Region wants to purchase ten green zones and make them accessible
The Brussels Region wants to purchase ten green zones in order to protect nature, to be more resilient to climate change and to be able to offer residents more accessible greenery. This was reported by Minister of the Environment and Climate Alain Maron (Ecolo) on Wednesday in the Environment Committee of the Brussels Parliament.
Maron and a purchase of the site in the green Kattebroek Sint-Agatha-Berchem (Potaarde district), along the Groene Wandeling.
According to the minister, this purchase was part of his policy to buy land in the west with the aim of preserving natural areas in the long term and creating green spaces accessible to the public. This is necessary, according to the minister, because one in five Brussels residents does not yet have access to a public green space near his home. Moreover, biodiversity is under pressure from climate change.
Ten green zones proposed
“For the selection of sites, we mainly want to develop new accessible green spaces in neighborhoods where there is currently little green space,” says Maron.
“I have set aside 2 million euros for this new policy of purchasing green spaces. In June last year, I gave the municipalities prospects to make proposals for the acquisition of green spaces in the neighbourhood,” Maron added.
“Since then, Brussels Environment has been examining the feasibility of a dozen proposals from the municipalities, out of a total of 50. It asks the municipalities for information, and also sends letters to the owners of certain sites, after identification via the land registry.”
In parallel, Brussels Environment is working on acquiring property rights or usufruct rights within the perimeters of sustainable neighborhood contracts, in order to provide green zones there. budgets are made available and files become concrete.
In addition, Leesfmilieu Brussel has been pursuing a land policy for some time to fully link green zones together on the Green Walk. The government service is also working on areas for urban agriculture.
“Together with Brussels Environment, I will continue to develop the regional green network,” said the minister. “That provides countless ecosystem services to the city and its inhabitants, and is also the best guarantee for protecting and enhancing biodiversity in the west.”
For example, the Kattebroek nature reserve in Potaarde has a vegetation landscape consisting of meadows, fallow areas and deciduous groves. Several years ago, the government mentioned earlier, analyzes and studies showed that the Kattebroek site plays a valuable role for the Brussels Region as a humid area. Among other things, it is important in the fight against the heat island effect, which is exacerbated by climate change. In addition, it is a habitat for various animal species.
It was previously known that the Region has paid 4.9 million euros for the area of approximately 1 hectare. The purchase of the Kattebroek lost a legal dispute since the protection of the landscape in 2006, Maron said in the committee.
Avoid damages
“The Kattebroek sites are submerged in the Regional Zoning Plan (GPB) included as a primarily residential residential area. So they could be protected until they were protected. The region has chosen to buy and thus have full control over the management of the site, in order to avoid having to pay an even large sum in compensation for lost income.”
“Brussels Environment is going to manage the area, but we still have to look at how the area will be set up exactly. The agency is also in talks with the municipality of Sint-Agatha-Berchem for this.”
“The layout and activities will also have to match the protected status, more specifically the ecological conservation of the green zone, and the landscape qualities as a valuable relic of the valley landscape of the Senne basin.”
According to the minister, the management of the Kattebroek will therefore involve minimal intervention in nature, and pastures may be set up here and there.