Current status and trends
The most recent and comprehensive survey of Belgium's biodiversity was carried out through questionnaires sent to more than 400 Belgian and international experts between 1998 and 2002. The results were published in 2003 in the book 'Biodiversity in Belgium'. What does this assessment tells us?
Status
About 36.300 species of micro-organisms, plants, fungi and animals are known in Belgium.
Nearly two thirds of these species are animals. Of these, insects are the most numerous: 4.500 species of beetles, 4.500 species of flies and mosquitoes, 2.400 species of butterflies and moths, etc. Vertebrates are at the bottom of the scale, with only 73 species of mammals and 150 species of fishes.
Plants and fungi amount to about 13.000 species. A more detailed account yields, among others, 1.400 species of vascular plants, 560 mosses, 980 lichens and 60 species of ferns.
In addition to these 36.300 formally inventoried species, biodiversity experts estimate that about 18.000 additional species should be present in Belgium but have not yet been recorded.
This estimation essentially comes from comparisons to the fauna and flora of our neighbouring countries, where records are more extensive. Many species that are found in those countries could well be present in Belgium, since the living conditions that they need are also present in our country.
Trends
Detailed monitoring and thorough comparisons of old collection and observation data with more recent ones show that many species are in decline or even have disappeared.
In Flanders, at least 7% of formerly recorded species are extinct, 20% are endangered and 27% are vulnerable to near threatened; only 43% are considered safe or at low risk.
A similar situation exists in Wallonia, as, depending on the taxonomic groups, between 40% and 83% of the species show an obvious population decline.
In the Brussels Capital Region, 32% of the higher plant species, about 20% of the bird species and half the amphibians have disappeared.
The Belgian marine areas suffer from severe declines in fish and crustacean populations, notably in commercial species.
