Today Natuurpunt East Brabant celebrates its 50th anniversary on the grounds of the Rock Werchter Festival. At that time, this ecological organization was good for at least 4000 hectares of additional nature in this area. Below is a message from President Hugo Apts.
A vision for the future on biodiversity, nature, landscape and climate

Celebrating its 50th anniversary also means looking with ambition at the challenges to come. This is why, in this festive year, a vision for the future within a broad frame of reference for international and European issues of climate, biodiversity and the environment has been drawn up and translated in East Brabant.
The EU biodiversity strategy sets a target for each member state to achieve 30% of the country’s land area with protected nature and at least 10% under strict nature management. The achievement of the European Habitats Directive, the European Union’s Biodiversity Strategy, the Water Framework Directives and the need for different water management, carbon storage and climate buffers offer a perspective on a robust nature and a different conception of the nature-friendly landscape. The challenges of a rigorous climate policy associated with biodiversity policy, nature-based solutions for climate, climate mitigation and water management are significant. The climate crisis, the biodiversity crisis and the approach of integrated water management, greening agriculture and improving the quality of life in the urban and built environment must be tackled through barriers climatic systems that also fight heat islands in an integrated way.
The task force is:
1. Solid, undivided valleys that provide space for nature and water. The objectives of the Water Framework Directive have been achieved in terms of water quality and the quality of structures. The fluvial space also involves meanders and regeneration, eliminating drainage and avoiding the direct capture of infiltration; and water retention. Water management also assumes that sufficient attention is paid to areas of infiltration and that the potential for infiltration persists or increases. Therefore, it is necessary that the area of ​​rivers, water and nature in the valley is associated with a blue-green vein in the agricultural area, which increases hydraulic roughness, reduces sediment runoff and maintains infiltration capacity. From this point of view, the dry nature reserves on the plateaus, the flanks and the cover sands are also important for the blue deal.
2. Strong expansion of managed natural areas up to 10% of land area as biodiversity hotspots and environmental quality assurance conditions (eg to reduce nitrogen and ammonia deposition) of areas , by restoring water management at the system level, Increased cohesion of areas due to the elimination of pockets that make planning and management impossible and that guarantee the environmental conditions to maintain the quality of nature for these areas. These 10% of managed nature reserves are embedded in 30% of the surface as a nature reserve. This is partly in the implementation of the European biodiversity strategy, which goes beyond the achievement of the current conservation objectives of the European Habitats and Birds Directive.
3. A living agricultural zone with at least 10% of the surface area of ​​biodiversity (in PAC: NPA: Non-Productive Zone) in the agricultural zone with blue-green veins of agricultural landscape with woods, hedges, orchards, wooded edges, slopes and isolated strips A large buffer zone in the agricultural zone which also has a biodiversity function. The CAP must ensure this and include it in its preconditions. Green agricultural policy – with absolute conservation of grasslands, buffer strips and KLEs (as binding preconditions for the CAP) – and an active policy of agricultural conservation through management agreements (Kiekendief plan), environmental regulations efficient and effective and a targeted use of what is called “non-productive investments” (part of the CAP) to create hedges, shrubs, ponds, etc. This CAP implements the Green Deal and the Biodiversity Strategy and also leads to agriculture that is mindful of the social status of the farmer. Brabant Lim and Haspengouw district demand that all old land reform measures be reformulated by land use planning measures with the sole aim of creating this blue-green vein in the landscape Natural stripping and correlation with the strategy Dael Vert and biodiversity. This provides a high quality landscape that can be experienced through a range of adapted agricultural policies with the integration of biodiversity policy, climate policy and water management.
4. A livable urban area and a built environment with climate buffers and hydrological barriers that are also green and heat island resistant. Establishment of a real concrete plant, re-establishment of a poorly located but intact residential area, maintenance of open landscaping by eliminating and healing the crabs of yesteryear.
HUGO ABTS