From 13 May to 12 July 2026, the Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment is organising a public consultation on the draft monitoring programme for Belgian marine waters. During this period, stakeholders can submit comments and suggestions on the proposed programme.
In order to assess the state of nature in our North Sea and to verify whether the measures taken are actually effective, it is essential to closely monitor the state of the marine environment. The monitoring programme is part of the Belgian Marine Strategy and aims to assess the environmental status of our North Sea. It covers, among other things, biodiversity, the integrity of the seabed, non-indigenous species, eutrophication and pollution.
The Belgian Marine Strategy stems from the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive. This directive follows a six-year cycle and requires each EU Member State to develop a strategy for the protection, conservation and restoration of the marine environment. The ultimate goal is to achieve good environmental status and ensure the sustainable use of marine waters.
Why a public consultation?
The public consultation gives citizens, organisations and other stakeholders the opportunity to submit comments on the draft programme. This feedback helps make the final programme more effective and broadly supported.
Practical information
The draft monitoring programme and instructions for submitting comments can be found on the website of the FPS Health, Food Chain Safety and the Environment in Dutch, French and German.
The draft and instructions for submitting comments are available in .
The current draft of the monitoring programme for Belgian marine waters is a revision of the monitoring programmes carried out during the first two cycles of the Belgian Marine Strategy (implemented under the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive) and describes the monitoring to be carried out during the third cycle.
The monitoring programme is issued by the Scientific Service “Management Unit of the Mathematical Model of the North Sea (MUMM)” of the Institute of Natural Sciences and is a collaboration between various Belgian (federal and Flemish) public services and research institutions.
The results of the initial assessment (2012) and the subsequent assessments (2018 and 2024) of Belgian marine waters, as well as the description of environmental targets (past and current), previous monitoring programmes and measures, can be consulted at https://odnature.naturalsciences.be/msfd/.
Photos: Louise Delhaye, Institute of Natural Sciences
