regional teamwork. Wallonia has decreased its emissions by 34% since 1990, the highest reduction rate out of the three regions. It was the only region to respect the uletrior targets set by the
European Commission, while Flanders and Brussels had poorer performance. This high
156:
the waste recycled (34%), composted (20%), incinerated with energy recovery (42%), and anaerobically digested (2,5%). Only 1,5% of municipal waste ends up to definitive disposal (either through landfills or brute incineration), which means a bit more than 5 kgs per capita.
40:
is generally affected by the high population density in most of the country. However, due to consistent efforts by the various levels of government in
Belgium, the state of the environment in Belgium is gradually improving. These efforts have led to Belgium being ranked as
290:
A bit less than 70% of
Belgium's overall energy supply comes from fossil fuels, which is under the OECD limit of 79%, but relatively high to many countries in Europe. Due to its lack of potential for renewable energy, nuclear energy dominates the clean energy sector.
281:
has announced several measures including support for quieter public and private transport fleets, extension of limited speed zones, increased use of quiet road pavement, and promotion of using acoustic insulators in construction and renovation of new buildings.
159:
Belgium also has the best packaging recycling program, with its 88%. 100% of the glass thrown away is recycled, as well as 98% of metal, aluminum and wood, 93% of paper and card board, however, plastic remains relatively low, with only 44% of it recycled.
317:. At present, 8 of the 12 migratory fish (found in Belgium's rivers) are threatened. These include Coregonus oxyrinchus, Coregonus lavaretus, Alosa alosa, Acipenser sturio, Petromyzon marinus, Salmo salar, Alosa fallax, Salmo trutta trutta
57:
Belgium has one of Europe's highest waste recycling rates. In particular, the
Flemish region of Belgium has the highest waste diversion rate in Europe. Almost 75% of the residential waste produced there is reused, recycled, or composted.
143:
decrease in the industrial sector, by closing a huge part of its coal and steel industry. Wallonia is, thus, the only region following
European expectations, although the use of the car remains relatively high due to hilly terrain.
116:
Photo-chemical air pollution remains a problem. On hot summer days, ozone levels frequently surpass EU targets. In 2006, the average was 6970 ug/m3 while the EU target is 5800 ug/m3.
177:
45:(9 out of 132) in terms of environmental protection trends. However, water quality still suffers from a relatively low, yet increasing percentage of sewage waste-water treatment, and from
686:
96:
has decreased from 200 kton in 1990 to around 100 kton in 2006, because of lower emissions from transport and industry. These two however remain the most important VOC polluters.
77:
responsible for environmental matters in their respective territories. This has led to differences in legislation and separation of measurements and publication of statistics.
237:
from zinc ore until 1970, resulting in heavy metal contamination in the area. In the south of
Belgium, the deposition of airborne pollutants from the industrial areas of
110:
concentrations in 2005 have not been met and a significant increase was seen in 2006 compared to 2005. The problem is mostly situated in cities and industrial areas.
50:
population density and fragmentation of habitats, but efforts are being made to boost bio-diversity through connecting fragmented forests and national parks through
531:
432:
844:
1153:
1051:
864:
889:
976:
971:
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113:
Total acidifying emissions have decreased very rapidly since 1990, but NOx still remains a problem. Half of NOx emissions are due to transport.
788:
517:
1036:
690:
582:
556:
926:
829:
914:
941:
294:
Wallonia is able to get its energy from cleaner sources than in
Flanders due to the fact that its electricity consumption is lower.
714:"Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity - Supplementary Material"
1137:
1021:
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277:, and other transportation methods as contributing factors. In order to reduce noise pollution, the capital region of
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814:
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1074:
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102:
emissions and environmental concentrations have decreased since 1995, but little improvement is visible since 2000.
1107:
781:
356:
mean score of 1.36/10, ranking it 163rd globally out of 172 countries. Forests cover ~29% of
Belgium's territory.
337:
93:
74:
62:
329:
covers 428,908 hectares in Belgium, representing 12.6% of the land area and 12% of the territorial waters.
774:
29:
496:
186:
Belgium has a relatively flat but diverse landscape and a variety of soils throughout the country.
147:
Many of the airports in Belgium have been carbon neutral relative to their activities since 2018.
246:
753:
735:
51:
743:
725:
46:
189:
Belgium has cooler and wetter conditions compared to much of the rest of Europe due to the
266:
173:
384:
748:
713:
665:
664:. Convention on Biological Diversity - Belgian Clearing House Mechanism. Archived from
103:
66:
17:
1168:
341:
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326:
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730:
250:
222:
739:
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518:"Baisse de 34% des Ă©missions de CO2: La Wallonie meilleure que la Flandre"
278:
210:
202:
194:
70:
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in Turkey, Malaysia, and China, where it was recycled or incinerated.
687:"First National Park opened – Milestone for Belgium's Countdown 2010"
270:
218:
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in acid sandy soils. Agricultural areas have high concentrations of
128:
84:
28:
631:"Quiet Brussels: a new 'noise plan' for Brussels-Capital Region"
242:
234:
198:
107:
770:
532:"Belgium Hosts Europe's Best Recycling and Prevention Program"
433:"Belgium Hosts Europe's Best Recycling and Prevention Program"
131:
target for Flanders is 82.5 Mton during the period 2008-2012.
581:
Anna Rita Gentile; Sara BarcelĂł-CordĂłn; Marc Van Liedekerke.
555:
Anna Rita Gentile; Sara BarcelĂł-CordĂłn; Marc Van Liedekerke.
608:"'Quiet Brussels': plan to fight noise pollution by traffic"
313:
In regards to the native fish species, a list can be found
65:, the environment is a regional responsibility, with the
201:
soil types due to the region's location near the sea.
172:
Although Belgium still faces challenges such as river
233:
Parts of Flanders used thermal processes to extract
119:
Greenhouse gas emissions have fallen from 90 Mton CO
1146:
1098:
1060:
802:
495:. Aalst: Vlaamse Milieumaatschappij. Archived from
205:has a more hilly terrain with the soil composed of
782:
8:
689:. countdown2010. 2006-03-23. Archived from
789:
775:
767:
747:
729:
336:, Belgium's first national park, and the
376:
484:
482:
480:
478:
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139:reduction was mainly due to the 58% CO
536:Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
437:Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
92:In Flanders, emission of non-methane
7:
651:Verrekijker magazine, september 2012
457:"UN Belgium Waste Management Report"
325:The pan-European ecological network
332:Famous protected areas include the
245:is contributing to the effects of
25:
265:Car traffic is the main cause of
134:Belgium was poorly ranked in the
354:Forest Landscape Integrity Index
344:in Belgium, and opened in 2006.
136:Climate Change Performance Index
583:"Soil Country Analyses Belgium"
557:"Soil Country Analyses Belgium"
489:Marleen Van Steertegem (2003).
54:"ecoducts" such as in Kikbeek.
797:Environmental issues in Europe
302:Following the approach of the
1:
409:"Ecoduct Kikbeek - Wikimapia"
269:in Belgium, with noise from
492:MIRA-T 2007 Indicatorraport
389:www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org
43:one of the top 10 countries
1191:
731:10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3
106:targets for average daily
338:Hoge Kempen National Park
310:was created for Belgium.
123:-eq in 2003 to 85 Mton CO
385:"OECD Better Life Index"
75:Brussels-Capital Regions
18:Biodiversity of Belgium
1175:Environment of Belgium
845:Bosnia and Herzegovina
340:, which is the newest
89:
38:environment of Belgium
33:
718:Nature Communications
197:has mostly sandy and
88:
32:
629:Michiel Modijefsky.
253:due to heavy use of
47:historical pollution
1061:States with limited
610:. New Mobility News
352:Belgium had a 2018
247:soil contamination
229:Soil contamination
100:Particulate matter
90:
34:
1162:
1161:
662:"Protected areas"
127:-eq in 2006. The
63:1993 State Reform
52:wildlife crossing
16:(Redirected from
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1099:Dependencies and
803:Sovereign states
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588:. pp. 14–15
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562:. pp. 8–13
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321:Protected areas
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267:noise pollution
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174:water pollution
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151:Waste Treatment
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693:on 2011-02-24
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1090:Transnistria
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695:. Retrieved
691:the original
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666:the original
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497:the original
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298:Biodiversity
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1128:Isle of Man
1063:recognition
1037:Switzerland
972:Netherlands
724:(1): 5978.
327:Natura 2000
304:Netherlands
255:fertilizers
1007:San Marino
967:Montenegro
947:Luxembourg
927:Kazakhstan
830:Azerbaijan
697:2008-09-18
672:2008-06-20
541:2016-04-09
503:2008-06-17
442:2016-04-09
418:2016-04-09
394:2016-04-09
372:References
251:phosphates
223:sandstones
61:Since the
1118:Gibraltar
942:Lithuania
740:2041-1723
637:4 October
614:4 October
592:4 October
566:4 October
334:High Fens
275:airplanes
215:quartzite
211:phyllites
207:limestone
191:North Sea
1169:Category
1138:Svalbard
1123:Guernsey
1070:Abkhazia
1022:Slovenia
1017:Slovakia
992:Portugal
850:Bulgaria
758:33293507
360:See also
308:Red List
279:Brussels
241:and the
203:Wallonia
195:Flanders
1047:Ukraine
997:Romania
957:Moldova
915:Ireland
910:Iceland
905:Hungary
895:Germany
890:Georgia
880:Finland
875:Estonia
870:Denmark
855:Croatia
840:Belgium
835:Belarus
825:Austria
820:Armenia
815:Andorra
810:Albania
749:7723057
633:. Eltis
465:9 April
366:Belgium
348:Forests
239:Antwerp
71:Walloon
67:Flemish
1133:Jersey
1075:Kosovo
1042:Turkey
1032:Sweden
1012:Serbia
1002:Russia
987:Poland
982:Norway
962:Monaco
932:Latvia
900:Greece
885:France
860:Cyprus
756:
746:
738:
286:Energy
271:trains
221:, and
219:shales
1108:Ă…land
1027:Spain
952:Malta
922:Italy
586:(PDF)
560:(PDF)
460:(PDF)
261:Noise
168:Water
129:Kyoto
754:PMID
736:ISSN
639:2018
616:2018
594:2018
568:2018
467:2016
315:here
306:, a
243:Ruhr
235:zinc
199:clay
182:Soil
108:PM10
94:VOCs
73:and
36:The
744:PMC
726:doi
81:Air
1171::
752:.
742:.
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722:11
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716:.
534:.
475:^
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20:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
